The ultimate guide to Android contacts management - Computerworld

2 years ago 35

Your Android phone's contacts are overmuch much than conscionable a glorified Rolodex. Ready for an unexpected productivity upgrade?

Contributing Editor, Computerworld |

You'd deliberation keeping tabs connected your contacts would beryllium astir the simplest and astir straightforward task imaginable successful our modern connected satellite — wouldn't you?

I definite would. But arsenic I've learned implicit the years, that perfectly understandable instinct couldn't beryllium much inaccurate.

Effectively wrangling your contacts connected Android and keeping 'em manageable, organized, and optimized for ratio truly is simply a good art. And successful a way, it's nary wonder: Most of america person reached a constituent wherever our phones' contacts are a sprawling goulash of earthlings from each antithetic eras of our lives — clients, colleagues, assemblage buddies, and, of course, your relative Carl from Poughkeepsie.

Making matters adjacent much analyzable is the information that what constitutes "Android" is simply a wildly antithetic acquisition from 1 instrumentality to the next. And astir Android phone-makers don't precisely marque it casual for you to marque the astir of your messy contacts stew.

The bully news, though, is that it doesn't have to beryllium truthful difficult. Today, we'll commencement from quadrate 1 and get your contacts successful tip-top shape, nary substance what benignant of Android telephone you're utilizing oregon however galore unruly aged bosses' email addresses you've got stored away.

By the clip we're done, your Android telephone contacts volition beryllium arsenic orderly arsenic tin beryllium — and you'll beryllium equipped with each sorts of applicable cognition for harnessing their typically untapped potential.

Part I: Android contacts streamlining

First and foremost, we request to marque definite we're each connected the aforesaid leafage — 'cause arsenic we conscionable mentioned a infinitesimal ago, the Android contacts concern is thing but standardized crossed the platform.

Specifically, if you're utilizing a Samsung phone, we request to get you disconnected of Samsung's subpar and proprietary contacts work and into Google's better, smarter, and much platform-agnostic alternative.

Samsung's main extremity with its products, y'see, is to support you wrong its ain universe. The institution wants you to proceed utilizing Samsung worldly and buying Samsung stuff, and it makes that much of a precedence than giving you an optimal experience.

The company's Contacts app is the cleanable example: The app offers nary noteworthy advantages implicit Google's modular Android Contacts service, and it's disposable only connected Samsung-made Android devices. It's little afloat featured and pleasant to usage than Google's version, too, and it makes it overmuch much hard to entree your interaction info from a machine oregon immoderate different benignant of device.

So wherefore does Samsung importune connected making that the default contacts work connected its phones alternatively of sticking with Google's readily disposable offering? Simple: due to the fact that it locks you into Samsung's self-serving ecosystem.

Let's interruption you free, shall we?

Open up the Contacts app connected your telephone (the 1 astir apt represented by a glaringly agleam orangish icon).
Tap the three-line paper icon successful its upper-left corner, past pat "Manage contacts" followed by "Sync contacts."
Make definite your main Google relationship is contiguous and has its toggle progressive connected the surface that comes up next. If you don't spot it, pat the "Add account" enactment to adhd it into the mix.

Got it? Good. Now, spell download the Google Contacts app from the Play Store. Open it up and o.k. the permissions it needs to operate. Then marque a constituent to commencement utilizing it alternatively of Samsung's silliness (which, by the by, Samsung won't fto you uninstall) from present connected out.

If you person a non-Google-made telephone from idiosyncratic other than Samsung, cheque to spot if your contacts app is the existent Google Contacts app oregon not. If it isn't — and if your device-maker gave you immoderate different random alternate successful its spot — poke astir successful the app and effort to find a akin acceptable of options for syncing everything implicit to your Google account. If that isn't possible, find the enactment to export your contacts from that app and past look for the import enactment wrong the Google Contacts Android app to get to the aforesaid spot.

Part II: Android contacts accounts and labels

Now that we're each looking astatine the aforesaid spot and dealing with the aforesaid best-available Android contacts absorption option, let's instrumentality a fewer minutes to get the laic of the land, shall we?

When you archetypal unfastened the Google Contacts app connected Android, you'll spot each of the contacts from immoderate Google relationship is acceptable to beryllium the superior relationship connected that phone. But instrumentality note: If you pat oregon swipe the illustration representation successful the app's upper-right corner, you tin power to seeing contacts associated with immoderate other Google accounts connected the instrumentality — and if you pat the three-line paper icon successful the app's upper-left corner, you tin displacement into a merged presumption of all contacts from each relationship you've got connected.

You'll besides spot a database of immoderate labels you've created for your contacts successful that area. Labels successful Google Contacts enactment precisely similar labels successful Gmail: You tin make arsenic galore arsenic you like, and you tin use immoderate fig of labels onto immoderate fixed contact. They're little similar folders, successful different words, and much similar stickers — or, y'know, labels — successful that there's nary bounds to however galore immoderate peculiar interaction tin have.

So wherefore would you privation to fuss with labels, you mightiness beryllium wondering? Well, I'll archer ya: They're a splendid mode to interruption that messiness of mammals successful your beingness down into specific, meaningful groups alternatively of ever viewing 'em successful 1 gigantic lump.

Maybe, for instance, you'd person a statement called "Work" that includes everyone from your existent company. And possibly you'd person a abstracted statement called "Team" that's adjacent much constrictive and shows lone the radical you straight enactment with. Maybe you'd person different statement for clients, different for circumstantial subsets of clients, and different for each the radical successful your beingness named Josh.

Once you bash that archetypal organization, you'll person an casual mode to bounds your presumption to lone the individuals you request astatine immoderate fixed infinitesimal — and you'll summation a mates of different easy overlooked advantages, too, arsenic we'll research further successful a moment.

First, to use a statement onto a interaction erstwhile you've created it:

Press and clasp the sanction of the idiosyncratic from the main interaction list.
If you privation to adhd other radical to the aforesaid statement astatine the aforesaid time, pat their names next.
Once you've got each the names you request highlighted, pat the three-dot icon successful the app's upper-right country and prime "Add to label" followed by immoderate statement you want.

Capisce? Capisce. Now, let's determination connected to immoderate adjacent much precocious Android contacts goodness.

Part III: Advanced Android contacts enhancements

When you archetypal pat a person's sanction wrong the Google Contacts app connected Android, you'll spot a surface with their illustration appear.

JR Raphael/IDG

Anyone you store successful your contacts connected Android volition person a customized illustration that puts each your notes and info astir them successful a azygous place.

Tap the pencil-shaped editing icon successful the upper-right country of that area, and instrumentality enactment of immoderate important possibilities:

In summation to each the basal info you'd expect, you tin pat a plain-text "More fields" nexus astatine the precise bottommost of the illustration editing interface to uncover a full big of different perchance utile options — including fields for phonetic pronunciation of the person's sanction arsenic good arsenic immoderate nicknames, their institution name, section name, enactment title, and adjacent a bid of radical related to that idiosyncratic that you mightiness request to retrieve (spouse, assistant, manager, oregon the idiosyncratic who referred them to you, conscionable to sanction a fewer disposable options).
After tapping that "More fields" option, you'll spot a new enactment astatine the bottommost of the surface to adhd your ain customized field. That's a useful mode to store immoderate further mode of info astir a idiosyncratic that mightiness beryllium adjuvant to find aboriginal — thing from their garment size to favourite edifice oregon thing other that mightiness travel up successful your aboriginal interactions.
If you pat the circular icon astatine the precise apical of the illustration editing interface, you tin upload a photograph to correspond the interaction successful question. That photograph volition past amusement up each passim antithetic Google services connected immoderate instrumentality wherever you're signed successful — successful Gmail, the Google Messages app, adjacent Docs and Drive erstwhile you stock oregon collaborate. (If idiosyncratic has a Google account, you whitethorn already spot a photograph for them successful that area. But you tin inactive override their ain photograph with 1 of your choosing, if you'd like.)

One much precocious Android contacts enactment worthy mentioning: When you unfastened immoderate person's illustration successful the Contacts app connected your phone, you'll spot a hollow prima successful the upper-right country of the screen. You tin pat that to capable the prima successful and people that idiosyncratic arsenic a favorite.

Doing truthful volition person immoderate important effects:

That idiosyncratic volition ever look astatine the apical of your contacts list.
They'll besides typically amusement up successful a special, much salient country of your Phone app for extra-easy entree (and if they don't, effort downloading the Google-made Phone app and utilizing it successful spot of immoderate alternate your phone's shaper preinstalled successful its place).
And they'll beryllium granted peculiar privileges to scope you adjacent erstwhile your telephone is successful Do Not Disturb mode, with the specifics depending connected your preferences successful that country of your strategy settings.

Part IV: Android contacts optimization

One of the champion features of the Google Contacts work is however casual it makes it to cleanable up and optimize your contacts collection.

From the Contacts app connected your phone, pat "Fix & Manage" astatine the bottommost of the surface — then:

Tap the "Merge & Fix" button.
Look to spot what suggestions the app gives you, past pat 'em 1 by 1 and travel the steps within.

Google Contacts volition place immoderate instances wherever it looks similar you've got 2 abstracted interaction entries for the aforesaid idiosyncratic and past connection to rapidly harvester them for you. It'll besides fto you cognize erstwhile it's recovered much up-to-date interaction info for anyone successful your list. And it'll connection to adhd successful entries for anyone you email often but haven't yet added.

Easy peasy, right?

And past but not least, for the virtual icing connected your Android contacts cake...

Part V: Android contacts actions

Once you've gotten your contacts created, organized, and cleaned up properly, the Google Contacts app connected Android has respective precocious actions that are each excessively casual to miss.

You tin usage the Contacts app arsenic an businesslike mode to commencement a caller radical email oregon substance connection thread with immoderate enactment of radical you want. Just marque definite the radical are each successful the aforesaid label, past pat the three-line paper icon successful the app's upper-left country and prime the label. Next, pat the three-dot paper icon successful the upper-right country of the statement surface and look for the "Send email" oregon "Send message" option.
The Contacts app tin besides service arsenic an all-in-one hub for initiating connection with anyone successful your collection. Open someone's profile, and you'll spot one-tap icons for calling them, texting them, emailing them, oregon starting a Google Meet video telephone with them — each without ever having to poke astir successful immoderate different apps.
If you privation adjacent easier entree to definite high-profile people, cheque retired the Google Contacts widget options: Long-press connected immoderate unfastened country of your location screen, prime the enactment to adhd a widget, and past look for the Contacts section. There, you should spot an icon to adhd a caller wide interaction shortcut (which volition zap you straight to a person's afloat profile) arsenic good arsenic an icon to adhd a one-tap bid for calling oregon texting immoderate peculiar person. You tin adhd arsenic galore of those arsenic you privation onto your location surface and adjacent resistance 'em connected apical of each different erstwhile they're determination to make convenient folders.

Speaking of calling convenience, if there's a definite interaction who calls you a small too often — an overly anxious recruiter oregon possibly that blasted relative of yours (come on, Carl!) — the Google Contacts app has an casual mode to automatically way each of their calls straight to your voicemail. Just unfastened the person's illustration wrong the app, past pat the three-dot paper icon successful the upper-right country and look for the "Route to voicemail" option.
That aforesaid paper besides holds a speedy shortcut for mounting a customized ringtone for immoderate interaction truthful it's particularly casual to place them (or fell successful the nearest underground bunker) whenever they call.

Last but not least, the existent quality of the Google Contacts setup connected Android: It works arsenic good nary substance what benignant of instrumentality you're using.

On immoderate telephone you determination into successful the future, you tin simply instal the Google Contacts app, if it isn't already successful place, and each your worldly volition instantly beryllium there, synced, and disposable to you — nary restoring required. And if you ever privation to poke astir oregon update your contacts from a computer, each you've gotta bash is pull up the Google Contacts website successful immoderate browser wherever you're signed in.

So the Android contacts concern isn't precisely straightforward, arsenic you've seen. But erstwhile you get it nether control, it perfectly can be casual and effectual — and, with a teensy spot of beforehand planning, an important portion of your mobile productivity puzzle.

Contributing Editor JR Raphael serves up tasty morsels astir the quality broadside of technology. Hungry for more? Join him on Twitter oregon motion up for his play newsletter to get caller tips and penetration successful your inbox each Friday.

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