The User Directory of MessageNet Connections can be organized in many different ways. You can view other users based on their department, last name, organization, group, lists they’re a part of, or any number of other ways. But what about contacts that aren’t users in the Connections system? The contact information for non-staff is still important for any company or organization that needs to be stored for the organization so it’s not lost if someone leaves. That’s where the Personal Directory comes in. It’s part of the User Directory and can be viewed the same way as a department or a group, but those outside contacts are visible only to the user that added them. These personal contacts can be  customers, vendors, clients, personal friends, or any contact that isn’t already a Connections user. This feature allows users to quickly dial contacts from outside the Connections database, storing them just like other Connections users for ease of access and use.

To add a new personal contact, click on the ‘name’ header above the list of people’s names in the User Directory. Connections will then ask for information about that contact, beginning with first and last name and including everything from phone number to e-mail address. The contacts added in this way appear on the User Directory screen the same way as other contacts, but with a ‘P’ icon to indicate that the entry is a personal contact. The user can even add all of the same information for a personal contact as is available for defining new users. This option makes organizing contacts easier, so all contacts, whether they’re users on the same Connections system or not, can be stored in the same place.