How does vCard store multiple emails and phone labels more reliably than Excel?

tylerhoward1
Kilo Contributor

Thursday

Excel works in rows and columns, which limits how it handles multiple values for one contact. If a contact has two phone numbers or several email addresses, Excel usually spreads them across columns without proper labels. During export, apps can’t tell which number is mobile, work, or home. vCard solves this by using labeled fields. Each phone number and email includes a type label, such as MOBILE, WORK, or HOME. This structure is widely supported by contact apps. When using an Excel to VCF Converter like WholeClear, the mapping feature assigns Excel columns to the correct vCard labels. That’s why vCard handles complex contact details more reliably and avoids confusion during bulk contact conversion.
 
 
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pr8172510
Tera Contributor

Thursday

 

vCard is more reliable for storing multiple phone numbers or email addresses because it uses a structured data format instead of a fixed spreadsheet layout. A single vCard file can include several entries for the same field, each tagged with a specific type. For example:

TEL;TYPE=MOBILE:555-123-4567
TEL;TYPE=WORK:555-999-8888
EMAIL;TYPE=HOME:john@example.com
EMAIL;TYPE=WORK:j.smith@company.com

Because each value has a type label, contact apps know exactly how to display and organize the information. Excel does not have a built-in way to associate labels with each value, so extra numbers often end up in generic columns like Phone 1, Phone 2, etc., and that information can be lost or misinterpreted when exporting.

vCard is also a standard supported by phones, CRMs, and email clients, so you can import or sync contacts without needing custom mapping or scripts. This makes it a better long-term format for multi-field contact details.

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