Among the many thing your Mac is tasked to do is to facilitate you rest in hint with other mass . And the first footmark in doing so is to have some notion of how to contact them — through email , snail mail , phone , chat , FaceTime , and social networking services . The deposit for this vital information is Mountain Lion ’s impinging software . Formerly known as Address Book , Contacts is often neglect , since many multitude suppose that the job it handles is mundane . But Contacts has obliterate depths , include the ability to pull in Twitter handle and Facebook friends automatically , sync Google contacts , expose a map of a touch ’s address , and help you put faces to names .
Get rid of the leather look
Those who finger that a computer ’s speech leger need not be slathered with the feel of a substantial - world address Good Book may find Contact ’s leather musical theme tiresome . gratefully , you could dump that theme — and best of all , no Terminal is required . Just apply Fredrik Wiker ’s donationwareMountain Tweaksutility .
Launch Mountain Tweaks , select theMountain Lion Tweakstab , and click theYesbutton that appears next to the ‘ Remove Leather from Contacts ( ML ) ’ item . An installer app program will launch and take the air you through the steps for withdraw the old looking and apply a cleaner theme . When you next launch the Contacts covering , it will sporta steely - greyish theme . If later you long for the “ classic ” flavour , launch Mountain Tweaks again and clickNonext to the Contacts options ; the tool ’s installer will revert the theme to its original face .
you could use Mountain Lion Tweaks to do the same for the Calendar app too , if you ’d like a matching circle . Just get through theYesbutton that seem next to the ‘ Remove Leather from Calendar ( ML ) ’ item .
Automatically connect Twitter accounts to contacts
If you ’re on Twitter , many of your friends probably are as well . Here ’s an easygoing way to add Twitter handles to your contacts when running Mountain Lion . Launch System Preferences , selectMail , Contacts & Calendars , and , if you have n’t done so already , click the positive ( + ) button and selectTwitter . In the sail that seem , add your Twitter account by entering your username and password and then clickingSign In .
With your Twitter news report demonstrate , take it and then click theUpdate Contactsbutton . A dialogue box appear , asking whether to upgrade your striking with their Twitter grip . ClickUpdate Contacts .
OS XTC searches your contacts for any earpiece number or email addresses that match Twitter ’s user database . In a brusque time , the job is complete .
Open Contacts and take a potential contact , and you ’ll see a Twitter entry followed by the handgrip that physical contact utilise with the service . If you now click the wordTwitter , you’ll see Tweet and View Tweets options . ChooseTweet , and you’re able to direct a tweet at the contact ; if you chooseView Tweets , the Twitter app open up and shows you that user ’s Twitter flow .
Note that Twitter ’s ability to link contact information and Twitter handles is n’t always everything it could be . For instance , if one of your contacts has more than one account associated with their email savoir-faire or headphone number ( or if someone else in that contact ’s menage or business concern uses the same name and address or phone turn ) , Twitter may associate the incorrect handle with that contact . Before tweeting blindly to someone based on Twitter ’s best dead reckoning , doubled - check the hold . If you do n’t have the right one , edit that impinging ’s Twitter field to use the identity you favour .
Add Facebook info to contacts
Under Mountain Lion you’re able to also add Facebook friend to contacts . To do so , go toSystem Preferences > Mail , Contacts & Calendarsand click theFacebookentry . You ’ll be instigate for your Facebook username and password . After you enter that entropy and sign in , your Facebook acquaintance are add to Contacts . A Facebook group will look in Contacts , and any member of that grouping will have a Facebook entry within their impinging card . flick theGet Profile Photosbutton at the bottom of the Facebook entering windowpane to append your booster ’ chosen images to your contacts with identified Facebook accounts .
Sync Google contacts
If you have an spotty collection of email speech and headphone numbers scattered between OS X Contacts and Google Contacts , aid is in heap . Google recently made it possible for users to sync contacts using the CardDAV protocol , which means you could now well synchronise contacts between Google and your Mac . You have a couple of way to do that .
The first is to open System Preferences , selectMail , Contacts & Calendars , and then clickAdd Other Account(scroll down to the bottom of the leaning that start with iCloud ) . In the sheet that appears , selectAdd a CardDAVaccount , and clickCreate . In the resulting ‘ append a CardDAV Account ’ sheet , accede your Gmail username and word ; in the Server Address field entergoogle.com , and clickCreate . A Google WebDAV account will be created , and you ’ll have access to your Google contacts within the Contacts app .
you may also do this from within Contacts . ChooseContacts > Preferences , and then click theAccountspreference . Click the positive ( + ) release at the bottom of the window . In the sheet of paper that appears , support that CardDAV is choose in the Account Type pour down - up menu . Add your Gmail username and password in the appropriate field , and entergoogle.comin the Server Address Field . ClickCreate , and your Google contact will synchronize .
Click contact headings and see what happens
When you ’re look at a physical contact ’s circuit card in Contacts , one of the best way to discover the app ’s newfangled features is to render clicking the poster ’s headings . For example , if you clack theFacebookheading , you’re able to view the contact ’s profile or see the photos they ’ve posted on Facebook .
penetrate an speech head , and you ’ll see a ‘ Map this Address ’ choice that apply Google maps within your Web internet browser . Your other options here are Copy Mailing Label ( which create a formatted transcript of the name and address perfect for interpolation into a posting - label guide ) and Copy Map URL ( which sends it to the clipboard — this is the option you ’d opt if you want to netmail or text that location to someone ) .
You ’ll find some thoughtful signature obliterate in the headers . Need to make a call from across the room ? Click a sound heading and chooseShow in expectant Type . The phone number will seem on your display in case big enough to be clear from a distance .
Add images to contacts
One of Contacts ’ most overlooked feature is the ability to sum up double to your contacts . This function is helpful when you call for to remind yourself what the VP of Very Important Things calculate like before you put down a way full of standardised stuffed shirts .
The easiest way to execute this is to drag an image data file on top of a impinging ’s Image field . ( you may do so via the Finder , or haul iPhoto or Aperture images direct from your photo depository library to this field . ) If you do n’t have an appropriate double , you’re able to add a generic one : First , double - click theImagefield to produce a window that , in Mountain Lion , include default , Recents , and Camera ( if your Mac has a camera ) . ChooseDefaults , and you ’ll see the stock collection of OS X images — parrot , penguin , piano keyboard , basketball , and so on . SelectRecents , and you ’ll see ikon you ’ve recently assigned to other contacts — helpful if you ’ve assigned a “ clown ” icon to your knob and need to dish out the same treatment to the woman who feed the accounting department . If you clickCamera , your Mac ’s photographic camera becomes participating so that you could take a film and apply that photo as an image .
Regardless of how you portion an icon , you then have the ability to edit out it . If you wish well , resize it using the Size luger , and tick theEffectsbutton to add Apple ’s PhotoBooth effects to your images . When you ’ve edited an image to your satisfaction , click it and then click theDonebutton .
On occasion , icon will appear to update themselves . For example , if you ’ve added a Facebook account within the Mail , Contacts & Calendars preference and prefer to include your friend ’ visibility effigy , those images will exchange when your friend update them .
