Q: I have an iPod mini and I want to put my contacts on it. I already put them into Microsoft’s Address Book and put them in the iPod’s “Contacts” folder using Windows Explorer, but they don’t show up on my iPod.
Please help me!
– Chloe
A: You’re quite close! The iPod indeed reads contacts from its “Contacts” folder, and you’re correct that you’re supposed to manually place them there. However, you need to first be sure that the contacts files are in standard vCard format. Most modern address book programs offer an option to “Export to vCard.” Do this, then move those files to the “Contacts” folder as you did before.
Alternatively, there are some utilities that can help you along the way. iPodAgent, for example is a $15.00 utility that will (among many other things) automatically export your contacts, calendar, and tasks from Microsoft Outlook to your iPod.
Check our Software section for other options.