83. Transfer and View Contacts BEFORE YOU BEGIN 80 Use Your iPod as an External Hard Disk SEE ALSO 84 Transfer and View Calendar Events 85 Synchronize Contacts Using iTunes or iSync (Mac Only) If you've got an iPod, there's no need to rely on your "little black book" full of addresses and phone numbers or even your cell phone or PDA. Whether you're using Windows or a Mac, any "card" of contact information (as stored in the industry-standard vCard format, used by popular data-organizing software such as Palm Desktop, Microsoft Outlook or Entourage, Eudora, or the Mac OS X Address Book) can be transferred directly to the iPod and viewed on its screen. 83. Transfer and View Contacts This task describes how to load contacts into the iPod manually, using the Contacts folder on the iPod's hard disk. If you have a Mac, you can use the method described in this task, but you might find it far more efficient to use iTunes' built-in contact synchronization or iSync as described in 85 Synchronize Contacts Using iTunes or iSync (Mac Only) . 1. | Enable the iPod as an External Hard Disk As described in 80 Use Your iPod as an External Hard Disk , enable your iPod's external hard disk mode and attach it to your computer. | 2. | Navigate to the iPod's Contacts Folder Open up the iPod's hard disk in a Windows Explorer or Finder window. In the top level of the disk is a folder called Contacts . Open this folder and keep the window open on your screen so that you can drag items into it. | 3. | Locate Contacts to Transfer Open your data-organizing application where your contacts are stored. View the Address Book or Contacts section (if applicable ), where your contacts are all listed. | 4. | Drag Contacts to the iPod's Contacts Folder Most data-organizing applications will let you simply drag contacts directly from the application window into a folder in a Finder or Windows Explorer window. Drag individual contacts, or select multiple contacts and drag them all at once. The contacts are copied in vCard ( .vcf ) format into the Contacts folder. If your application doesn't let you drag contacts directly to the folder, select the contacts and export them (the command is usually File, Export ) to .vcf files in the iPod's Contacts folder. | 5. | Unmount and Disconnect the iPod When you're done copying contacts to the iPod, unmount or eject the iPod as described in 80 Use Your iPod as an External Hard Disk , and disconnect it from the computer. | 6. | View Contacts on the iPod From the iPod's Main Menu, select Extras , then Contacts . Your contacts are all listed alphabetically according to their names (first, then last). Use the wheel to scroll to the desired contact and press Select ; all the information stored in the vCard for that person is displayed on the screen. Scroll using the wheel to see all of it. You can't alter or add to any of the contact information stored on the iPod, nor can you transfer contact information from the iPod to any other device. However, simply being able to look up a phone number or address while on the go can be a lifesaver. | 7. | Configure Sorting Options You can configure two aspects of contacts on the iPod: the order in which they're alphabetized in the Contacts screen, and the format in which their names are displayed. From the Main Menu, choose Settings , then Contacts . Highlight the setting you want to change ( Sort or Display ) and press the Select button to toggle between the First Last and Last First name formats. | |