Programming Internet Email

Version 3.0 Identification Types

The full name of a person is given with the FN type. This is one of the required fields in any Version 3.0 vCard. Its value is simply the name of the person in 8-bit text:

FN: Justin Case\, Ph.D.

The full name of a person may include title information if it is desired. Note the backslash-escaped comma in the name.

In contrast to the full name is the N (structured name) type; used to provide a structured set of components that make up the user’s name. This is also a required field. Elements in the name are separated by semicolons, some of which may be further separated by commas. The elements are:

• Family name

• Given names

• Additional names

• Honorific prefixes

• Honorific suffixes

As a complex example, try this one:

FN: Captain Sir Justin Quentin Case\, Ph.D.\, FRCS\, KB
N:  Case;Justin;Quentin;Captain,Sir;Ph.D.,FRCS,KB

Several vCard types, including the N type, allow for parsing of different naming conventions found in the world. In the West, for example, family names normally come last, whereas in the East they may come first. Structured directory types help the reader to properly parse names regardless of their origin.

Many people do not use their full and proper legal name in the course of their daily lives. The NICKNAME type allows vCards to hold such information. Whereas the FN and N types should hold a person’s legal name, the NICKNAME type can hold a familiar or shortened version or a different name altogether:

FN:        James N. Casselwary
NICKNAME:  Jim, Jimmy

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