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Developer

Open Contacts is flexible, customizable and extendable. You don't have to be a programmer to extend Open Contacts for your own needs.

For advanced users

Here's a summary about what could be customized in Open Contacts without programming effort.

• Layouts. The location and sizes of key windows like Categories, Initials and Edit etc could be changed and saved into layout profiles. By default, current layout will be saved when exiting the program.
• Colors. Colors of key components of Windows could be modified through the colors settings in the Options window.
• Predefined Fields. They are shortcuts of speedy inputs of field names in the drop-down list, and could be associated with Type and Action. Thus predefined fields have schema/meanings independent of the wording of field names.
• Predefined Sections. This feature provides pseudo fixed fields grouped. In addition, you could define which predefined sections could be added automatically when adding a new person or new company.
• Categories.
• Custom print. Print contacts with specified fields. And with exported CSV files, you may use 3rd party programs to print labels of different layouts.
• Network mode. With some simple steps, you may make address book database shareable in Local Area Network.
• Green mode. Run Open Contacts in a portable drive.
• Many options for your choices. Go to the Options window and find out which options could better serve you. Most settings in the Options window are stored inside the address book database.
• Mail Merge. Open Contacts can provide data source in the form of CSV to other programs like MS Word which support mail merge operations. In addition, if you have multiple contacts sharing the same postal address, you may use advanced management of postal addresses.
• Publish contacts as hCard.
• Publish relationships to XFN (XHTML Friends Network).

For software developers

Being a desktop program, Open Contacts interacts well with other programs including Web programs. Understanding the big picture may help you to further explore the potentials of the program.

Open Contacts has a few types of interfaces for software developers to extend the program, and integrate the program with other applications.

• COM Interfaces
• Examples of using COM interfaces
• File List
• XML Explained
• Translation
• Command Line Parameters
• Custom Actions with Plug-in
• Export contact info to other information systems