A MeCard representation is more compact than a vCard. As a QR Code is growing due to it’s coding content this makes MeCard format more popular for 2D encoding.
What’s inside the MeCard?
The first characters (‘MECARD:’) tells the decoding software the type of encrypted data.
Then you can specify your address information. Note, that no field is compulsory, it’s is possible to skip fields or repeat each field. However, your decoding app will be accept more than one phone number but it could cause problems to set multiple names.
The data fields are as follows:
| Property | Description and specification |
|---|---|
| N: | contact name (designated as text string OR if comma separated: LASTNAME, FIRSTNAME) |
| SOUND: | contact name in Japanese(Kana), same specs as N: |
| TEL: | phone number |
| TEL-AV: | videophone number |
| EMAIL: | eMail address |
| NOTE: | memo text |
| BDAY: | birthday (YYYMMDD) |
| ADR: | address (designated as text string OR if comma separated in order: PO BOX, ROOM NO., HOUSE NO., CITY, PREFECTURE, ZIP CODE, COUNTRY) |
| URL: | website |
| NICKNAME: | display name |
Full specifications and compatibility information are available at:
http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/service/developer/make/content/barcode/function/application/addressbook/index.html
Now the data fields are concatenated, each separated with a semicolon.
The resulting MeCard can look like:
-
MECARD:
NICKNAME: EVE;
TEL:+1111111111;
TEL:+2222222222;
EMAIL:kk@EVEnX.com;
URL:http://www.evenx.com;
If you take the time to look deeper into the code you can see the potential problems with the MeCard format. There is no indication, which type a phone number is, and so the reading app cannot distinguish between WORK, MOBILE, FAX and HOME. That’s why they could be all set as standard numbers and you have to manually set them to the right type after reading.
Coming next: What is a vCard?
