iPhone: The Missing Manual, 2nd Edition

Editing the Contacts List

Remember that there are four ways to dial: Favorites, Recents, Contacts, and Keypad.

The Contacts list is the source from which all other lists spring. That's probably why it's listed twice: once with its own button on the Home screen, and again at the bottom of the Phone application.

Contacts is your address book—your master phone book. Every cellphone has a Contacts list, of course, but the beauty of the iPhone is that you don't have to type in the phone numbers one at a time. Instead, the iPhone sucks in the entire phone book from your Mac or PC (Chapter 13) or MobileMe (Chapter 14).

Tip

Actually, it can slurp in your phone list from the SIM card of an older GSM cellphone, too. See Calendar.

It's infinitely easier to edit your address book on the computer, where you have an actual keyboard and mouse. The iPhone also makes it very easy to add someone's contact information when they call, email, or send a text message to your phone, thanks to a prominent Add to Contacts button.

But if, in a pinch, on the road, at gunpoint, you have to add, edit, or remove a contact manually, here's how to do it.

1. On the Contacts screen, tap the button. You arrive at the New Contact screen, which teems with empty boxes.

   Note

   Many computer address book programs, including Mac OS X's Address Book, let you place your contacts into groups—subsets like Book Club or Fantasy League Guys. ...