vCard Format Specification
draft-ietf-vcarddav-vcardrev-04

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Abstract

This document defines the vCard data format for representing and exchanging a variety of information about an individual (e.g., formatted and structured name and delivery addresses, email address, multiple telephone numbers, photograph, logo, audio clips, etc.).

Table of Contents

1.  Introduction
2.  Conventions
3.  MIME Type Registration
4.  vCard Format Specification
    4.1.  Line Delimiting and Folding
    4.2.  ABNF Format Definition
5.  Property Value Data Types
    5.1.  TEXT
    5.2.  URI
    5.3.  DATE, TIME, and DATE-TIME
    5.4.  BOOLEAN
    5.5.  INTEGER
    5.6.  FLOAT
    5.7.  BINARY
    5.8.  UTC-OFFSET
6.  Property Parameters
    6.1.  LANGUAGE
    6.2.  ENCODING
    6.3.  VALUE
    6.4.  PID
    6.5.  TYPE
7.  vCard Properties
    7.1.  General Properties
        7.1.1.  BEGIN
        7.1.2.  END
        7.1.3.  SOURCE
        7.1.4.  NAME
        7.1.5.  KIND
    7.2.  Identification Properties
        7.2.1.  FN
        7.2.2.  N
        7.2.3.  NICKNAME
        7.2.4.  PHOTO
        7.2.5.  BDAY
        7.2.6.  DDAY
        7.2.7.  BIRTH
        7.2.8.  DEATH
        7.2.9.  GENDER
    7.3.  Delivery Addressing Properties
        7.3.1.  ADR
        7.3.2.  LABEL
    7.4.  Communications Properties
        7.4.1.  TEL
        7.4.2.  EMAIL
        7.4.3.  IMPP
        7.4.4.  LANG
    7.5.  Geographical Properties
        7.5.1.  TZ
        7.5.2.  GEO
    7.6.  Organizational Properties
        7.6.1.  TITLE
        7.6.2.  ROLE
        7.6.3.  LOGO
        7.6.4.  ORG
        7.6.5.  MEMBER
        7.6.6.  RELATED
    7.7.  Explanatory Properties
        7.7.1.  CATEGORIES
        7.7.2.  NOTE
        7.7.3.  PRODID
        7.7.4.  REV
        7.7.5.  SORT-STRING
        7.7.6.  SOUND
        7.7.7.  UID
        7.7.8.  URL
        7.7.9.  VERSION
    7.8.  Security Properties
        7.8.1.  CLASS
        7.8.2.  KEY
    7.9.  Calendar Properties
        7.9.1.  FBURL
        7.9.2.  CALADRURI
        7.9.3.  CALURI
    7.10.  Extended Properties and Parameters
8.  Synchronization
    8.1.  Mechanisms
    8.2.  Example
9.  Formal Grammar
10.  Example: Authors' vCards
11.  Security Considerations
12.  IANA Considerations
    12.1.  Registering New vCard Elements
        12.1.1.  Registration Procedure
        12.1.2.  Vendor Namespace
        12.1.3.  Registration Template for Groups
        12.1.4.  Registration Template for Properties
        12.1.5.  Registration Template for Parameters
        12.1.6.  Registration Template for Value Data Types
        12.1.7.  Registration Template for Values
    12.2.  Initial vCard Elements Registries
        12.2.1.  Groups Registry
        12.2.2.  Properties Registry
        12.2.3.  Parameters Registry
        12.2.4.  Value Data Types Registry
        12.2.5.  Values Registries
13.  Acknowledgements
14.  References
    14.1.  Normative References
    14.2.  Informative References
Appendix A.  Differences from RFCs 2425 and 2426
    A.1.  New Structure
    A.2.  Removed Features
    A.3.  New Properties and Parameters
    A.4.  Other Changes
Appendix B.  Change Log (to be removed by RFC Editor prior to publication)
    B.1.  Changes in -04
    B.2.  Changes in -03
    B.3.  Changes in -02
    B.4.  Changes in -01
    B.5.  Changes in -00

1.  Introduction

Note: This draft contains much of the same text as 2425 and 2426 which may not be correct. Those two RFCs have been merged and the structure of this draft is what's new. Some vCard-specific suggestions have been added, but for the most part this is still very open. But we'd like to get feedback on the structure mostly so that it may be fixed.

Electronic address books have become ubiquitous. Their increased presense on portable, connected devices as well as the diversity of platforms exchanging contact data call for a standard. This memo defines the vCard format, which allows the capture and exchange of information normally stored within an address book or directory application.

2.  Conventions

The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in [RFC2119] (Bradner, S., “Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels,” March 1997.).

3.  MIME Type Registration

To:

ietf-types@iana.org

Subject:

Registration of media type text/vcard

Type name:

text

Subtype name:

vcard

Required parameters:

none

Optional parameters:

charset

Encoding considerations:

The "charset" MIME parameter is interpreted as defined in [RFC2046] (Freed, N. and N. Borenstein, “Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) Part Two: Media Types,” November 1996.), section 4.1.2. If it is omitted, the default encoding is UTF-8 as defined in [RFC3629] (Yergeau, F., “UTF-8, a transformation format of ISO 10646,” November 2003.).

Security considerations:

See Section 11 (Security Considerations).

Interoperability considerations:

The text/vcard media type is intended to identify vCard data of any version. There are older specifications of vCard [RFC2426] (Dawson, F. and T. Howes, “vCard MIME Directory Profile,” September 1998.)[oldreference_VCARD] (Internet Mail Consortium, “vCard - The Electronic Business Card Version 2.1,” September September.) still in common use. While these formats are similar, they are not strictly compatible. In general, it is necessary to inspect the value of the VERSION property (see Section 7.7.9 (VERSION)) for identifying the standard to which a given vCard object conforms.

In addition, the following media types are known to have been used to refer to vCard data. They should be considered deprecated in favor of text/vcard.

• text/directory
• text/directory; type=vcard
• text/x-vcard

Published specification:

draft-ietf-vcarddav-vcardrev-04

Applications that use this media type:

They are numerous, diverse, and include mail user agents, instant messaging clients, address book applications, directory servers, customer relationship management software, etc.

Additional information:

Magic number(s):

File extension(s):

.vcf

Macintosh file type code(s):

Person & email address to contact for further information:

Simon Perreault <simon.perreault@viagenie.ca>

Intended usage:

COMMON

Restrictions on usage:

none

Author:

Simon Perreault and Pete Resnick

Change controller:

IETF

4.  vCard Format Specification

The text/vcard MIME content type (hereafter known as "vCard") contains contact information, typically pertaining to a single contact or group of contacts. The content consists of one or more lines in the format given below.

4.1.  Line Delimiting and Folding

Individual lines within vCard are delimited by the [RFC2822] (Resnick, P., “Internet Message Format,” April 2001.) line break, which is a CRLF sequence (ASCII decimal 13, followed by ASCII decimal 10). Long logical lines of text can be split into a multiple-physical-line representation using the following folding technique. Content lines SHOULD be folded to a maximum width of 75 octets. Multi-octet characters MUST remain contiguous. The rationale for this folding process can be found in [RFC2822] (Resnick, P., “Internet Message Format,” April 2001.), Section 2.1.1.

A logical line MAY be continued on the next physical line anywhere between two characters by inserting a CRLF immediately followed by a single white space character (space, ASCII decimal 32, or horizontal tab, ASCII decimal 9). At least one character must be present on the folded line. Any sequence of CRLF followed immediately by a single white space character is ignored (removed) when processing the content type. For example the line:

  DESCRIPTION:This is a long description that exists on a long line.

can be represented as:

  DESCRIPTION:This is a long description
    that exists on a long line.

It could also be represented as:

  DESCRIPTION:This is a long descrip
   tion that exists o
   n a long line.

The process of moving from this folded multiple-line representation of a property definition to its single line representation is called unfolding. Unfolding is accomplished by regarding CRLF immediately followed by a white space character (namely HTAB ASCII decimal 9 or SPACE ASCII decimal 32) as equivalent to no characters at all (i.e., the CRLF and single white space character are removed).

Note: It is possible for very simple implementations to generate improperly folded lines in the middle of a UTF-8 multi-octet sequence. For this reason, implementations SHOULD unfold lines in such a way as to properly restore the original sequence.

Note: Unfolding is done differently than in [RFC2822] (Resnick, P., “Internet Message Format,” April 2001.). Unfolding in [RFC2822] (Resnick, P., “Internet Message Format,” April 2001.) only removes the CRLF, not the space following it.

Folding is done after any content encoding of a type value. Unfolding is done before any decoding of a type value in a content line.

4.2.  ABNF Format Definition

The following ABNF uses the notation of [RFC5234] (Crocker, D. and P. Overell, “Augmented BNF for Syntax Specifications: ABNF,” January 2008.), which also defines CRLF, WSP, DQUOTE, VCHAR, ALPHA, and DIGIT. After the unfolding of any folded lines as described above, the syntax for a line of this content type is as follows:

contentline  = [group "."] name *(";" param) ":" value CRLF
  ; When parsing a content line, folded lines MUST first
  ; be unfolded according to the unfolding procedure
  ; described above.
  ; When generating a content line, lines longer than 75
  ; characters SHOULD be folded according to the folding
  ; procedure described above.

group        = "WORK" / "HOME" / iana-token / x-name

name         = x-name / iana-token

iana-token   = 1*(ALPHA / DIGIT / "-")
  ; identifier registered with IANA

x-name       = "x-" 1*(ALPHA / DIGIT / "-")
  ; Names that begin with "x-" or "X-" are
  ; reserved for experimental use, not intended for released
  ; products, or for use in bilateral agreements.

param        = param-name "=" param-value *("," param-value)

param-name   = x-name / iana-token

param-value  = ptext / quoted-string

ptext  = *SAFE-CHAR

value = *VALUE-CHAR
     / valuespec      ; valuespec defined in section 5.8.4

quoted-string = DQUOTE *QSAFE-CHAR DQUOTE

NON-ASCII    = %x80-FF
  ; use restricted by charset parameter
  ; on outer MIME object (UTF-8 preferred)

QSAFE-CHAR   = WSP / %x21 / %x23-7E / NON-ASCII
  ; Any character except CTLs, DQUOTE

SAFE-CHAR    = WSP / %x21 / %x23-2B / %x2D-39 / %x3C-7E / NON-ASCII
  ; Any character except CTLs, DQUOTE, ";", ":", ","

VALUE-CHAR   = WSP / VCHAR / NON-ASCII
  ; any textual character

A line that begins with a white space character is a continuation of the previous line, as described above. The white space character and immediately preceeding CRLF should be discarded when reconstructing the original line. Note that this line-folding convention differs from that found in [RFC2822] (Resnick, P., “Internet Message Format,” April 2001.), in that the sequence <CRLF><WSP> found anywhere in the content indicates a continued line and should be removed.

Property names and parameter names are case insensitive (e.g., the property name "fn" is the same as "FN" and "Fn"). Parameter values MAY be case sensitive or case insensitive, depending on their definition.

The group construct is used to group related properties together. For example, groups named "WORK" and "HOME" could be used to segregate properties such as telephone number, address, etc. Displaying of groups is left entirely up to the application. Predefined groups with assigned meaning are listed in Section 12.2.1 (Groups Registry). It is possible to register new groups from IANA. Unregistered groups MAY be used and MUST start with "X-".

Each property defined in a vCard instance MAY have multiple values. The general rule for encoding multi-valued properties is to simply create a new content line for each value (including the property name). However, it should be noted that some value types support encoding multiple values in a single content line by separating the values with a comma ",". This approach has been taken for several of the content types defined below (date, time, integer, float), for space-saving reasons.

5.  Property Value Data Types

Lists of values are delimited by a list delimiter, specified by the COMMA character (ASCII decimal 44). A COMMA character in a value MUST be escaped with a BACKSLASH character (ASCII decimal 92).

Compound type values are delimited by a field delimiter, specified by the SEMI-COLON character (ASCII decimal 59). A SEMI-COLON in a component of a compound property value MUST be escaped with a BACKSLASH character (ASCII decimal 92).

Standard value types are defined below.

valuespec =  text-list
          / URI               ; from Appendix A of [RFC3986]
          / date-list
          / time-list
          / date-time-list
          / boolean
          / integer-list
          / float-list
          / binary
          / utc-offset
          / iana-valuespec

text-list = *TEXT-LIST-CHAR *("," *TEXT-LIST-CHAR)

TEXT-LIST-CHAR = "\\" / "\," / "\n"
              / <any VALUE-CHAR except , or \ or newline>
   ; Backslashes, newlines, and commas must be encoded.
   ; \n or \N can be used to encode a newline.

date-list = date *("," date)

time-list = time *("," time)

date-time-list = date "T" time *("," date "T" time)

boolean = "TRUE" / "FALSE"

integer-list = integer *("," integer)

integer = [sign] 1*DIGIT

float-list = float *("," float)

float = [sign] 1*DIGIT ["." 1*DIGIT]

sign = "+" / "-"

binary = <A "B" binary encoded string as defined by [RFC2047].>

date = date-fullyear ["-" date-month ["-" date-mday]]

date-fullyear = 4DIGIT

date-month = 2DIGIT      ;01-12

date-mday = 2DIGIT       ;01-28, 01-29, 01-30, 01-31
                        ;based on month/year

time = time-hour [":" time-minute [":" time-second [time-secfrac]]]
       [time-zone]

time-hour = 2DIGIT       ;00-23

time-minute = 2DIGIT     ;00-59

time-second = 2DIGIT     ;00-60 (leap second)

time-secfrac = "," 1*DIGIT

time-zone = "Z" / time-numzone

time-numzome = sign time-hour [":"] time-minute

utc-offset = ("+" / "-") time-hour ":" time-minute

iana-valuespec = <a publicly-defined valuetype format, registered
                 with IANA, as defined in section 12 of this
                 document>

5.1.  TEXT

"text": The "text" value type should be used to identify values that contain human-readable text. The character set in which the text is represented is controlled by the "charset" MIME type parameter. Note that there is no way to override this parameter on a per-property basis. As for the language, it is controlled by the "language" property parameter defined in Section 6.1 (LANGUAGE).

Examples for "text":

    this is a text value
    this is one value,this is another
    this is a single value\, with a comma encoded

A formatted text line break in a text value type MUST be represented as the character sequence backslash (ASCII decimal 92) followed by a Latin small letter n (ASCII decimal 110) or a Latin capital letter N (ASCII decimal 78), that is "\n" or "\N".

For example a multiple line DESCRIPTION value of:

    Mythical Manager
    Hyjinx Software Division
    BabsCo, Inc.

could be represented as:

    DESCRIPTION:Mythical Manager\nHyjinx Software Division\n
     BabsCo\, Inc.\n

demonstrating the \n literal formatted line break technique, the CRLF-followed-by-space line folding technique, and the backslash escape technique.

5.2.  URI

"uri": The "uri" value type should be used to identify values that are referenced by a URI (including a Content-ID URI), instead of encoded in-line. These value references might be used if the value is too large, or otherwise undesirable to include directly. The format for the URI is as defined in [RFC3986] (Berners-Lee, T., Fielding, R., and L. Masinter, “Uniform Resource Identifier (URI): Generic Syntax,” January 2005.). Note that the value of a property of type "uri" is what the URI points to, not the URI itself.

Examples for "uri":

    http://www.example.com/my/picture.jpg
    ldap://ldap.example.com/cn=babs%20jensen

5.3.  DATE, TIME, and DATE-TIME

"date", "time", and "date-time": Each of these value types is based on a subset of the definitions in [ISO.8601.1988] (International Organization for Standardization, “Data elements and interchange formats - Information interchange - Representation of dates and times,” June 1988.) standard. Multiple "date" and "time" values can be specified using the comma-separated notation.

Examples for "date":

    1985-04-12
    1996-08-05,1996-11-11
    19850412

Examples for "time":

    10:22:00
    102200
    10:22:00.33
    10:22:00.33Z
    10:22:33,11:22:00
    10:22:00-08:00

Examples for "date-time":

    1996-10-22T14:00:00Z
    1996-08-11T12:34:56Z
    19960811T123456Z
    1996-10-22T14:00:00Z,1996-08-11T12:34:56Z

5.4.  BOOLEAN

"boolean": The "boolean" value type is used to express boolen values. These values are case insensitive.

Examples:

    TRUE
    false
    True

5.5.  INTEGER

"integer": The "integer" value type is used to express signed integers in decimal format. If sign is not specified, the value is assumed positive "+". Multiple "integer" values can be specified using the comma-separated notation.

Examples:

    1234567890
    -1234556790
    +1234556790,432109876

5.6.  FLOAT

"float": The "float" value type is used to express real numbers. If sign is not specified, the value is assumed positive "+". Multiple "float" values can be specified using the comma-separated notation.

Examples:

    20.30
    1000000.0000001
    1.333,3.14

5.7.  BINARY

"binary": The "binary" value type specifies that the type value is inline, encoded binary data. This value type can be specified in the PHOTO, LOGO, SOUND, and KEY types.

If inline encoded binary data is specified, the ENCODING type parameter MUST be used to specify the encoding format. The binary data MUST be encoded using the "B" encoding format. Long lines of encoded binary data SHOULD BE folded to 75 characters using the folding method defined in Section 4.1 (Line Delimiting and Folding).

5.8.  UTC-OFFSET

"utc-offset": The "utc-offset" value type specifies that the type value is a signed offset from UTC. This value type can be specified in the TZ type.

The value type is an offset from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). It is specified as a positive or negative difference in units of hours and minutes (e.g., +hh:mm). The time is specified as a 24-hour clock. Hour values are from 00 to 23, and minute values are from 00 to 59. Hour and minutes are 2-digits with high order zeroes required to maintain digit count. The extended format for ISO 8601 UTC offsets MUST be used. The extended format makes use of a colon character as a separator of the hour and minute text fields.

6.  Property Parameters

A property can have attributes associated with it. These "property parameters" contain meta-information about the property or the property value.

Property parameter values that contain the COLON (US-ASCII decimal 58), SEMICOLON (US-ASCII decimal 59) or COMMA (US-ASCII decimal 44) character separators MUST be specified as quoted-string text values. Property parameter values MUST NOT contain the DQUOTE (US-ASCII decimal 22) character. The DQUOTE (US-ASCII decimal 22) character is used as a delimiter for parameter values that contain restricted characters or URI text. For example:

  EMAIL;PID=8:jdoe@example.com

Property parameter values that are not in quoted strings are case insensitive.

The general property parameters defined by this memo are defined by the following notation:

       vcardparameter = encodingparam
                      / valuetypeparam
                      / languageparam
                      / pref-param
                      / pid-param

       encodingparam = "encoding" "=" encodingtype

       encodingtype = "b"       ; from [RFC2047]
                  / iana-token  ; registered as described in
                                ; section 12 of this document

       valuetypeparam = "value" "=" valuetype

       valuetype = "uri"        ; URI from Appendix A of [RFC3986]
                  / "text"
                  / "date"
                  / "time"
                  / "date-time" ; date time
                  / "integer"
                  / "boolean"
                  / "float"
                  / x-name
                  / iana-token  ; registered as described in
                                ; section 12 of this document

       languageparam = "language" "=" Language-Tag
           ; Language-Tag is defined in section 2.1 of RFC 4646

       pref-param = "pref"

       pid-param = ("pid" "=" 1*DIGIT)

Applications MUST ignore x-param and iana-param value they don't recognize.

6.1.  LANGUAGE

The "language" property parameter is used to identify data in multiple languages. There is no concept of "default" language, except as specified by any "Content-Language" MIME header parameter that is present. The value of the "language" property parameter is a language tag as defined in Section 2 of [RFC4646] (Phillips, A. and M. Davis, “Tags for Identifying Languages,” September 2006.).

6.2.  ENCODING

The "encoding" property parameter is used to specify an alternate encoding for a value. If the value contains a CRLF, it must be encoded, since CRLF is used to separate lines in the content-type itself. Currently, only the "b" encoding is supported.

The "b" encoding can also be useful for binary values that are mixed with other text information in the body part (e.g., a certificate). Using a per-value "b" encoding in this case leaves the other information in a more readable form. The encoded base 64 value can be split across multiple physical lines by using the line folding technique described above.

The Content-Transfer-Encoding header field is used to specify the encoding used for the body part as a whole. The "encoding" property parameter is used to specify an encoding for a particular value (e.g., a certificate). In this case, the Content-Transfer-Encoding header might specify "8bit", while the one certificate value might specify an encoding of "b" via an "encoding=b" property parameter.

The Content-Transfer-Encoding and the encodings of individual properties given by the "encoding" property parameter are independent of one another. When encoding a text/vcard body part for transmission, individual property encodings are performed first, then the entire body part is encoded according to the Content-Transfer-Encoding. When decoding a text/vcard body part, the Content-Transfer-Encoding is decoded first, and then any individual properties with an "encoding" property parameter are decoded.

6.3.  VALUE

The "value" parameter is optional, and is used to identify the value type (data type) and format of the value. The use of these predefined formats is encouraged even if the value parameter is not explicity used. By defining a standard set of value types and their formats, existing parsing and processing code can be leveraged. The predefined data type values MUST NOT be repeated in COMMA separated value lists except within the N, NICKNAME, ADR and CATEGORIES properties.

Including the value type explicitly as part of each property provides an extra hint to keep parsing simple and support more generalized applications. For example a search engine would not have to know the particular value types for all of the items for which it is searching. Because the value type is explicit in the definition, the search engine could look for dates in any item type and provide results that can still be interpreted.

6.4.  PID

The "pid" parameter is used to identify a specific property among multiple instances. It plays a role analogous to the UID property (Section 7.7.7 (UID)) on a per-property instead of per-vCard basis. It MUST NOT appear more than once in a given property. It MUST NOT appear on properties that only may have one instance per vCard. Its value is a small integer. Note that the "pid" parameter's value is not globally unique, so it is possible for duplicate values to be created.

6.5.  TYPE

The "type" parameter has multiple, different uses. In general, it is a way of specifying class characteristics of the associated property. Most of the time, its value is a comma-separated subset of a pre-defined enumeration. In this document, the following properties make use of this parameter: PHOTO, ADR, LABEL, TEL, EMAIL, IMPP, LOGO, MEMBER, SOUND, and KEY.

7.  vCard Properties

What follows is an enumeration of the standard vCard properties.

7.1.  General Properties

7.1.1.  BEGIN

Purpose:

To denote the beginning of a syntactic entity within a text/vcard content-type.

Value type:

text

Special notes:

The content entity MUST begin with the BEGIN property with a value of "VCARD".

The BEGIN property is used in conjunction with the END property to delimit an entity containing a related set of properties within an text/vcard content-type. This construct can be used instead of or in addition to wrapping separate sets of information inside additional MIME headers. It is provided for applications that wish to define content that can contain multiple entities within the same text/vcard content-type or to define content that can be identifiable outside of a MIME environment.

Example:

      BEGIN:VCARD

7.1.2.  END

Purpose:

To denote the end of a syntactic entity within a text/vcard content-type.

Value type:

text

Special notes:

The content entity MUST end with the END type with a value of "VCARD".

The END property is used in conjunction with the BEGIN property to delimit an entity containing a related set of properties within an text/vcard content-type. This construct can be used instead of or in addition to wrapping separate sets of information inside additional MIME headers. It is provided for applications that wish to define content that can contain multiple entities within the same text/vcard content-type or to define content that can be identifiable outside of a MIME environment.

Example:

      END:VCARD

7.1.3.  SOURCE

Purpose:

To identify the source of directory information contained in the content type.

Value type:

uri

Special notes:

The SOURCE property is used to provide the means by which applications knowledgable in the given directory service protocol can obtain additional or more up-to-date information from the directory service. It contains a URI as defined in [RFC3986] (Berners-Lee, T., Fielding, R., and L. Masinter, “Uniform Resource Identifier (URI): Generic Syntax,” January 2005.) and/or other information referencing the vCard to which the information pertains. When directory information is available from more than one source, the sending entity can pick what it considers to be the best source, or multiple SOURCE properties can be included.

Examples:

  SOURCE:ldap://ldap.example.com/cn=Babs%20Jensen,%20o=Babsco,%20c=US

  SOURCE:http://directory.example.com/addressbooks/jdoe/
   Jean%20Dupont.vcf

7.1.4.  NAME

Purpose:

To identify the displayable name of the directory entity to which information in the vCard pertains.

Value type:

text

Special notes:

The NAME property is used to convey the display name of the entity to which the directory information pertains. Its value is the displayable, presentation text associated with the source for the vCard, as specified in the SOURCE property.

Example:

      NAME:Babs Jensen's Contact Information

7.1.5.  KIND

Purpose:

To specify the kind of object the vCard represents.

Value type:

A single text value.

Special notes:

The value may be one of: "individual" for a single person, "group" for a group of people, "org" for an organization, "location" for a named geographical place, an x-name or an iana-token. If this property is absent, "individual" MUST be assumed as default.

Example:

This represents someone named Jane Doe working in the marketing department of the North American division of ABC Inc.

      BEGIN:VCARD
      VERSION:4.0
      KIND:individual
      FN:Jane Doe
      ORG:ABC\, Inc.;North American Division;Marketing
      END:VCARD

This represents the department itself, commonly known as ABC Marketing.

      BEGIN:VCARD
      VERSION:4.0
      KIND:org
      FN:ABC Marketing
      ORG:ABC\, Inc.;North American Division;Marketing
      END:VCARD

7.2.  Identification Properties

These types are used to capture information associated with the identification and naming of the person or resource associated with the vCard.

7.2.1.  FN

Purpose:

To specify the formatted text corresponding to the name of the object the vCard represents.

Value type:

A single text value.

Special notes:

This property is based on the semantics of the X.520 Common Name attribute. The property MUST be present in the vCard object.

Example:

      FN:Mr. John Q. Public\, Esq.

7.2.2.  N

Purpose:

To specify the components of the name of the object the vCard represents.

Value type:

A single structured text value. Each component can have multiple values.

Special note:

The structured property value corresponds, in sequence, to the Surname, Given Names, Honorific Prefixes, and Honorific Suffixes. The text components are separated by the SEMI-COLON character (ASCII decimal 59). Individual text components can include multiple text values (e.g., multiple Additional Names) separated by the COMMA character (ASCII decimal 44). This property is based on the semantics of the X.520 individual name attributes. The property SHOULD be present in the vCard object when the name of the object the vCard represents follows the X.520 model.

Examples:

          N:Public;John,Q.;Mr.;Esq.

          N:Stevenson;John,Philip,Paul;Dr.;Jr.,M.D.,A.C.P.

7.2.3.  NICKNAME

Purpose:

To specify the text corresponding to the nickname of the object the vCard represents.

Value type:

One or more text values separated by a COMMA character (ASCII decimal 44).

Special note:

The nickname is the descriptive name given instead of or in addition to the one belonging to a person, place, or thing. It can also be used to specify a familiar form of a proper name specified by the FN or N properties.

Examples:

          NICKNAME:Robbie

          NICKNAME:Jim,Jimmie

7.2.4.  PHOTO

Purpose:

To specify an image or photograph information that annotates some aspect of the object the vCard represents.

Encoding:

The encoding MUST be reset to "b" using the ENCODING parameter in order to specify inline, encoded binary data. If the value is referenced by a URI value, then the default encoding is used and no explicit ENCODING parameter is needed.

Value type:

A single value. The default is binary value. It can also be reset to uri value. The uri value can be used to specify a value outside of this MIME entity.

Special notes:

This property SHOULD include the parameter "TYPE" to specify the graphic image format type. The TYPE parameter value MUST be an image media type as specified in [RFC4288] (Freed, N. and J. Klensin, “Media Type Specifications and Registration Procedures,” December 2005.). The full media type name, including the "image/" prefix, should be used. However, implementations SHOULD be able to handle bare subtypes.

Example:

    PHOTO;VALUE=uri:http://www.example.com/pub/photos
     /jqpublic.gif


    PHOTO;ENCODING=b;TYPE=image/jpeg:MIICajCCAdOgAwIBAgICBEUwDQYJKo
     ZIhvcNAQEEBQAwdzELMAkGA1UEBhMCVVMxLDAqBgNVBAoTI05ldHNjYXBlIENv
     bW11bmljYXRpb25zIENvcnBvcmF0aW9uMRwwGgYDVQQLExNJbmZvcm1hdGlvbi
     <...remainder of "B" encoded binary data...>

7.2.5.  BDAY

Purpose:

To specify the birth date of the object the vCard represents.

Value type:

The default is a single date value. It can also be reset to a single date-time or text value.

Examples:

          BDAY:1996-04-15

          BDAY:1953-10-15T23:10:00Z

          BDAY;VALUE=text:circa 1800

7.2.6.  DDAY

Purpose:

To specify the date of death of the object the vCard represents.

Value type:

The default is a single date value. It can also be reset to a single date-time or text value.

7.2.7.  BIRTH

Purpose:

To specify the place of birth of the object the vCard represents.

Value type:

A single text value.

Example:

          BIRTH:Babies'R'Us Hospital

7.2.8.  DEATH

Purpose:

To specify the place of death of the object the vCard represents.

Value type:

A single text value.

Example:

          DEATH:Aboard the Titanic\, near Newfoundland

7.2.9.  GENDER

Purpose:

To specify the gender of the object the vCard represents.

Value type:

A single text value.

Special notes:

The value "M" stands for male while "F" stands for female.

Example:

          GENDER:F

7.3.  Delivery Addressing Properties

These types are concerned with information related to the delivery addressing or label for the vCard object.

7.3.1.  ADR

Purpose:

To specify the components of the delivery address for the vCard object.

Value type:

A single structured text value, separated by the SEMI-COLON character (ASCII decimal 59).

Special notes:

The structured type value consists of a sequence of address components. The component values MUST be specified in their corresponding position. The structured type value corresponds, in sequence, to the post office box; the extended address (e.g. apartment or suite number); the street address; the locality (e.g., city); the region (e.g., state or province); the postal code; the country name. When a component value is missing, the associated component separator MUST still be specified.

The text components are separated by the SEMI-COLON character (ASCII decimal 59). Where it makes semantic sense, individual text components can include multiple text values (e.g., a "street" component with multiple lines) separated by the COMMA character (ASCII decimal 44).

The property can include the "PREF" parameter to indicate the preferred delivery address when more than one address is specified.

Example: In this example the post office box and the extended address are absent.

        ADR:;;123 Main Street;Any Town;CA;91921-1234

7.3.2.  LABEL

Purpose:

To specify the formatted text corresponding to delivery address of the object the vCard represents.

Value type:

A single text value.

Special notes:

The property value is formatted text that can be used to present a delivery address label for the vCard object. The property can include the "PREF" parameter to indicate the preferred delivery address when more than one address is specified.

Example: A multi-line address label.

        LABEL:Mr.John Q. Public\, Esq.\nMail Drop: TNE QB\n
         123 Main Street\nAny Town\, CA  91921-1234\nU.S.A.

7.4.  Communications Properties

These properties are concerned with information associated with the way communications with the object the vCard represents are carried out.

7.4.1.  TEL

Purpose:

To specify the telephone number for telephony communication with the object the vCard represents.

Value type:

A single URI value. It is expected that the URI scheme will be "tel", as specified in [RFC3966] (Schulzrinne, H., “The tel URI for Telephone Numbers,” December 2004.), but other schemes MAY be used.

Special notes:

This property is based on the X.520 Telephone Number attribute.

The property can include the "PREF" parameter to indicate a prefered-use telephone number.

The property can include the parameter "TYPE" to specify intended use for the telephone number. The TYPE parameter values can include: "text" to indicate the telephone number supports text messages, "voice" to indicate a voice telephone number, "fax" to indicate a facsimile telephone number, "cell" to indicate a cellular telephone number, "video" to indicate a video conferencing telephone number, "pager" to indicate a paging device telephone number. The default type is "voice". These type parameter values can be specified as a parameter list (i.e., "TYPE=text;TYPE=voice") or as a value list (i.e., "TYPE=text,voice"). The default can be overridden to another set of values by specifying one or more alternate values. For example, the default TYPE of "voice" can be reset to a VOICE and FAX telephone number by the value list "TYPE=voice,fax".

Example:

        WORK.TEL;PREF;TYPE=voice,msg:tel:+1-555-555-5555;ext=5555
        HOME.TEL:tel:+33-01-23-45-67

7.4.2.  EMAIL

Purpose:

To specify the electronic mail address for communication with the object the vCard represents.

Value type:

A single text value.

Special notes:

The property can include tye "PREF" parameter to indicate a preferred-use email address when more than one is specified.

Type example:

        WORK.EMAIL:jqpublic@xyz.example.com

        EMAIL;PREF:jane_doe@example.com

7.4.3.  IMPP

Purpose:

To specify the URI for instant messaging and presence protocol communications with the object the vCard represents.

Value type:

A single URI.

Special notes:

The property may include the "PREF" parameter to indicate that this is a preferred address and has the same semantics as the "PREF" parameter in a TEL property.

Example:

    IMPP;PREF:xmpp:alice@example.com

7.4.4.  LANG

Purpose:

To specify the language(s) that may be used for contacting the individual associated with the vCard.

Value type:

A list of text values.

Special notes:

The list is to be interpreted as defined in [RFC2616] (Fielding, R., Gettys, J., Mogul, J., Frystyk, H., Masinter, L., Leach, P., and T. Berners-Lee, “Hypertext Transfer Protocol -- HTTP/1.1,” June 1999.), Section 14.4, i.e. as the value of an Accept-Language HTTP header. This lets one specify preference among languages. Note that any SEMI-COLON character (ASCII decimal 59) must be escaped.

Example:

    LANG:fr,en\;q=0.9

7.5.  Geographical Properties

These properties are concerned with information associated with geographical positions or regions associated with the object the vCard represents.

7.5.1.  TZ

Purpose:

To specify information related to the time zone of the object the vCard represents.

Value type:

The default is a single utc-offset value. It can also be reset to a single text value.

Special notes:

The type value consists of a single value.

Type examples:

        TZ:-05:00

        TZ;VALUE=text:-05:00; EST; Raleigh/North America
        ;This example has a single value, not a structure text value.

7.5.2.  GEO

Purpose:

To specify information related to the global positioning of the object the vCard represents.

Value type:

A single structured value consisting of two float values separated by the SEMI-COLON character (ASCII decimal 59).

Special notes:

This property specifies information related to the global position of the object associated with the vCard. The value specifies latitude and longitude, in that order (i.e., "LAT LON" ordering). The longitude represents the location east and west of the prime meridian as a positive or negative real number, respectively. The latitude represents the location north and south of the equator as a positive or negative real number, respectively. The longitude and latitude values MUST be expressed in the [WGS84] (National Imagery and Mapping Agency, “Department of Defense World Geodetic System 1984, Third Edition,” January 2000.) reference system. They MUST be specified as decimal degrees and should be specified to six decimal places. This will allow for granularity within a meter of the geographical position. The text components are separated by the SEMI-COLON character (ASCII decimal 59). The simple formula for converting degrees-minutes-seconds into decimal degrees is:

        decimal = degrees + minutes/60 + seconds/3600.

Example:

        GEO:37.386013;-122.082932

7.6.  Organizational Properties

These properties are concerned with information associated with characteristics of the organization or organizational units of the object the vCard represents.

7.6.1.  TITLE

Purpose:

To specify the job title, functional position or function of the object the vCard represents.

Value type:

A single text value.

Special notes:

This property is based on the X.520 Title attribute.

Example:

        TITLE:Director\, Research and Development

7.6.2.  ROLE

Purpose:

To specify information concerning the role, occupation, or business category of the object the vCard represents.

Value type:

A single text value.

Special notes:

This property is based on the X.520 Business Category explanatory attribute. This property is included as an organizational type to avoid confusion with the semantics of the TITLE property and incorrect usage of that property when the semantics of this property is intended.

Example:

        ROLE:Programmer

7.6.3.  LOGO

Purpose:

To specify a graphic image of a logo associated with the object the vCard represents.

Encoding:

The encoding MUST be reset to "b" using the ENCODING parameter in order to specify inline, encoded binary data. If the value is referenced by a URI value, then the default encoding of 8bit is used and no explicit ENCODING parameter is needed.

Value type:

A single value. The default is binary value. It can also be reset to uri value. The uri value can be used to specify a value outside of this MIME entity.

Special notes:

This property SHOULD include the parameter "TYPE" to specify the graphic image format type. The TYPE parameter value MUST be an image media type as specified in [RFC4288] (Freed, N. and J. Klensin, “Media Type Specifications and Registration Procedures,” December 2005.). The full media type name, including the "image/" prefix, should be used. However, implementations SHOULD be able to handle bare subtypes.

Example:

LOGO;VALUE=uri:http://www.example.com/pub/logos/abccorp.jpg

LOGO;ENCODING=b;TYPE=image/jpeg:MIICajCCAdOgAwIBAgICBEUwDQYJKoZ
 AQEEBQAwdzELMAkGA1UEBhMCVVMxLDAqBgNVBAoTI05ldHNjYXBlIENvbW11bm
 ljYXRpb25zIENvcnBvcmF0aW9uMRwwGgYDVQQLExNJbmZvcm1hdGlvbiBTeXN0
 <...the remainder of "B" encoded binary data...>

7.6.4.  ORG

Purpose:

To specify the organizational name and units associated with the vCard.

Value type:

A single structured text value consisting of components separated the SEMI-COLON character (ASCII decimal 59).

Special notes:

The property is based on the X.520 Organization Name and Organization Unit attributes. The property value is a structured type consisting of the organization name, followed by one or more levels of organizational unit names.

Example: A property value consisting of an organizational name, organizational unit #1 name and organizational unit #2 name.

        ORG:ABC\, Inc.;North American Division;Marketing

7.6.5.  MEMBER

Purpose:

To include a member in the group this vCard represents.

Value tpe:

A single URI. It MAY refer to something other than a vCard object. For example, an e-mail distribution list could employ the "mailto" URI scheme for efficiency.

Special notes:

This property MUST NOT be present unless the value of the KIND property is "group".

Examples:

  BEGIN:VCARD
  VERSION:4.0
  KIND:group
  FN:The Doe family
  MEMBER:urn:uuid:03a0e51f-d1aa-4385-8a53-e29025acd8af
  MEMBER:urn:uuid:b8767877-b4a1-4c70-9acc-505d3819e519
  END:VCARD
  BEGIN:VCARD
  VERSION:4.0
  FN:John Doe
  UID:urn:uuid:03a0e51f-d1aa-4385-8a53-e29025acd8af
  END:VCARD
  BEGIN:VCARD
  VERSION:4.0
  FN:Jane Doe
  UID:urn:uuid:b8767877-b4a1-4c70-9acc-505d3819e519
  END:VCARD

  BEGIN:VCARD
  VERSION:4.0
  KIND:group
  FN:Funky distribution list
  MEMBER:mailto:subscriber1@example.com
  MEMBER:xmpp:subscriber2@example.com
  MEMBER:sip:subscriber3@example.com
  MEMBER:tel:+1-418-555-5555
  END:VCARD

7.6.6.  RELATED

Purpose:

To specify a relationship the individual this vCard represents has with another.

Value type:

A single URI.

Special notes:

The TYPE parameter MAY be used to characterize the related individual. The understood types are:

• "parent" means that the related individual is the parent of the individual this vCard represents.
• "child" means the opposite of "parent".
• "sibling" means that the two individuals are siblings.
• "manager" means that the related individual is the direct hierarchical superior (i.e. supervisor or manager) of the individual this vCard represents.
• "assistant" for an assistant or secretary.
• "agent" for a person who will act on behalf of the individual or resource associated with the vCard.

Other types may be registered to IANA as described in Section 12.1 (Registering New vCard Elements), and private extensions starting with "X-" may be used.

Examples:

  RELATED;TYPE=manager:urn:uuid:f81d4fae-7dec-11d0-a765-00a0c91e6bf6
  RELATED;TYPE=assistant:http://example.com/directory/jdoe.vcf

7.7.  Explanatory Properties

These properties are concerned with additional explanations, such as that related to informational notes or revisions specific to the vCard.

7.7.1.  CATEGORIES

Purpose:

To specify application category information about the vCard.

Value type:

One or more text values separated by a COMMA character (ASCII decimal 44).

Example:

        CATEGORIES:TRAVEL AGENT

        CATEGORIES:INTERNET,IETF,INDUSTRY,INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

7.7.2.  NOTE

Purpose:

To specify supplemental information or a comment that is associated with the vCard.

Value type:

A single text value.

Special notes:

The property is based on the X.520 Description attribute.

Example:

        NOTE:This fax number is operational 0800 to 1715
          EST\, Mon-Fri.

7.7.3.  PRODID

Purpose:

To specify the identifier for the product that created the vCard object.

Type value:

A single text value.

Special notes:

Implementations SHOULD use a method such as that specified for Formal Public Identifiers in [ISO9070] (The International Organization for Standardization, “ISO 9070, Information Processing - SGML support facilities - Registration Procedures for Public Text Owner Identifiers,” April 1991.) or for Universal Resource Names in [RFC3406] (Daigle, L., van Gulik, D., Iannella, R., and P. Faltstrom, “Uniform Resource Names (URN) Namespace Definition Mechanisms,” October 2002.) to assure that the text value is unique.

Example:

        PRODID:-//ONLINE DIRECTORY//NONSGML Version 1//EN

7.7.4.  REV

Purpose:

To specify revision information about the current vCard.

Value type:

The default is a single date-time value. Can also be reset to a single date value.

Special notes:

The value distinguishes the current revision of the information in this vCard for other renditions of the information.

Example:

        REV:1995-10-31T22:27:10Z

        REV:1997-11-15

7.7.5.  SORT-STRING

Purpose:

To specify the family name or given name text to be used for national-language-specific sorting of the FN and N types.

Value type:

A single text value.

Special notes:

The sort string is used to provide family name or given name text that is to be used in locale- or national-language- specific sorting of the formatted name and structured name types. Without this information, sorting algorithms could incorrectly sort this vCard within a sequence of sorted vCards. When this property is present in a vCard, then this family name or given name value is used for sorting the vCard.

Examples: For the case of family name sorting, the following examples define common sort string usage with the FN and N properties.

        FN:Rene van der Harten
        N:van der Harten;Rene;J.;Sir;R.D.O.N.
        SORT-STRING:Harten

        FN:Robert Pau Shou Chang
        N:Pau;Shou Chang;Robert
        SORT-STRING:Pau

        FN:Osamu Koura
        N:Koura;Osamu
        SORT-STRING:Koura

        FN:Oscar del Pozo
        N:del Pozo Triscon;Oscar
        SORT-STRING:Pozo

        FN:Chistine d'Aboville
        N:d'Aboville;Christine
        SORT-STRING:Aboville

7.7.6.  SOUND

Purpose:

To specify a digital sound content information that annotates some aspect of the vCard. By default this property is used to specify the proper pronunciation of the name property value of the vCard.

Encoding:

The encoding MUST be reset to "b" using the ENCODING parameter in order to specify inline, encoded binary data. If the value is referenced by a URI value, then the default encoding of 8bit is used and no explicit ENCODING parameter is needed.

Value type:

A single value. The default is binary value. It can also be reset to uri value. The uri value can be used to specify a value outside of this MIME entity.

Special notes:

This property SHOULD include the parameter "TYPE" to specify the audio format type. The TYPE parameter value MUST be an audio media type as specified in [RFC4288] (Freed, N. and J. Klensin, “Media Type Specifications and Registration Procedures,” December 2005.). The full media type name, including the "audio/" prefix, should be used. However, implementations SHOULD be able to handle bare subtypes.

Example:

SOUND;TYPE=audio/basic;VALUE=uri:CID:JOHNQPUBLIC.part8.
 19960229T080000.xyzMail@example.com

SOUND;TYPE=audio/basic;ENCODING=b:MIICajCCAdOgAwIBAgICBEUwDQYJK
 AQEEBQAwdzELMAkGA1UEBhMCVVMxLDAqBgNVBAoTI05ldHNjYXBlIENvbW11bm
 ljYXRpb25zIENvcnBvcmF0aW9uMRwwGgYDVQQLExNJbmZvcm1hdGlvbiBTeXN0
 <...the remainder of "B" encoded binary data...>

7.7.7.  UID

Purpose:

To specify a value that represents a globally unique identifier corresponding to the individual or resource associated with the vCard.

Value type:

A single URI value.

Special notes:

The type is used to uniquely identify the object that the vCard represents. The "uuid" URN namespace defined in [RFC4122] (Leach, P., Mealling, M., and R. Salz, “A Universally Unique IDentifier (UUID) URN Namespace,” July 2005.) is particularly well-suited to this task, but other URI schemes MAY be used.

This property MUST NOT appear more than once in a given vCard.

Example:

        UID:urn:uuid:f81d4fae-7dec-11d0-a765-00a0c91e6bf6

7.7.8.  URL

Purpose:

To specify a uniform resource locator associated with the object that the vCard refers to.

Value type:

A single uri value.

Example:

        URL:http://example.org/restaurant.french/~chezchic.html

7.7.9.  VERSION

Purpose:

To specify the version of the vCard specification used to format this vCard.

Value type:

A single text value.

Special notes:

The property MUST be present in the vCard object. The value MUST be "4.0" if the vCard corresponds to this specification.

Example:

        VERSION:4.0

7.8.  Security Properties

These properties are concerned with the security of communication pathways or access to the vCard.

7.8.1.  CLASS

Purpose:

To specify the access classification for a vCard object.

Value type:

A single text value.

Special notes:

An access classification is only one component of the general security model for a directory service. The classification attribute provides a method of capturing the intent of the owner for general access to information described by the vCard object.

Predefined values are:

PUBLIC:

This vCard MAY be shared with anyone.

PRIVATE:

This vCard MUST NOT be shared. It MAY be exported if explictly authorized and requested by the creator.

CONFIDENTIAL:

This vCard MAY be shared with allowed users or systems. The exact confidentiality level is site-specific and out of scope for the vCard specification.

Examples:

        CLASS:PUBLIC

        CLASS:PRIVATE

        CLASS:CONFIDENTIAL

7.8.2.  KEY

Purpose:

To specify a public key or authentication certificate associated with the object that the vCard represents.

Encoding:

The encoding MUST be reset to "b" using the ENCODING parameter in order to specify inline, encoded binary data. If the value is a text value, then the default encoding of 8bit is used and no explicit ENCODING parameter is needed.

Value type:

A single value. The default is binary. It can also be reset to text value. The text value can be used to specify a text key.

Special notes:

This property SHOULD include the parameter "TYPE" to specify the public key or authentication certificate format. The TYPE parameter value MUST be a media type as specified in [RFC4288] (Freed, N. and J. Klensin, “Media Type Specifications and Registration Procedures,” December 2005.).

Example:

KEY;TYPE=application/pgp-keys;ENCODING=b:mQGiBEbEPUsRBACBF0RSIN
 mGutdM+KSAl7HMzwXHaLbvEOyu8At80I8qGejhzWowKbfem3X0m68Y/vhb+J2g
 7q11KHpnEdNb67uZaj9nTQ09Q+UFtH25qD/Afn3+9bOJQaPjAUYzXu3vD/xmN8
 <...remainder of "B" encoded binary data...>

7.9.  Calendar Properties

These properties are further specified in [RFC2739] (Small, T., Hennessy, D., and F. Dawson, “Calendar Attributes for vCard and LDAP,” January 2000.).

7.9.1.  FBURL

Purpose:

To specify the URI for a user's busy time in a vCard object.

Value type:

A single URI value.

Special notes:

Where multiple FBURL properties are specified, the default FBURL property is indicated with the PREF parameter. The FTP or HTTP type of URI points to an iCalendar object associated with a snapshot of the last six weeks of the user's busy time data. If the iCalendar object is represented as a file or document, it's file type should be "ifb".

Examples:

  FBURL;PREF:http://www.example.com/busy/janedoe
  FBURL:FTP://ftp.example.com/busy/project-a.ifb

7.9.2.  CALADRURI

Purpose:

To specify the location to which an event request should be sent for the user.

Value type:

A single URI value.

Special notes:

Where multiple CALADRURI properties are specified, the default CALADRURI property is indicated with the PREF parameter.

Example:

  CALADRURI;PREF:mailto:janedoe@example.com
  CALDARURI:http://example.com/calendar/jdoe

7.9.3.  CALURI

Purpose:

To specify the URI for a user's calendar in a vCard object.

Value type:

A single URI value.

Special notes:

Where multiple CALURI properties are specified, the default CALURI property is indicated with the PREF parameter. The property should contain a URI pointing to an iCalendar object associated with a snapshot of the user's calendar store. If the iCalendar object is represented as a file or document, it's file type should be "ics".

Examples:

  CALURI;PREF:http://cal.example.com/calA
  CALURI:ftp://ftp.example.com/calA.ics

7.10.  Extended Properties and Parameters

The properties and parameters defined by this document can be extended. Non-standard, private properties and parameters with a name starting with "X-" may be defined bilaterally between two cooperating agents without outside registration or standardization.

8.  Synchronization

vCard data often needs to be synchronized between devices. In this context, synchronization is defined as the intelligent merging of two representations of the same object. vCard 4.0 includes mechanisms to aid this process.

8.1.  Mechanisms

Two vCards for which the UID properties (Section 7.7.7 (UID)) are equivalent MUST be considered representations of the same object. Equivalence is determined as specified in [RFC3986] (Berners-Lee, T., Fielding, R., and L. Masinter, “Uniform Resource Identifier (URI): Generic Syntax,” January 2005.), Section 6.

vCards without a UID property MAY be matched to vCards with a UID property where a synchronization engine determines there is sufficient similarity to assume equivalence. The particular strategy and criteria used is out of scope for this document.

Updates to vCards with multiple instances of particular properties MAY use the PID associated with each property to aid in determining what values have changed. Since PIDs are not globally unique, they can only be used as guidelines to synchronization engine logic. Such logic is out of scope for this document.

8.2.  Example

Two vCards are to be synchronized:

  BEGIN:VCARD
  VERSION:4.0
  UID:urn:uuid:77a01597-0603-40f3-8138-36deca8618da
  FN:Jane Doe
  HOME.TEL;PID=1:tel:+33-01-23-45-67
  HOME.TEL;PID=3:tel:+1-800-555-1234
  EMAIL;PID=1:jdoe@example.com
  IMPP;PREF:xmpp:jdoe@example.com
  END:VCARD

  BEGIN:VCARD
  VERSION:4.0
  UID:urn:uuid:77a01597-0603-40f3-8138-36deca8618da
  FN:Jane Doe
  HOME.TEL;PID=1:tel:+33-01-23-45-67
  HOME.TEL;PID=4:tel:+1-800-555-5678
  EMAIL;PID=1:jdoe@example.com
  IMPP;PREF:xmpp:jdoe@example.com
  END:VCARD

Assuming a synchronization engine is presented with the two vCards, it may decide based upon logic out of scope of this document, that both vCards are representations of the same object, and create a merged vCard such as:

  BEGIN:VCARD
  VERSION:4.0
  UID:urn:uuid:77a01597-0603-40f3-8138-36deca8618da
  FN:Jane Doe
  HOME.TEL;PID=1:tel:+33-01-23-45-67
  HOME.TEL;PID=3:tel:+1-800-555-1234
  HOME.TEL;PID=4:tel:+1-800-555-5678
  EMAIL;PID=1:jdoe@example.com
  IMPP;PREF:xmpp:jdoe@example.com
  END:VCARD

If the synchronization engine then is presented with an updated vCard such as:

  BEGIN:VCARD
  VERSION:4.0
  UID:urn:uuid:77a01597-0603-40f3-8138-36deca8618da
  FN:Jane Doe
  HOME.TEL;PID=1:tel:+33-01-23-45-67
  HOME.TEL;PID=4:tel:+1-800-555-5678
  EMAIL;PID=1:jdoe@example.com
  IMPP;PREF:xmpp:jdoe@example.com
  END:VCARD

It may use the PIDs on each property to determine that the second phone number in the sequence has been deleted. Note that there may be data beyond what is available within a vCard, such as a speed dial number, that is specific to each individual property instance, which is why providing a correlation between versions is significant.

9.  Formal Grammar

The following formal grammar is provided to assist developers in building parsers for the vCard.

This syntax is written according to the form described in [RFC5234] (Crocker, D. and P. Overell, “Augmented BNF for Syntax Specifications: ABNF,” January 2008.), but it references just this small subset of [RFC5234] (Crocker, D. and P. Overell, “Augmented BNF for Syntax Specifications: ABNF,” January 2008.) literals:

;*******************************************
; Basic vCard Definition
;*******************************************

vcard-entity = 1*(vcard)

vcard        = "BEGIN" ":" "VCARD" 1*CRLF
              1*(contentline)
    ;A vCard object MUST include the VERSION and FN properties.
              "END" ":" "VCARD" 1*CRLF

contentline  = [group "."] name *(";" param ) ":" value CRLF
    ; When parsing a content line, folded lines must first
    ; be unfolded according to the unfolding procedure
    ; described above. When generating a content line, lines
    ; longer than 75 characters SHOULD be folded according to
    ; the folding procedure described in [MIME DIR].

group        = "WORK" / "HOME" / iana-token / x-name

name         = iana-token / x-name
    ; Parsing of the param and value is
    ; based on the "name" or type identifier
    ; as defined in ABNF sections below

iana-token   = 1*(ALPHA / DIGIT / "-")
    ; vCard type or parameter identifier registered with IANA

x-name       = "X-" 1*(ALPHA / DIGIT / "-")
    ; Reserved for non-standard use

param        = param-name "=" param-value *("," param-value)

param-name   = iana-token / x-name

param-value  = ptext / quoted-string

ptext        = *SAFE-CHAR

value        = *VALUE-CHAR

quoted-string = DQUOTE QSAFE-CHAR DQUOTE

NON-ASCII    = %x80-FF
    ; Use is restricted by outer MIME object (UTF-8 preferred)

QSAFE-CHAR   = WSP / %x21 / %x23-7E / NON-ASCII
    ; Any character except CTLs, DQUOTE

SAFE-CHAR    = WSP / %x21 / %x23-2B / %x2D-39 / %x3C-7E / NON-ASCII
    ; Any character except CTLs, DQUOTE, ";", ":", ","

VALUE-CHAR   = WSP / VCHAR / NON-ASCII
    ; Any textual character

;*******************************************
; vCard Type Definition
;
; Provides type-specific definitions for how the
; "value" and "param" are defined.
;*******************************************
; **** NAME ****
param        = ""
    ; No parameters allowed

value        = text-value

; **** KIND ****
param        = ""
    ; No parameters allowed

value        = kind-value

kind-value   = "individual" / "group" / "org" / x-name / iana-token

; **** PROFILE ****
param        = ""
    ; No parameters allowed

value        = text-value
    ; Value MUST be the case insensitive value "VCARD

; **** SOURCE ****
param        = source-param
    ; Only source parameters allowed

value        = uri

source-param = ("VALUE" "=" "uri")
            / (x-name "=" *SAFE-CHAR)

; **** FN ****
;This type MUST be included in a vCard object.
param        = text-param
    ; Text parameters allowed

value        = text-value

; **** N ****
param        = text-param
    ; Text parameters allowed

value        = n-value

n-value      = 0*3(text-value *("," text-value) ";")
              text-value *("," text-value)
    ; Surname; Given Names; Prefix; Suffix.

; **** NICKNAME ****
param        = text-param / pid-param
    ; Text parameters allowed
value        = text-value-list

; **** PHOTO ****
param        = pid-param / img-inline-param / img-refer-param

value        = img-inline-value
    ; Value and parameter MUST match

value        =/ img-refer-value
    ; Value and parameter MUST match

; **** BDAY ****
param        = ("VALUE" "=" "date")
    ; Only value parameter allowed

param        =/ ("VALUE" "=" "date-time")
    ; Only value parameter allowed

value        = date-value
    ; Value MUST match value type

value        =/ date-time-value
    ; Value MUST match value type

; **** ADR ****
param        = text-param / pref-param / pid-param

value        = adr-value

; **** LABEL ****
param        = text-param / pref-param / pid-param

value        = text-value

; **** TEL ****
param        = pref-param / tel-param / pid-param
    ; Only tel parameters allowed

value        = uri-value

tel-param    = "TYPE" "=" tel-type *("," tel-type)
tel-type     = "VOICE" / "FAX" / "CELL" / "PAGER"
             / "VIDEO" / "TEXT" / iana-token / x-name
    ; Values are case insensitive

; **** EMAIL ****
param        = pref-param / pid-param

value        = text-value

; **** TZ ****
param        = ""
    ; No parameters allowed

value        = utc-offset-value

; **** GEO ****
param        = ""
    ; No parameters allowed

value        = float-value ";" float-value

; **** TITLE ****
param        = text-param / pid-param
    ; Only text parameters allowed

value        = text-value

; **** ROLE ****
param        = text-param / pid-param
    ; Only text parameters allowed

value        = text-value

; **** LOGO ****
param        = pid-param / img-inline-param / img-refer-param

value        = img-inline-value / img-refer-value
    ; Value and parameter MUST match

; **** ORG ****
param        = text-param / pid-param
    ; Only text parameters allowed

value        = org-value

org-value    = *(text-value ";") text-value
    ; First is Organization Name, remainder are Organization Units.

; **** MEMBER ****
param        = pid-param

value        = uri
    ; Any valid URI scheme

; **** RELATED ****
param        = ("TYPE" "=" related-type) / pid-param
    ; Value is case insensitive

value         = uri
    ; Any valid URI scheme

related-type = "parent" / "child" / "sibling" / "manager"
            / "assistant" / iana-token / "X-" word
    ; Values are case insensitive

; **** CATEGORIES ****
param        = text-param / pid-param
    ; Only text parameters allowed

value        = text-value-list

; **** NOTE ****
param        = text-param / pid-param
    ; Only text parameters allowed
value        = text-value

; **** PRODID ****
param        = ""
    ; No parameters allowed

value        = text-value

; **** REV ****
param        = ["VALUE" "=" "date-time"]
    ; Only value parameters allowed. Values are case insensitive.

param        =/ "VALUE" "=" "date"
    ; Only value parameters allowed. Values are case insensitive.

value        = date-time-value

value        =/ date-value

; **** SORT-STRING ****
param        = text-param
    ; Only text parameters allowed

value        = text-value

; **** SOUND ****
param        = snd-inline-param / snd-refer-param / pid-param

value        = snd-line-value
    ; Value MUST match value type

value        =/ snd-refer-value
    ; Value MUST match value type

snd-inline-value     = binary-value CRLF
    ; Value MUST be "b" encoded audio content

snd-inline-param     = ("VALUE" "=" "binary")
                    / ("ENCODING" "=" "b")
                    / ("TYPE" "=" *SAFE-CHAR)
    ; Value MUST be an IANA registered audio type

snd-refer-value      = uri
    ; URI MUST refer to audio content of given type
snd-refer-param      = ("VALUE" "=" "uri")
                    / ("TYPE" "=" word)
    ; Value MUST be an IANA registered audio type

; **** UID ****
param        = ""
    ; No parameters allowed

value        = uri

; **** URL ****
param        = pid-param

value        = uri

; **** VERSION ****
;This type MUST be included in a vCard object.
param        = ""
    ; No parameters allowed

value        = text-value
    ; Value MUST be "4.0"

; **** CLASS ****
param        = ""
    ; No parameters allowed

value        = "PUBLIC" / "PRIVATE" / "CONFIDENTIAL"
             / iana-token / x-name
    ; Value are case insensitive

; **** KEY ****
param        = key-txt-param / key-bin-param / pid-param

value        = text-value

value        =/ binary-value

key-txt-param = "TYPE" "=" keytype

key-bin-param = ("TYPE" "=" keytype)
             / ("ENCODING" "=" "b")
    ; Value MUST be a "b" encoded key or certificate
keytype      = param-value
    ; Type MUST be a media type as defined in RFC 4288

; **** X- **** non-standard type
param        = text-param / (x-name "=" param-value)
    ; Only text or non-standard parameters allowed

value        = text-value

;*******************************************
; vCard Commonly Used Parameter Definition
;*******************************************

text-param   = ("VALUE" "=" "ptext")
            / ("LANGUAGE" "=" langval)
            / (x-name "=" param-value)

langval      = <a language string as defined in [RFC4646]>

pref-param   = "PREF"

pid-param    = ("PID" "=" 1*DIGIT)

img-inline-value     = binary-value
    ;Value MUST be "b" encoded image content

img-inline-param

img-inline-param     = ("VALUE" "=" "binary")
                    / ("ENCODING" "=" "b")
                    / ("TYPE" "=" param-value)
    ;TYPE value MUST be an image media type as defined in RFC 4288

img-refer-value = uri
    ;URI MUST refer to image content of given type

img-refer-param      = ("VALUE" "=" "uri")
                    / ("TYPE" "=" param-value)
    ;TYPE value MUST be an image media type as defined in RFC 4288

adr-value    = 0*6(text-value ";") text-value
    ; PO Box, Extended Address, Street, Locality, Region, Postal
    ; Code, Country Name
;*******************************************
; vCard Type Value Definition
;*******************************************

text-value-list      = 1*text-value *("," 1*text-value)

text-value   = *(SAFE-CHAR / ":" / DQUOTE / ESCAPED-CHAR)

ESCAPED-CHAR = "\\" / "\;" / "\," / "\n" / "\N"
    ; \\ encodes \, \n or \N encodes newline
    ; \; encodes ;, \, encodes ,

binary-value = <A "b" encoded text value as defined in [RFC2047]>

date-value   = <A single date value as defined in [RFC2425]>

time-value   = <A single time value as defined in [RFC2425]>

date-time-value = <A single date-time value as defined in [RFC2425]>

float-value  = <A single float value as defined in [RFC2425]>

phone-number-value = phone-prefix 1*(SP 1*DIGIT) [phone-ext]

phone-prefix = "+" 1*DIGIT / "(" 1*DIGIT ")"

phone-ext = "ext." 1*DIGIT

uri-value    = <A uri value as defined in [RFC2425]>

utc-offset-value = ("+" / "-") time-hour ":" time-minute
time-hour    = 2DIGIT                ;00-23
time-minute  = 2DIGIT                ;00-59

10.  Example: Authors' vCards

 BEGIN:VCARD
 VERSION:4.0
 FN:Simon Perreault
 N:Perreault;Simon;;ing. jr.,M.Sc.
 BDAY:1983-02-03
 GENDER:M
 WORK.ORG:Viagénie
 WORK.ADR:;;2600 boul. Laurier\, suite 625;
  Québec;QC;G1V 4W1;Canada
 WORK.TEL;TYPE=voice;PREF:tel:+1-418-656-9254;ext=102
 WORK.TEL;TYPE=cell,voice,video,text:tel:+1-418-262-6501
 WORK.TEL;TYPE=fax:tel:+1-418-656-9257
 WORK.EMAIL;TYPE=internet:simon.perreault@viagenie.ca
 WORK.GEO:46.772673,-71.282945
 WORK.KEY;VALUE=uri:http://www.viagenie.ca/simon.perreault/simon.asc
 CLASS:PUBLIC
 END:VCARD

 BEGIN:VCARD
 VERSION:4.0
 FN:Pete Resnick
 N:Resnick;Pete;;
 GENDER:M
 WORK.ORG:QUALCOMM Incorporated
 WORK.ADR:;;5775 Morehouse Drive;San Diego;CA;92121-1714;US
 WORK.TEL;TYPE=voice:tel:+1-858-651-4478
 WORK.EMAIL;TYPE=internet:presnick@qualcomm.com
 WORK.URL:http://www.qualcomm.com/~presnick/
 END:VCARD

11.  Security Considerations

• Internet mail is subject to many well known security attacks, including monitoring, replay, and forgery. Care should be taken by any directory service in allowing information to leave the scope of the service itself, where any access controls can no longer be guaranteed. Applications should also take care to display directory data in a "safe" environment (e.g., PostScript-valued types).
• vCards can carry cryptographic keys or certificates, as described in Section 7.8.2 (KEY).
• Section 7.8.1 (CLASS) specifies a desired security classification policy for a particular vCard. That policy is not enforced in any way.
• The vCard objects have no inherent authentication or privacy, but can easily be carried by any security mechanism that transfers MIME objects with authentication or privacy. In cases where threats of "spoofed" vCard information is a concern, the vCard SHOULD BE transported using one of these secure mechanisms.
• The information in a vCard may become out of date. In cases where the vitality of data is important to an originator of a vCard, the "URL" type described in Section 7.7.8 (URL) SHOULD BE specified. In addition, the "REV" type described in section Section 7.7.4 (REV) can be specified to indicate the last time that the vCard data was updated.

12.  IANA Considerations

12.1.  Registering New vCard Elements

This section defines the process for registering new or modified vCard elements (i.e. properties, parameters, value data types, and values) with IANA.

12.1.1.  Registration Procedure

The IETF will create a mailing list, vcard@ietf.org, which can be used for public discussion of vCard element proposals prior to registration. Use of the mailing list is strongly encouraged. The IESG will appoint a designated expert who will monitor the vcard@ietf.org mailing list and review registrations.

Registration of new vCard elements MUST be reviewed by the designated expert and published in an RFC. A Standard Tracks RFC is REQUIRED for the regisration of new value data types that modify existing properties. A Standard Tracks RFC is also REQUIRED for registration of vCard elements that modify vCard elements previously documented in a Standard Tracks RFC.

The registration procedure begins when a completed registration template, defined in the sections below, is sent to vcard@ietf.org and iana@iana.org. The designated expert is expected to tell IANA and the submitter of the registration within two weeks whether the registration is approved, approved with minor changes, or rejected with cause. When a registration is rejected with cause, it can be re-submitted if the concerns listed in the cause are addressed. Decisions made by the designated expert can be appealed to the IESG Applications Area Director, then to the IESG. They follow the normal appeals procedure for IESG decisions.

12.1.2.  Vendor Namespace

The vendor namespace is used for vCard elements associated with commercially available products. "Vendor" or "producer" are construed as equivalent and very broadly in this context.

A registration may be placed in the vendor namespace by anyone who needs to interchange files associated with the particular product. However, the registration formally belongs to the vendor or organization handling the vCard elements in the namespace being registered. Changes to the specification will be made at their request, as discussed in subsequent sections.

vCard elements belonging to the vendor namespace will be distinguished by the "VND-" prefix. That may be followed, at the discretion of the registrant, by either a vCard element name from a well-known producer (e.g., "VND-MUDPIE") or by an IANA-approved designation of the producer's name that is followed by a vCard element designation (e.g., "VND-BIGCOMPANY-MUDPIE").

While public exposure and review of vCard elements to be registered in the vendor namespace is not required, using the vcard@ietf.org mailing list for review is strongly encouraged to improve the quality of those specifications. Registrations in the vendor namespace may be submitted directly to the IANA.

12.1.3.  Registration Template for Groups

A group is defined by completing the following template.

Group name:

The name of the group.

Purpose:

The purpose of the group. Give a short but clear description.

Description:

Any special notes about the group, how it is to be used, etc.

Example(s):

One or more examples of instances of the value type needs to be specified.

12.1.4.  Registration Template for Properties

A property is defined by completing the following template.

Property name:

The name of the property.

Purpose:

The purpose of the property. Give a short but clear description.

Value type:

Any of the valid value types for the property value needs to be specified. The default value type also needs to be specified.

Property parameters:

Any of the valid property parameters for the property MUST be specified.

Description:

Any special notes about the property, how it is to be used, etc.

Format definition:

The ABNF for the property definition needs to be specified.

Example(s):

One or more examples of instances of the property needs to be specified.

12.1.5.  Registration Template for Parameters

A parameter is defined by completing the following template.

Parameter name:

The name of the parameter.

Purpose:

The purpose of the parameter. Give a short but clear description.

Description:

Any special notes about the parameter, how it is to be used, etc.

Format definition:

The ABNF for the parameter definition needs to be specified.

Example(s):

One or more examples of instances of the parameter needs to be specified.

12.1.6.  Registration Template for Value Data Types

A value data type is defined by completing the following template.

Value name:

The name of the value type.

Purpose:

The purpose of the value type. Give a short but clear description.

Description:

Any special notes about the value type, how it is to be used, etc.

Format definition:

The ABNF for the value type definition needs to be specified.

Example(s):

One or more examples of instances of the value type needs to be specified.

12.1.7.  Registration Template for Values

A value is defined by completing the following template.

Value:

The value literal.

Purpose:

The purpose of the value. Give a short but clear description.

Conformance:

The vCard properties and/or parameters that can take this value needs to be specified.

Example(s):

One or more examples of instances of the value needs to be specified.

The following is a fictitious example of a registration of a vCard value:

Value:

TOP-SECRET

Purpose:

This value is used to specify the access classification of top-secret vCards.

Conformance:

This value can be used with the "CLASS" property.

Example(s):

The following is an example of this value used with the "CLASS" property:

  CLASS:TOP-SECRET

12.2.  Initial vCard Elements Registries

The IANA is requested to create and maintain the following registries for vCard elements with pointers to appropriate reference documents.

12.2.1.  Groups Registry

The following table is to be used to initialize the groups registry.

12.2.2.  Properties Registry

The following table is to be used to initialize the properties registry.

12.2.3.  Parameters Registry

The following table is to be used to initialize the parameters registry.

12.2.4.  Value Data Types Registry

The following table is to be used to initialize the parameters registry.

12.2.5.  Values Registries

Separate tables will be used for property and parameter values.

The following table is to be used to initialize the property values registry.

The following table is to be used to initialize the parameter values registry.

13.  Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Frank Dawson and Tim Howes, the original authors of [RFC2425] (Howes, T., Smith, M., and F. Dawson, “A MIME Content-Type for Directory Information,” September 1998.) and [RFC2426] (Dawson, F. and T. Howes, “vCard MIME Directory Profile,” September 1998.), as well as the following individuals who have participated in the drafting, review and discussion of this memo:

Marc Blanchet, Stephane Bortzmeyer, Dan Brickley, Chris Bryant, Dany Cauchie, Darryl Champagne, Cyrus Daboo, Lisa Dusseault, Javier Godoy, Helge Hess, Alexander Mayrhofer, Chris Newman, Mark Paterson, Julian Reschke, Peter K. Sheerin, Anil Srivastava, and Kurt Zeilenga.

14.  References

14.1. Normative References

14.2. Informative References

Appendix A.  Differences from RFCs 2425 and 2426

This appendix contains a list of changes that have been made in the vCard specification from RFCs 2425 and 2426.

A.1.  New Structure

• [RFC2425] (Howes, T., Smith, M., and F. Dawson, “A MIME Content-Type for Directory Information,” September 1998.) and [RFC2426] (Dawson, F. and T. Howes, “vCard MIME Directory Profile,” September 1998.) have been merged. Initially [RFC2425] (Howes, T., Smith, M., and F. Dawson, “A MIME Content-Type for Directory Information,” September 1998.) was intended to be extensible but only 2426 ever extended it.
• vCard is now not only a MIME type but a stand-alone format.
• A proper MIME type registration form has been included.
• UTF-8 is now the default character set.
• New vCard elements can be registered from IANA.

A.2.  Removed Features

• The group construct (i.e. GROUP.PROPERTY:...) no longer exists.
• The CONTEXT and CHARSET parameters are no more.
• The MAILER property is no more.
• The "intl", "dom", "postal", and "parcel" TYPE parameter values for the ADR and LABEL properties have been removed.
• Inline vCards (such as the value of the AGENT property) are no longer supported.
• In the N property, additional names are now subsumed into the given names list.

A.3.  New Properties and Parameters

• The KIND, GENDER, LANG, DDAY, BIRTH, and DEATH properties have been added.
• [RFC2739] (Small, T., Hennessy, D., and F. Dawson, “Calendar Attributes for vCard and LDAP,” January 2000.), which defines the FBURL, CALADRURI, CAPURI, and CALURI properties, has been merged in.
• [RFC4770] (Jennings, C. and J. Reschke, Ed., “vCard Extensions for Instant Messaging (IM),” January 2007.), which defines the IMPP property, has been merged in.
• The "work", "home", and "uri" TYPE parameter values for the EMAIL property have been added.

A.4.  Other Changes

• Synchronization is addressed in Section 8 (Synchronization).
• The N property is no longer mandatory.
• The value of TEL is now a URI.
• The AGENT property was replaced with a type of RELATED.

Appendix B.  Change Log (to be removed by RFC Editor prior to publication)

B.1.  Changes in -04

• Added "location" value for KIND property.
• Some fixes to ABNF.
• Moved "pref" from being a TYPE value to a parameter in its own right.
• Removed the "work" and "home" TYPE values.
• Reintroduced the group construct.
• Assigned meaning to WORK and HOME groups.
• Restricted the TEL TYPE parameter value set.
• In N property, removed additional names, and replaced with multiple given names.
• Removed TYPE parameter from EMAIL and IMPP properties.
• Replaced AGENT with a type of RELATED.
• Use example.org domain in URL example.
• Created initial IANA table of values.
• Defined meaning of PUBLIC, PRIVATE, CONFIDENTIAL.

B.2.  Changes in -03

• Various changes to the synchronization mechanisms.
• Allowed truncated format for dated. See issue #236.

B.3.  Changes in -02

• Removed useless text in IMPP description.
• Added CalDAV-SCHED example to CALADRURI.
• Removed CAPURI property.
• Dashes in dates and colons in times are now mandatory.
• Allow for dates such as 2008 and 2008-05 and times such as 07 and 07:54.
• Removed inline vCard value.
• Made AGENT only accept URI references instead of inline vCards.
• Added the MEMBER property.
• Renamed the UID parameter to PID.
• Changed the value type of the PID parameter to "a small integer."
• Changed the presence of UID and PID when synchronization is to be used from MUST to SHOULD.
• Added the RELATED (Section 7.6.6 (RELATED)) property.
• Fixed many ABNF typos (issue #252).
• Changed formatting of ABNF comments to make them easier to read (issue #226).

B.4.  Changes in -01

• Merged [RFC2739] (Small, T., Hennessy, D., and F. Dawson, “Calendar Attributes for vCard and LDAP,” January 2000.) in.
• Converted all foobar.com, abc.com, etc. to example.com.
• Fixed bugs in ABNF.
• Made explicit that coordinates in the GEO property are expressed in the WGS 84 reference system.
• Clarified folding issues with multi-byte characters.
• Made the value of TEL a URI.
• Added the UID parameter.
• Made the UID property's value type a URI.
• Added Section 8 (Synchronization).
• Created IANA process for registering new parameters, value types, and properties.
• Created the initial IANA registries.
• Created vendor namespace based on text from RFC 4288.

B.5.  Changes in -00

• Name change because draft has been accepted as WG item. Otherwise, same as draft-resnick-vcarddav-vcardrev-01.
• Removed reference to RFC 2234.
• Fixed errata from http://www.rfc-editor.org/errata_search.php?rfc=2426.
• Removed passage referring to RFC 2425 profiles.
• Renamed Section 7.4 (Communications Properties) from "Telecommunications Adressing Properties" to "Communications Properties.
• Added Appendix A (Differences from RFCs 2425 and 2426) and Appendix B (Change Log (to be removed by RFC Editor prior to publication)).
• Added reference to [RFC4770] (Jennings, C. and J. Reschke, Ed., “vCard Extensions for Instant Messaging (IM),” January 2007.).
• Removed the group construct.
• Made the N property no longer mandatory.
• Added the KIND property.
• Clarified meaning of TYPE parameter value for PHOTO, LOGO, KEY, and SOUND.
• Removed the CONTEXT parameter.
• Removed the MAILER property.
• Made reference to [ISO9070] (The International Organization for Standardization, “ISO 9070, Information Processing - SGML support facilities - Registration Procedures for Public Text Owner Identifiers,” April 1991.) informative.
• Removed "intl", "dom", "postal", and "parcel" TYPE parameter values for the ADR and LABEL properties.
• Clarified meaning of "extended address" ADR field.
• Mentioned [RFC3406] (Daigle, L., van Gulik, D., Iannella, R., and P. Faltstrom, “Uniform Resource Names (URN) Namespace Definition Mechanisms,” October 2002.) as another method of generating PRODID values.
• Updated obsolete references.
• Allowed BDAY and DDAY value types to be text values for fuzzy dates.
• Removed the CHARSET property. Now the encoding is always UTF-8, except when overridden by the Content-Type (which is considered a compatibility feature).

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Acknowledgement

This document was produced using xml2rfc v1.35 (of http://xml.resource.org/) from a source in RFC-2629 XML format.