Export contacts to Evernote

[LBK 2]

Hi all -

 

As my contact list grows, it's beginning to get overwhelming. 500+ contacts in my iCloud list just isn't necessary, considering I don't contact most of them (rarely if ever).

 

Therefore, I want to import some (not all) of my contacts into an Evernote notebook. That way they don't clutter my contact list, but are still accessible should I need them.

 

I have a few questions to go along with this:

 

1. Is this a good idea? Do you see any problems arising in the future?

 

2. What tool can I use to accomplish this? Ideally I'd like each contact in it's own note (so they are easily searchable) with standardized formatting to allow for easy export / transfer in the future.

 

I currently use Evernote for Mac and iPhone, but I'm happy to look at other options if necessary to complete this. Perhaps Evernote Hello is needed?

 

Thanks for your help, everyone!

[JMichaelTX 4,118]

LBK, I would NOT make Evernote my main Contacts manager.  I use Evernote as a supplement to my Outlook 2011 Mac Contacts, which are stored in Exchange Server.  So my Outlook Contracts sync with all my devices, including iPhone Contacts.

 

I COPY contacts into Evernote that I have a special interest in, like IT equipment manufacturers/vendors.

 

To address your concern of clutter, I'd suggest using one or more of the following approaches within Outlook:

• Create Smart Folders to show only the Contacts of interest.  For example, you could have a separate Smart Folder for:
  • Active
  • Inactive
  • VIP
  • Business
  • Personal
  • To achieve this, you may need to create/apply Outlook Categories (same as Evernote Tags) to each Contact
• Create a separate Outlook Folder for your "inactive" Contacts, and move them out of your main Contacts folder

I just realized I'm assuming your using Outlook on your Mac.  If you're using something else, like Mac Contacts app, then you will need to explore your Contact app to see if it has similar options.

 

As you probably know, the Contacts app on the iPhone is strongly integrated to many, many iPhone functions/apps.  If you move any Contacts from your iPhone Contacts you will, of course, lose this for those contacts.

 

Good luck.  Let me know if you have any follow-up questions.

[Metrodon 2,188]

Contacts supports Groups - you could move your less frequently needed contacts into a separate group.

 

I keep some contacts in Evernote - they are easy to find (assuming I have some network access and I normally do).

[LBK 2]

Excellent points, JMichael.

 

I don't intend to use Evernote as my main Contacts manager...just the ones that are in that "inactive" list as you describe. Not using Outlook...I am using the contacts app on Mac (or, more often, my iPhone).

 

That's an interesting point about the integration of iOS contacts with the rest of the system. True I would lose access to that, but honestly for at least half of my contacts, I just don't use that info enough to care.

 

That being said, I do like the idea of smart groups. That being said, it's unclear if those filters transfer well to iOS from Mac. There are a lot of discussions of difficulty there, although not recently (perhaps iOS 7 fixed it?).