Access your contacts

The Special menu lets you have your contacts always to hand, so that you can call phone numbers, create email messages, view social network profiles, invite contacts to a chat, map addresses, or create vCards without having to open the Contacts application.

To look up contact information:

Display the Special menu and select the Contacts item.

  • To display a phone number in large type to make it easier to see while dialing, select the phone number in the Contacts submenu. Click anywhere on the screen to stop displaying the number.

  • To create a pre-addressed email message, select the email address in the Contacts submenu.

  • To call a phone with Skype, select the phone number in the Contacts submenu and choose Call with Skype.

  • To send a SMS to a phone with Skype, select the phone number in the Contacts submenu and choose Send SMS with Skype.

  • To call a contact using FaceTime, select his or her phone number or email address in the Contacts submenu and choose FaceTime.

  • To send a text message to a contact using iMessage, select his or her phone number or email address in the Contacts submenu and choose Send Message.

  • To invite a contact to a video, audio or text chat, select his or her screen name in the Contacts submenu.

  • To visit a home page or URL, select it in the Contacts submenu.

  • To view a social network profile, select the user name in the Contacts submenu.

  • To display a map that shows the location of a contact’s address, select the address in the Contacts submenu.

    If you prefer to display the map in Google Maps, hold down the Option key while showing the Contacts submenu and choose Open in Google Maps.

  • To copy an address as a mailing label so that you can paste it in an application, select the address in the Contacts submenu and choose Copy Address.

  • To copy the URL of a map that shows the location of a contact’s address so that you can paste it in your browser, select the address in the Contacts submenu and choose Copy Map URL.

    If you prefer to copy the Google Maps URL, hold down the Option key while showing the Contacts submenu and choose Copy Google Maps URL.

  • To view birthdays, lunar birthdays, anniversaries or other important dates, related or maiden names, and notes, select a contact and display the More Info submenu.

  • To open the Contacts application, choose Contacts from the Special menu.

  • To show a contact in Contacts, choose it from the Contacts submenu.

  • To edit a contact, select it and choose Edit Card.

  • To create a contact’s virtual address card (vCard), select the contact and choose Export vCard.

If you do not see the Contacts item in the Special menu, you may need to add it to the menu. Open the Application Wizard pane in System Preferences, click Menus, and click the Customize Menus button. In the dialog that appears, click Special. Click the Add (+) button at the bottom of the list and choose Contacts to add the item to the menu.

If cards are unavailable after having imported a Contacts archive, turn Application Wizard off and on again to display them.

If Application Wizard has no access to your contacts, open the Security & Privacy pane in System Preferences, click Privacy, select Contacts, and select the checkbox next to Application Wizard.