Creating and using a Business Card (vCard) in Outlook Express




You can prepare a "Business Card", in other words a vCard, in Outlook Express and use this to promote yourself better. It is a really a useful thing as it contains your contact and directory information. And if you send vCard along with your mails, anybody can import this vCard into their address book very easily and have access to your all contact details(depending on how much information you are willing to give away but I think it is good idea to include phone numbers, all your e-mail addresses and ofcourse your specialization fields and may be rates). So all your contact information and other points that you want to be available will be very handy for future use.

In order to create a v-card for yourself you have to add an address book entry for yourself in Outlook Express. To do this:

Select Tools | Address Book from the menu in Outlook Express.
Click on New | New Contact. )
Enter all the information you want to include.
Click OK to save your information.

Or:


Select Tools | Options | Compose from the menu in Outlook Express.
Below are v-card options for news or mail.







Under Business Cards, Click on Mail: (a checkmark will appear beside it).

Beside Mail:, Click on the little down arrow, then Click on your name.

Click on the OK button.

Your vCard will now appear on all out going mail.


If you want to add your vCards only to individual outgoing messages :

Follow the above steps 1-4 of Attaching your vCard to all outgoing mail.

After you select your business card, Click on Mail: again (this will remove the checkmark).

With Mail: unchecked, Click on the OK button.

Open a New Message window .
Click on Insert, then Click on My Business Card.


(The directions may change acoording to the release of your Ourlook Express so if you you find any step unapplicable refer to the outlook help file with the keyword businesscard or vCard.)

And now you have a vCard for yourself in Outlook Express. But do keep in mind that only mail readers that are capable of viewing vCards will be able to use them, such as Outlook Express and Netscape Messenger. If one is sent to a non-compatible reader, it will be displayed as an unreadable attachment.