Windows Contacts
| Windows Contacts | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Contacts folder inside Windows Explorer, showing example contacts. | |
| Developer | Microsoft |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows |
| Predecessor | Windows Address Book |
| Successor | People |
| Website | windowshelp |
| Windows Contacts | |
|---|---|
| Filename extension |
.contact |
| Internet media type |
text/x-ms-contact |
| Developed by | Microsoft |
| Type of format | electronic business card |
| Container for | contact information |
| Extended from | XML |
| Website | Windows Contacts |
Windows Contacts is a legacy special folder used for contact management that is included in Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, and Windows 11. It replaced but retains most of the functionality of Windows Address Book and works with Windows Live Mail and the Vista version of Windows Mail for legacy purposes.
Windows Contacts uses an XML-based schema format. Each contact appears as an individual .contact file, in which custom information including pictures can be stored. Windows Contacts features extensibility APIs for integration with other applications and for storing custom information. The legacy *.wab format and the open standards *.vcf (vCard) and *.csv (CSV) are also supported.
Although it's incompatible with and functionally replaced by the newer People app and then later by Outlook for Windows, the folder still exists in the latest versions of Windows for backwards compatibility.