# Create a contact

Create a contact, add communication details, or find an existing contact.

## Create and locate a contact

A contact is a person's identity, account relationship, communication channels, attached files,
and change history kept together in PAMS's shared contact database.

| If you need to… | Go to |
|---|---|
| Start a new contact | [Find a contact](#find-a-contact) |
| Review the fields before entering information | [Understand the contact information](#understand-the-contact-information) |
| Add phone, email, or other channels | [Enter contact details](#enter-contact-details) |
| Save the contact | [Save the contact](#save-the-contact) |
| Open a saved contact | [Contact record](doc:contact-record) |
| Review the Contacts list | [Contacts](doc:contacts-overview) |
| Create the related account | [Create an account](doc:create-account) |
| Work with attached files | [Libraries and files](doc:libraries-files) |

## Before you start

Choose an entry point:

| Entry point | Use it to… |
|---|---|
| Contacts list | View contacts, start a new contact, or select an existing contact. |
| New-contact form | Enter a new contact. |
| Saved contact | Open an existing contact. |

The Contacts list shows **New** only when your account has permission to add contacts and the
Contacts feature is available to your subscription. The contact form shows **Save** and
**Save and Close** only when you have permission to create or edit the contact, the form is not
read-only, and it contains a change.

The new-contact and edit-contact pages require you to be signed in. Leaving either page with
unsaved changes can trigger an unsaved-change warning.

Have the following information ready:

| Have ready | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| The person's name | **Name** is required. |
| The related account | **Account** is required before the contact can be saved. |
| Any phone, fax, mobile, email, website, online-support, or comment information | These values become optional communication rows. |

> **Note:** Enter the related account before you save the contact because **Account** is required.

## Find a contact

The Contacts list is the place to start a new contact or open a saved contact from its row.

**Prerequisites**

- You have access to the Contacts feature.
- You know whether you are creating a contact or opening one that already exists.

**Steps**

1. Open the Contacts list.
2. Choose the path that matches your task:

   | If you need to… | Action and next screen |
   |---|---|
   | Create a contact | Select **New**. The contact form opens in the **Add New Contact** popup. |
   | Open a saved contact | Select the contact's row. Continue in the contact record. |

   ![The Contacts list and the **Add New Contact** form opened from **New**](https://atloriaassets.blob.core.windows.net/assets/a438221c-c1af-407c-b9e6-a56c986db846/0a3104f8f114139168b98a8824b8031e.png)

The Contacts list shows these columns:

| Column | Use it to… |
|---|---|
| **Title** | Read the person's title. |
| **Name** | Identify the contact. |
| **Position** | Read the person's position. |
| **Department** | Read the person's department. |
| **Account** | Identify the related account. |
| **Branch** | Identify the branch. |

**Result:** The new-contact form or the selected saved contact is open.

## Understand the contact information

The contact form records the person's identity, the account relationship, and optional ways to
communicate with the person.

| Field | What to enter | Required |
|---|---|---:|
| **Title** | The person's title. | No |
| **Name** | The person's name. | Yes |
| **Position** | The person's position. | No |
| **Department** | The person's department. | No |
| **Account** | The related account. | Yes |

For a new contact, **Name** uses an autocomplete control. For an existing contact, **Name** uses
a text control.

Choose the related account in **Account**.

The form also contains **Contact Details**. Selecting a detail type adds a row for that channel;
the row is not present before a detail type is selected.

## Enter contact details

Enter the contact’s identity and communication details.

**Prerequisites**

- You have opened the contact form.
- You have the person's name and related account ready.

**Steps**

1. Enter the person's name in **Name**.
2. Select the related account in **Account**.
3. Enter any available values in **Title** and **Position**.
4. Select **Contact Details**.

   ![The contact-detail choices available after selecting **Contact Details**](https://atloriaassets.blob.core.windows.net/assets/a438221c-c1af-407c-b9e6-a56c986db846/dda089885e1315fc4f7f815905910fcc.png)

5. Select the detail type that you want to add:

   | If you need to add… | Select |
   |---|---|
   | A telephone number | **Phone** |
   | A fax number | **Fax** |
   | A mobile number | **Mobile** |
   | An email address | **Email** |
   | A website | **Website** |
   | Online support information | **Online Support** |
   | A note about the person | **Comments** |

6. Enter the value in the new row.

   - **Phone**, **Fax**, and **Mobile** accept a maximum of 20 characters and filter key input.
   - If the email value is invalid, the field displays `Email is invalid`.

7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for each additional contact channel.

   ![The **Phone** row added to the contact form](https://atloriaassets.blob.core.windows.net/assets/a438221c-c1af-407c-b9e6-a56c986db846/ba030341e14f5238e2d214cb6e3d1a81.png)

**Result:** The contact form contains the person's identity, related account, and the contact-detail
rows you selected.

## Save the contact

Save after entering the required identity and account information. The form checks its required
and pattern rules before saving.

**Prerequisites**

- **Name** contains a value.
- **Account** contains a related account.
- The form is editable and has a change.

**Steps**

1. Choose the save action that matches what you want to do:

   | If you want to… | Select |
   |---|---|
   | Save and continue working in the contact form | **Save** |
   | Save and leave the contact form | **Save and Close** |

2. Check for the success message `Contact saved successfully` after a successful non-popup save.

   ![The **Save** and **Save and Close** actions on the contact form](https://atloriaassets.blob.core.windows.net/assets/a438221c-c1af-407c-b9e6-a56c986db846/0790e0e97ff8f139545a7f2c270320ea.png)

**Result:** After a successful non-popup save, `Contact saved successfully` appears.

## Handle contact variations

The contact form can be opened as a full page, in a popup, or in read-only mode. The available
actions change with that context.

**Prerequisites**

- You have opened the contact form.
- You know which contact variation applies to your work.

**Steps**

1. Choose the situation that matches your work:

   | If you… | Do this |
   |---|---|
   | Need a related account | Choose the related account in **Account**. |
   | Need a vendor relationship | Enter the vendor name in **Vendor Name**. |
   | Are working in a read-only form | Review the contact without changing its fields. |
   | Need attached files | Select **Attachment**. |
   | Need change history | Select **Last Modifications**. |
   | Need the person's name in a contact popup | Enter it in **Name**. |
   | Need the related account in a contact popup | Choose it in **Account**. |
   | Need a communication row in a contact popup | Select **Contact Details**. |

2. In a popup, select **Ok** after the required values are present.

   The account popup displays `Name is required` when its required name field is empty. The vendor
   popup displays `This field is required` when **Vendor Name** is empty.

**Result:** The applicable contact variation is complete, or the existing contact's **Attachment**
or **Last Modifications** screen is open.

When you save from a popup, the popup form is cleared after the saved contact is returned.

## When contact saving goes wrong

Use the message you see to locate the correction.

| Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| `This Field Is Required` | **Name** is empty. | Enter a name in **Name**. |
| `Account is Required` | **Account** is empty. | Select the related account in **Account**. |
| `Just '_'‘-''.' And '&' Characters Accepted` | The name contains a character outside the accepted pattern. | Edit **Name** and remove the unsupported character. |
| `Email is invalid` | The email value does not pass email validation. | Correct the value in the **Email** row. |
| `You already have a contact with this name` | A matching contact name was found during name checking. | Change **Name** or select the matching existing contact instead. |
| `Error: This Contact Name Already Exists` | The save response reports a duplicate contact name. | Change **Name** and save again. |
| `Error: Server Error` | The save response reports a server error. | Check the values, then select **Save** again. |

The complete application message catalogue is maintained in [General error messages](doc:general-error-messages).

## After saving

After a successful save, continue with the saved contact in the Contacts list or open its contact
record. Use [Contacts](doc:contacts-overview) to locate contacts and [Contact record](doc:contact-record)
to inspect the saved record.

For an existing contact, **Attachment** opens attached-file work and **Last Modifications** opens
the change-history work. Use [Libraries and files](doc:libraries-files) for file operations.