CL Phone Format settings

[dim4x4]

Hi!

I'm about to test direct sync from Outlook 2010 to Android via USB, but I need to understand a few things re phone formatting.

1. What is exactly US formatting? If this option is ticked and if the phone in Outlook is +1 (234) 5678910 how will it look on device? What if the phone is +447812345678, will it look like +44 (78) 12345678 on device if US formatting is chosen?

2. What does ticking "Format phone text for Windows Mobile devices" do?

All my Outlook contacts are in this format "+country code (city code) phone number x extension" an I'd like to keep them like that on the phone. For example +44 (78) 12345678 x 1234 is a UK phone example.

Thank you!

[McLion]

If you like all the phone numbers untouched - as I do - I suggest to untick all the options and clear the country code field as well.
The country code field will re-fill itself with a 1 if you reopen the dialog, which is a bug IMHO. However, if it is empty when you click OK, it works as designed.
Search the forum for more detailed explanation of the various settings. There are some posts from Thomas that explain in more details.

[dim4x4]

Thank ou for responce! However when I try searching for "Format phone text for Windows Mobile" it gives me no results. Could you please point me to the relevant threads? Thanks again!

[McLion]

Copied from a thread answered by Thomas:

Regarding international Phone dialing codes please use this article to configure COmpanionLink:
[AB42741] The Phone Format options allow you to customize the way that phone numbers synchronize between your contact manager and your handheld device. You can access these options in CompanionLink Settings/Advanced Settings/Phone Format tab.

Here is a description of each option:

Use US formatting for phone numbers:
If this option is checked, any 10-digit phone numbers in your contact manager will synchronize to your handheld device using the US phone number format (###)###-####.

Automatically include extensions:
If this option is checked, telephone extensions will be synchronized along with phone numbers. Extensions will be denoted by the symbol specified in the "Symbol to use for extensions" field (see below).

Clear leading zero on phone numbers:
In many phone numbers outside North America, a "0" digit immediately following the country code is used as a national direct dialing prefix. In some contexts it may be desirable to remove this "leading 0" when synchronizing to your handheld device. This can be facilitated by checking the "Clear leading zero on phone numbers" option.

If "Clear leading zero on phone numbers" is checked, any phone number in your contact manager that includes a leading "0" AND has a country code that does not match your local country code (see below) will synchronize to your handheld device with the leading "0" omitted. Conversely, any phone number in your contact manager that includes a leading "0" AND has a country code that matches your local country code will synchronize to your handheld device with the leading "0" included.

Example without matching local country code:
Phone number in contact manager: +44 03141592653
Local Country code: 33
Synchronizes to handheld device as: +44 3141592653

Example with matching local country code:
Phone number in contact manager: +44 03141592653

Local Country code: 44
Synchronizes to handheld device as: 03141592653
(NOTE: In this example, the leading "0" is preserved and the local country code is removed. See "Local Country Code" below for more information).

Symbol to use for extensions:
If the "Automatically include extensions" option is checked, any telephone extensions synchronized to your handheld device will be denoted by the symbol specified here.

Local Country Code:
Any phone number in your contact manager with a country code that matches the local country code specified in this field will be synchronized to your handheld device with the country code omitted. Conversely, any phone number in your contact manager with a country code that does not match the local country code specified in this field will be synchronized to your handheld device with the country code included.

Example without matching local country code:
Phone number in contact manager: +49 66 2606 8
Local Country code: 31
Synchronizes to handheld device as: +49 66 2606 8

Example with matching local country code:
Phone number in contact manager: +49 66 2606 8
Local Country code: 49
Synchronizes to handheld device as: 66 2606 8

Sync All Country Codes:
Selecting this option disables the local country code and does not allow you enter a local country code. This function replaces the need to put 9999 for local country code.


HTH
McL

[McLion]

.. in addition, look here ..

[dim4x4]

Thank you!

[Thomas]

.. in addition, look here ..

McLion,

Thanks for helping on this one, and giving me a heads up up about your post.

[Ninetrees]

Well..seriously offended customer here...I simply hate it when some company figures that IT knows better than I do what my data should look like, and WITHOUT WARNING, changes it. OK, all those reading this who think that its OK to actually THINK about how you want your phone numbers to look and then have CompanionLink muck with them, raise your hands...anyone? I got here only AFTER having all my phone numbers changed without my knowing, and when I discovered it, I was already into the future where recovering a backup would mean losing recent data. I looked for HELP on what CL thought it was doing with MY phone numbers, but none to be found. I am here because I think that it is CL's responsibility to write a routine to restore my phone numbers to my format. Changing someone's data format BY DEFAULT...what are you people thinking? Are you thinking? Or are you so arrogant that you imagine that there is only one way to conduct business...the way you learned in high school. Grow up and join the adult world. I now must live w all the changed data OR spend hours changing my formats to my preference. US format? Get a grip folks, you are way out of touch. I don't often write angry posts, but I am so angry at the way you have treated my data without notification. It shows such contempt for your customers.

[McLion]

@Ninetrees
I understand your anger ... have been there with HTCsync software.
However, with CL I am confident something in your setup was not set right. I have my own number format as well, which is very different from the US format. CL never changed any of the numbers on its own. I'd like to point out that it would, if it's not setup correctly. It' important to go through the setup screens as it is with every piece of software before letting it touch your data.

[Ninetrees]

Yes, there WAS something wrong with my setup. It was the product of a) the folks @ CL who thought that there way of doing business was so much better than mine that they would AUTOMATICALLY change my formats and NOT TELL ME, presumably because I was too stupid to understand this complex issue, b) the setting is buried in Advanced Settings (you know, the place you find stuff that experienced power users tinker with when they are comfortable with the product, and c) my failure to actually consider the ADVANCED SETTINGS when I had only just begun to use the product. ALL THOSE OPTIONS SHOULD BE TURNED OFF WHEN THE PRODUCT IS DELIVERED. I would NEVER turn on such an option. In fact, it seems that another option to format phone numbers for "Windows Mobile" is also enabled, BUT THERE DOESN'T SEEM TO BE ANY HELP REFERENCE TO WHAT THAT MEANS...and a web search for the phrase came up empty. So while I appreciate that you didn't have the same problem that I have, a quick search of the web indicates that I am not alone AND, I opine, "through the setup screens" is EXACTLY what I did..."setup" to me doesn't mean "Advanced Settings." Were I supposed to consider those "advanced settings," I'd expect to have to answer questions and approve settings during installation, and I did not. My company is a software engineering company, and we would not have clients loyal to us for the past 20 years if we turned out products like this. And this is not even a complicated piece of software. The problem is that the developers decided to change formats by default EVEN THOUGH THERE IS NO BASIS FOR DOING SO, and then buried the option.

[Thomas]

Ninetrees,

I read this thread twice and had a co-worker read again and neither of us can discern a specific condition mentioned that we can address.

I get you upset. Is there something concrete about the CompanionLink default settings that we can assist you with?

[rfo]

I had a similar issue to the one faced by Ninetrees. I have my way of recording numbers: +AA-BB-CCCCCCC, where A=country code, B=area code, C=local number. All the "+" of my international dialling codes disappeared after my first sync. I had to manually put them back in my contacts, great fun !

Like Ninetrees, I find the advanced settings regarding phone formatting unclear. You can only find out through trial and error, which is too dangerous when it comes to your sole contact database. So I changed my settings to sync only one-way (from Android to Outlook only, since my phone is my primary database) to avoid overrides, and tried several options, checking and unchecking boxes.

My "+" phone numbers in Android contacts are now stable, but they still show without "+" in Outlook after synching, whichever option I choose in advanced settings. Why ? Until this is resolved I'm not confident about going back to two-way synching again.