Organise contacts with folders

Here’s the one idea that makes everything else fall into place: a folder is a saved filter, not a container. You don’t move contacts in or out. You define some conditions - “tagged VIP”, “added this month”, “missing an email” - and the folder shows every contact that matches, automatically.

Two consequences flow from that. First, membership is live: tag a new person VIP and they appear in the VIP folder the next time it loads; remove the tag and they drop out. You never maintain the list by hand. Second, a contact can sit in many folders at once (or none) - folders overlap freely, because they’re just different questions asked of the same list.

A folder takes about a minute. Every screen below is exactly what you’ll see; the pin numbers walk you through in order.

A folder’s filter is built from conditions. Each condition is a field, an operator and a value - for example Tags · is any of · VIP. You can filter on the columns the Contacts table can show, plus a few filter-only fields such as Created by, and your custom fields. The operators on offer adapt to the kind of field:

A pick-list value takes several choices at once, and “is any of” matches a contact who has any one of them. To require two things together (tagged VIP and tagged Trial), use two conditions joined by And instead.

Conditions combine on two levels, which is what lets folders express real questions rather than single rules. Here is the builder with two groups, so you can see where each And/Or lives:

• Inside a group, conditions join with the group’s And / Or. “And” narrows (must match all); “Or” widens (match any).
• Between groups, a second And / Or decides how the groups combine. Add group creates another block, and a bin icon on a group removes it once there is more than one.

The same conditions power the Filters button on the toolbar. Opening it shows whatever filter is currently applied - including the conditions of the folder you’re in - so you can tweak on the fly. The footer is where people trip up, because the left-hand button changes with context.

• Apply runs the current conditions against the list right now. It’s a preview - nothing is saved. Switch folders and back and your tweak is gone.
• Save folder (shown only when you’re inside a folder) rewrites that folder’s saved definition to match your edits and applies it. This is how you change what a folder means going forward.
• Clear (shown only on All contacts) wipes the ad-hoc filter and takes you back to everyone.

Once a folder is selected, the contacts table shows only its matches, and everything else on the page works on top of that subset. The Search by name or phone box doesn’t replace the folder - it stacks on it. So searching “tan” inside your VIP folder finds VIPs named Tan, not every Tan in the system. Sorting and your column choices apply the same way.

Because a folder is only a saved filter, deleting it never deletes contacts - it just throws away the rule. If you delete the folder you’re currently viewing, you’re dropped back to All contacts.

Starting points worth adapting. Each is just a name plus a condition or two - build them through New folder.

• A folder is a filter, not a box. You never drag contacts in - they match in or out automatically as their data changes.
• No subfolders. Folders are a flat list; there’s no nesting. Use clear names (or a shared prefix) to group related ones visually.
• Apply previews; Save folder commits. Tweaking a folder’s filter and hitting Apply doesn’t change the folder - only Save folder does.
• Search stacks on the folder. The name/phone search narrows within the current folder rather than escaping it.
• “New contact” hides inside a folder. Switch to All contacts to add someone; they’ll appear in any folder they match.
• Website visitors are kept apart. Anonymous website chatters never show in All contacts or your own folders - open the Website visitors view to find them.
• Folders are shared and unlocked. The whole workspace sees the same set and anyone can edit or delete - but deleting only removes the filter, never the contacts.