Lack of "Organization" features in contacts + no search.

[AndrewsPanda]

I'm sure this has been covered before as I found very old posts on other forums that dated back to a few years ago. However I did not find a fix for the problem nor did I see anyone say Google has fixed this yet. I am hoping I am wrong considering it is now 2 - 3 years later since they were having this problem. I am using the HTC Sensation that comes standard with Gingerbread.

I run a First aid business that deals with certain people in organizations. I want to be able to list these contacts in my address book on my HTC under their Organization names. I know if you leave the First name and last name blank it will show the "Organization" name, but then how am I meant to know who I am calling in that Organization. Ideally I need to be able to put First name, last name, organization and select it to show up the Organization name in my contact list.

If you can't flag certain contacts to show up as "Organization" then what good is using android for business. I hope someone has a solution to this.

 

[alanrizzo]

Try CompanionLink it works for me

 

[AndrewsPanda]

That app is to much for what I am trying to do. I am happy with how HTC Calender and the contacts and everything is set up. All I need is the ability to flag certain contacts to be listed as "Organization" by default or a simple way to search the contacts by Organization. I tried "Dial Fast" app which looks like exactly that however most of the contacts I am searching for aren't coming up.

 

[substring]

If you store your contacts in Google Contacts, you can group them by user-defined Labels. Besides, you can search by any field (not just first name or last name) in Google Contacts. There is no need to buy or get any 3rd party app.

 

[netarc]

I'm not a fan of this behavior either...it makes Droid needlessly hard for business users.

Hopefully ICS Wil address this lack...but in the meantime, how about using the contacts SEARCH feature to type in the org name, which should then filter for contacts affiliated with that org?

Alas, once issue (bug?) With this approach is that the search Wil only do a search of the LEADING characters in the org name. eg, if org is "Calico Confetti Company", search on calico will work, but searching on "confetti" will NOT. Rather annoying...

OTOH, a substring search of this type WOULD work if said name WA in the"first" name field....weak.

 

[No_u]

Just fill in their company name as first name and their actual name as company name. Problem solved.

 

[netarc]

Just fill in their company name as first name and their actual name as company name. Problem solved.

That's a workaround, an imo a poor one at that ... e.g., what happens, say, if the address this name v. org issue in ICS or a subsequent iteration of android, now suddenly you have a bunch of records where the first name and org are incorrect. Too, contacts will show up as "Ace Hardware Johnson" ... I gotta hope there's a better way.

 

[DavidCarr]

I just purchased my first smartphone, and was insistent on getting a 'Droid. I am happy with it, but also very sympathetic to and in agreement with AndrewsPanda and netarc's postings.

From having used a Blackberry over the past years, it shows the name of the person and then, in smaller font below, the organization. This is far superior than the ad-hoc workarounds suggested here.

I'd go one step further to suggest that it be configurable which fields are displayed as the primary and secondary fields [if secondary existed].

In short...just wanted to give this thread a BUMP!

 

[Crashdamage]

...shows the name of the person and then, in smaller font below, the organization.

xPhone does that. I'd bet some other contacts apps do too.

 

[droos]

I own an HTC Sensation 4G and have just purchased a Samsung Galaxy S3. The GS3 is running 4.0.4. The HTC is running 4.0.3. The phone book on the HTC lets me search by Organization and will list all related contacts whether anything exists in first name, last name or not. 4.0.4 on the GS3 won't. The 4.0.3 Contacts app is version 3.5.2213362750.348824. The 4.0.4 app is version 4.0.4-T999UVALJ4.

I used a Blackberry for years. It served me well. I expected the Android OS to give me at least that functionality. Android has the wow factor. I hope they catch up on the basics.

 

[Crashdamage]

With a Blackberry, you get a Blackberry calendar. With Android, it's all about choice. If you don't like the included calendar, you install one you do. If it's missing features, install one that has them.

In Android, manufacturers customize basic included apps such as the calendar or email client to suit themselves, so a Samsung is different from a HTC or a Motorola, etc. So of course your SG3 calendar features differ from your HTC Sensation calendar.