Contacts Plugin

Deprecated for Cordova 9.0 or higher.

Tested Version: 3.0.1

This document is based on the original Cordova docs available at Cordova Docs.

This plugin defines a global navigator.contacts object, which provides access to the device contacts database.

Although the object is attached to the global scoped navigator, it is not available until after the deviceready event.

document.addEventListener("deviceready", onDeviceReady, false);
    function onDeviceReady() {
    console.log(navigator.contacts);
}

Collection and use of contact data raises important privacy issues. Your app's privacy policy should discuss how the app uses contact data and whether it is shared with any other parties. Contact information is considered sensitive because it reveals the people with whom a person communicates. Therefore, in addition to the app's privacy policy, you should strongly consider providing a just-in-time notice before the app accesses or uses contact data, if the device operating system doesn't do so already. That notice should provide the same information noted above, as well as obtaining the user's permission (e.g., by presenting choices for OK and No Thanks). Note that some app marketplaces may require the app to provide a just-in-time notice and obtain the user's permission before accessing contact data. A clear and easy-to-understand user experience surrounding the use of contact data helps avoid user confusion and perceived misuse of contact data. For more information, please see the Privacy Guide .

Deprecation Notice

This plugin is being deprecated. No more work will be done on this plugin by the Cordova development community. You can continue to use this plugin and it should work as-is in the future but any more arising issues will not be fixed by the Cordova community.

Plugin ID

cordova-plugin-contacts

Adding the Plugin in Monaca

In order to use this plugin, please enable Contacts plugin in Monaca Cloud IDE.

Quirks

iOS Quirks

Since iOS 10, it's mandatory to provide usage description in the info.plist if trying to access privacy-sensitive data. When the system prompts the user to allow access, this usage description string will displayed as part of the permission dialog box, but if you didn't provide the usage description, the app will crash before showing the dialog. Also, Apple will reject apps that access private data but don't provide usage description.

This plugins requires the following usage description:

NSContactsUsageDescription describes the reason that the app accesses the user's contacts.

To add this entry into the info.plist, you can use the <edit-config> tag in the config.xml file like this:

<edit-config target="NSContactsUsageDescription" file="*-Info.plist" mode="merge">
    <string>need contacts access to search friends</string>
</edit-config>

API Reference

navigator.contacts

Methods

navigator.contacts.create
navigator.contacts.find
navigator.contacts.pickContact

Objects

Contact
ContactName
ContactField
ContactAddress
ContactOrganization
ContactFindOptions
ContactError
ContactFieldType

navigator.contacts.create

The navigator.contacts.create method is synchronous, and returns a new Contact object. This method does not retain the Contact object in the device contacts database, for which you need to invoke the Contact.save method.

Supported Platforms

Android
iOS

Example

var myContact = navigator.contacts.create({"displayName": "Test User"});

navigator.contacts.find

The navigator.contacts.find method executes asynchronously, querying the device contacts database and returning an array of Contact objects. The resulting objects are passed to the contactSuccess callback function specified by the contactSuccess parameter.

The contactFields parameter specifies the fields to be used as a search qualifier. A zero-length contactFields parameter is invalid and results in ContactError.INVALID_ARGUMENT_ERROR. A contactFields value of "*" searches all contact fields.

The contactFindOptions.filter string can be used as a search filter when querying the contacts database. If provided, a case-insensitive, partial value match is applied to each field specified in the contactFields parameter. If there's a match for any of the specified fields, the contact is returned. Use contactFindOptions.desiredFields parameter to control which contact properties must be returned back.

Supported values for both contactFields and contactFindOptions.desiredFields parameters are enumerated in ContactFieldType <6.5_contactfieldtype> object.

Parameters

contactFields: Contact fields to use as a search qualifier. (DOMString[]) [Required]
contactSuccess: Success callback function invoked with the array of Contact objects returned from the database. [Required]
contactError: Error callback function, invoked when an error occurs. [Optional]
contactFindOptions: Search options to filter navigator.contacts. [Optional] Keys include:
- filter: The search string used to find navigator.contacts. (DOMString) (Default: "")
- multiple: Determines if the find operation returns multiple navigator.contacts. (Boolean) (Default: false)
- desiredFields: Contact fields to be returned back. If specified, the resulting Contact object only features values for these fields. (DOMString[]) [Optional]
- hasPhoneNumber(Android only): Filters the search to only return contacts with a phone number informed. (Boolean) (Default: false)

Supported Platforms

Android
iOS

Example

function onSuccess(contacts) {
    alert('Found ' + contacts.length + ' contacts.');
};

function onError(contactError) {
    alert('onError!');
};

// find all contacts with 'Bob' in any name field
var options      = new ContactFindOptions();
options.filter   = "Bob";
options.multiple = true;
options.desiredFields = [navigator.contacts.fieldType.id];
options.hasPhoneNumber = true;
var fields       = [navigator.contacts.fieldType.displayName, navigator.contacts.fieldType.name];
navigator.contacts.find(fields, onSuccess, onError, options);

navigator.contacts.pickContact

The navigator.contacts.pickContact method launches the Contact Picker to select a single contact. The resulting object is passed to the contactSuccess callback function specified by the contactSuccess parameter.

Parameters

contactSuccess: Success callback function invoked with the single Contact object. [Required]
contactError: Error callback function, invoked when an error occurs. [Optional]

Supported Platforms

Android
iOS

Example

navigator.contacts.pickContact(function(contact){
    console.log('The following contact has been selected:' + JSON.stringify(contact));
},function(err){
    console.log('Error: ' + err);
});

Android Quirks

This plugin launches an external Activity for picking contacts. See the Android Lifecycle Guide for an explanation of how this affects your application. If the plugin returns its result in the resume event, then you must first wrap the returned object in a Contact object before using it. Here is an example:

function onResume(resumeEvent) {
    if(resumeEvent.pendingResult) {
        if(resumeEvent.pendingResult.pluginStatus === "OK") {
            var contact = navigator.contacts.create(resumeEvent.pendingResult.result);
            successCallback(contact);
        } else {
            failCallback(resumeEvent.pendingResult.result);
        }
    }
}

Contact

The Contact object represents a user's contact. Contacts can be created, stored, or removed from the device contacts database. Contacts can also be retrieved (individually or in bulk) from the database by invoking the navigator.contacts.find method.

Not all of the contact fields listed above are supported on every device platform. Please check each platform's Quirks section for details.

Properties

id: A globally unique identifier. (DOMString)
displayName: The name of this Contact, suitable for display to end users. (DOMString)
name: An object containing all components of a persons name. (ContactName)
nickname: A casual name by which to address the contact. (DOMString)
phoneNumbers: An array of all the contact's phone numbers. (ContactField[])
emails: An array of all the contact's email addresses. (ContactField[])
addresses: An array of all the contact's addresses. (ContactAddress[])
ims: An array of all the contact's IM addresses. (ContactField[])
organizations: An array of all the contact's organizations. (ContactOrganization[])
birthday: The birthday of the contact. (Date)
note: A note about the contact. (DOMString)
photos: An array of the contact's photos. (ContactField[])
categories: An array of all the user-defined categories associated with the contact. (ContactField[])
urls: An array of web pages associated with the contact. (ContactField[])

Methods

clone: Returns a new Contact object that is a deep copy of the calling object, with the id property set to null.
remove: Removes the contact from the device contacts database, otherwise executes an error callback with a ContactError object.
save: Saves a new contact to the device contacts database, or updates an existing contact if a contact with the same id already exists.

Supported Platforms

Android
iOS

Save Example

function onSuccess(contact) {
    alert("Save Success");
};

function onError(contactError) {
    alert("Error = " + contactError.code);
};

// create a new contact object
var contact = navigator.contacts.create();
contact.displayName = "Plumber";
contact.nickname = "Plumber";            // specify both to support all devices

// populate some fields
var name = new ContactName();
name.givenName = "Jane";
name.familyName = "Doe";
contact.name = name;

// save to device
contact.save(onSuccess,onError);

Clone Example

// clone the contact object
var clone = contact.clone();
clone.name.givenName = "John";
console.log("Original contact name = " + contact.name.givenName);
console.log("Cloned contact name = " + clone.name.givenName);

Remove Example

function onSuccess() {
    alert("Removal Success");
};

function onError(contactError) {
    alert("Error = " + contactError.code);
};

// remove the contact from the device
contact.remove(onSuccess,onError);

Removing phone number(s) from a saved contact

// Example to create a contact with 3 phone numbers and then remove
// 2 phone numbers. This example is for illustrative purpose only
var myContact = navigator.contacts.create({"displayName": "Test User"});
var phoneNumbers = [];

phoneNumbers[0] = new ContactField('work', '768-555-1234', false);
phoneNumbers[1] = new ContactField('mobile', '999-555-5432', true); // preferred number
phoneNumbers[2] = new ContactField('home', '203-555-7890', false);

myContact.phoneNumbers = phoneNumbers;
myContact.save(function (contact_obj) {
    var contactObjToModify = contact_obj.clone();
    contact_obj.remove(function(){
        var phoneNumbers = [contactObjToModify.phoneNumbers[0]];
        contactObjToModify.phoneNumbers = phoneNumbers;
        contactObjToModify.save(function(c_obj){
            console.log("All Done");
        }, function(error){
            console.log("Not able to save the cloned object: " + error);
        });
    }, function(contactError) {
        console.log("Contact Remove Operation failed: " + contactError);
    });
});

Android 2.X Quirks

categories: Not supported on Android 2.X devices, returning null.

iOS Quirks

displayName: Not supported on iOS, returning null unless there is no ContactName specified, in which case it returns the composite name, nickname or "", respectively.
birthday: Must be input as a JavaScript Date object, the same way it is returned.
photos: Returns a File URL to the image, which is stored in the application's temporary directory. Contents of the temporary directory are removed when the application exits.
categories: This property is currently not supported, returningnull.

ContactAddress

The ContactAddress object stores the properties of a single address of a contact. A Contact object may include more than one address in a ContactAddress[] array.

Properties

pref: Set to true if this ContactAddress contains the user's preferred value. (boolean)
type: A string indicating what type of field this is, home for example. (DOMString)
formatted: The full address formatted for display. (DOMString)
streetAddress: The full street address. (DOMString)
locality: The city or locality. (DOMString)
region: The state or region. (DOMString)
postalCode: The zip code or postal code. (DOMString)
country: The country name. (DOMString)

Supported Platforms

Android
iOS

Example

// display the address information for all contacts

function onSuccess(contacts) {
    for (var i = 0; i < contacts.length; i++) {
        for (var j = 0; j < contacts[i].addresses.length; j++) {
            alert("Pref: "         + contacts[i].addresses[j].pref          + "\n" +
                "Type: "           + contacts[i].addresses[j].type          + "\n" +
                "Formatted: "      + contacts[i].addresses[j].formatted     + "\n" +
                "Street Address: " + contacts[i].addresses[j].streetAddress + "\n" +
                "Locality: "       + contacts[i].addresses[j].locality      + "\n" +
                "Region: "         + contacts[i].addresses[j].region        + "\n" +
                "Postal Code: "    + contacts[i].addresses[j].postalCode    + "\n" +
                "Country: "        + contacts[i].addresses[j].country);
        }
    }
};

function onError(contactError) {
    alert('onError!');
};

// find all contacts
var options = new ContactFindOptions();
options.filter = "";
options.multiple = true;
var filter = ["displayName", "addresses"];
navigator.contacts.find(filter, onSuccess, onError, options);

Android 2.X Quirks

pref: Not supported, returning false on Android 2.X devices.

iOS Quirks

pref: Not supported on iOS devices, returning false.
formatted: Currently not supported.

ContactError

The ContactError object is returned to the user through the contactError callback function when an error occurs.

Properties

code: One of the predefined error codes listed below.

Constants

ContactError.UNKNOWN_ERROR (code 0)
ContactError.INVALID_ARGUMENT_ERROR (code 1)
ContactError.TIMEOUT_ERROR (code 2)
ContactError.PENDING_OPERATION_ERROR (code 3)
ContactError.IO_ERROR (code 4)
ContactError.NOT_SUPPORTED_ERROR (code 5)
ContactError.OPERATION_CANCELLED_ERROR (code 6)
ContactError.PERMISSION_DENIED_ERROR (code 20)

ContactField

The ContactField object is a reusable component that represents contact fields generically. Each ContactField object contains a value, type, and pref property. A Contact object stores several properties in ContactField[] arrays, such as phone numbers and email addresses.

In most instances, there are no pre-determined values for a ContactField object's type attribute. For example, a phone number can specify type values of home, work, mobile, iPhone, or any other value that is supported by a particular device platform's contact database. However, for the Contact photos field, the type field indicates the format of the returned image: url when the value attribute contains a URL to the photo image, or base64 when the value contains a base64-encoded image string.

Properties

type: A string that indicates what type of field this is, home for example. (DOMString)
value: The value of the field, such as a phone number or email address. (DOMString)
pref: Set to true if this ContactField contains the user's preferred value. (boolean)

Supported Platforms

Android
iOS

Example

// create a new contact
var contact = navigator.contacts.create();

// store contact phone numbers in ContactField[]
var phoneNumbers = [];
phoneNumbers[0] = new ContactField('work', '212-555-1234', false);
phoneNumbers[1] = new ContactField('mobile', '917-555-5432', true); // preferred number
phoneNumbers[2] = new ContactField('home', '203-555-7890', false);
contact.phoneNumbers = phoneNumbers;

// save the contact
contact.save();

Android Quirks

pref: Not supported, returning false.

iOS Quirks

pref: Not supported, returning false.

ContactName

Contains different kinds of information about a Contact object's name.

Properties

formatted: The complete name of the contact. (DOMString)
familyName: The contact's family name. (DOMString)
givenName: The contact's given name. (DOMString)
middleName: The contact's middle name. (DOMString)
honorificPrefix: The contact's prefix (example Mr. or Dr.) (DOMString)
honorificSuffix: The contact's suffix (example Esq.). (DOMString)

Supported Platforms

Android
iOS

Example

function onSuccess(contacts) {
    for (var i = 0; i < contacts.length; i++) {
        alert("Formatted: "  + contacts[i].name.formatted       + "\n" +
            "Family Name: "  + contacts[i].name.familyName      + "\n" +
            "Given Name: "   + contacts[i].name.givenName       + "\n" +
            "Middle Name: "  + contacts[i].name.middleName      + "\n" +
            "Suffix: "       + contacts[i].name.honorificSuffix + "\n" +
            "Prefix: "       + contacts[i].name.honorificSuffix);
    }
};

function onError(contactError) {
    alert('onError!');
};

var options = new ContactFindOptions();
options.filter = "";
options.multiple = true;
filter = ["displayName", "name"];
navigator.contacts.find(filter, onSuccess, onError, options);

Android Quirks

formatted: Partially supported, and read-only. Returns a concatenation of honorificPrefix, givenName, middleName,familyName, and honorificSuffix.

iOS Quirks

formatted: Partially supported. Returns iOS Composite Name, but is read-only.

ContactOrganization

The ContactOrganization object stores a contact's organization properties. A Contact object stores one or more ContactOrganization objects in an array.

Properties

pref: Set to true if this ContactOrganization contains the user's preferred value. (boolean)
type: A string that indicates what type of field this is, home for example. _(DOMString)
name: The name of the organization. (DOMString)
department: The department the contract works for. (DOMString)
title: The contact's title at the organization. (DOMString)

Supported Platforms

Android
iOS

Example

function onSuccess(contacts) {
    for (var i = 0; i < contacts.length; i++) {
        for (var j = 0; j < contacts[i].organizations.length; j++) {
            alert("Pref: "      + contacts[i].organizations[j].pref       + "\n" +
                "Type: "        + contacts[i].organizations[j].type       + "\n" +
                "Name: "        + contacts[i].organizations[j].name       + "\n" +
                "Department: "  + contacts[i].organizations[j].department + "\n" +
                "Title: "       + contacts[i].organizations[j].title);
        }
    }
};

function onError(contactError) {
    alert('onError!');
};

var options = new ContactFindOptions();
options.filter = "";
options.multiple = true;
filter = ["displayName", "organizations"];
navigator.contacts.find(filter, onSuccess, onError, options);

Android 2.X Quirks

pref: Not supported by Android 2.X devices, returning false.

iOS Quirks

pref: Not supported on iOS devices, returning false.
type: Not supported on iOS devices, returning null.
name: Partially supported. The first organization name is stored in the iOS kABPersonOrganizationProperty field.
department: Partially supported. The first department name is stored in the iOS kABPersonDepartmentProperty field.
title: Partially supported. The first title is stored in the iOS kABPersonJobTitleProperty field.

ContactFieldType

The ContactFieldType object is an enumeration of possible field types, such as 'phoneNumbers' or 'emails', that could be used to control which contact properties must be returned back from contacts.find() method (see contactFindOptions.desiredFields), or to specify fields to search in (through contactFields parameter). Possible values are:

navigator.contacts.fieldType.addresses
navigator.contacts.fieldType.birthday
navigator.contacts.fieldType.categories
navigator.contacts.fieldType.country
navigator.contacts.fieldType.department
navigator.contacts.fieldType.displayName
navigator.contacts.fieldType.emails
navigator.contacts.fieldType.familyName
navigator.contacts.fieldType.formatted
navigator.contacts.fieldType.givenName
navigator.contacts.fieldType.honorificPrefix
navigator.contacts.fieldType.honorificSuffix
navigator.contacts.fieldType.id
navigator.contacts.fieldType.ims
navigator.contacts.fieldType.locality
navigator.contacts.fieldType.middleName
navigator.contacts.fieldType.name
navigator.contacts.fieldType.nickname
navigator.contacts.fieldType.note
navigator.contacts.fieldType.organizations
navigator.contacts.fieldType.phoneNumbers
navigator.contacts.fieldType.photos
navigator.contacts.fieldType.postalCode
navigator.contacts.fieldType.region
navigator.contacts.fieldType.streetAddress
navigator.contacts.fieldType.title
navigator.contacts.fieldType.urls