Rich text notes are missing after exporting a contact or event
Both BusyContacts and BusyCal support rich text (formatted) notes. Rich text notes are stored in a separate field that only BusyContacts or BusyCal can read. When you export a contact as a vCard (.vcf) or an event as an ICS (.ics) file and open it in another app — such as Apple Contacts on iPhone, Apple Calendar, or Outlook — only the standard plain text notes field is included. If your notes were entered or edited as rich text, the other app will not see them.
How to tell if your notes are rich text
If the notes in BusyContacts or BusyCal contain any formatting — bold, italic, colored text, links, or bullet lists — they are stored as rich text.
How to fix it
Before exporting, convert the notes to plain text:
- Open the contact or event in BusyContacts or BusyCal.
- Click in the Notes field.
- Choose Format > Make Plain Text.
This merges the rich text content back into the standard notes field. After that, export or email the item again and the notes will carry over to other apps.
Why this happens
The vCard and ICS standards only define a plain text notes field. Rich text content is stored by BusyContacts and BusyCal in an extended property that other apps do not read. Converting to plain text puts the content back into the standard field so it is universally visible.
If you sync between multiple Macs using BusyContacts or BusyCal, rich text notes sync normally between those apps. This only affects exports to other apps or devices that do not use BusyContacts or BusyCal.