Overview
Phone number types let you label each phone number on a contact (for example: Mobile, Home, Company Main). This makes it easier to understand which number is which and how it is used across Nexl and Outlook.
Instead of seeing just a list of numbers, each number now has a clear label.
Available Phone Number Types
Nexl supports a focused set of phone types that work well for everyday use and for importing/exporting data.
Examples of phone types:
Mobile
Home
Company Direct
Company Main
Assistant
Toll Free
Fax
Key behaviour
Every phone number can be assigned a type.
If Nexl can’t determine the type of a number (for example when unspecified via an import), the number is still stored, but no type is applied.
Clicking the Teams icon will start a call using Microsoft Teams (if MSTeams calling is enabled for your organisation)
Clicking directly on a phone number will call via your default browser application.
Where You’ll See Phone Number Types
Phone number types appear anywhere phone numbers are displayed or synced.
Nexl Web App
1. Contact Slide – Details
Phone numbers are shown as links.
Each number can now include the phone type (for example: “+61 4… · Mobile”).
Clicking the phone number starts a call via your browser’s calling handler.
Clicking the Teams icon starts a call via Microsoft Teams (if Teams calling is enabled).
2. Contact Slide – Header Actions
The “Copy phone number” action uses the first phone number on the contact.
That number has a type, which may be displayed in other parts of the UI.
3. Company Contacts (table)
A “has phone number” icon appears if the contact has at least one phone number.
This check is now based on the new typed phone numbers, but the behaviour is the same as before from the user’s perspective.
4. Review Contacts row
The “has phone number” indicator also uses the new typed phone numbers.
To users, the meaning is unchanged: it simply indicates that the contact has a phone number.
5. Sync Contact Preview (Web)
Before syncing a contact to Outlook, you’ll see a preview of the contact’s phone numbers.
Where space allows, each number is shown with its type, so you know exactly what will be synced.
Outlook Add‑in
1. Contact Details
Shows one or more phone numbers for the contact.
Numbers can appear on separate lines, and types are displayed where space permits.
2. Sync Contact Preview (Outlook)
When syncing a contact into Outlook, Nexl maps phone numbers into the corresponding Outlook fields (for example: Mobile, Business, Home) based on the phone type.
This helps you clearly see which number will be used as Mobile, Business, Home, etc. in Outlook.
Importing Contacts with Phone Number Types
Phone number types are part of the full import flow. When you import contacts, Nexl can take both the phone number and its type, when that information is provided.
What Your Import File/Source Should Provide
Ideally, each imported contact includes:
The phone number
The phone type, if your source has this information
Common sources:
CSV / Excel contact imports
CRM or directory syncs (via integrations)
Outlook sync (fields like Mobile, Business, Home, etc.)
Accepted Format for Phone Numbers in Imports
Nexl supports importing one or multiple phone numbers in a single field, using this format:
+123456+345678 (Mobile)+123456, +345678 (Mobile)
Rules:
If you provide a type, it must be in brackets after the number:
Example:
+345678 (Mobile)
Phone types must match one of the supported types (for example: Mobile, Home, Company Main, etc.).
Multiple numbers can be provided by comma‑separating them.Example cell value with two numbers:
+123456, +345678 (Mobile)
Error Handling & Edge Cases
Invalid phone numbers work the same way as before. They may be ignored or flagged depending on validation settings. If they are stored, they can still carry a type.
Unknown or invalid types: If an invalid phone type is provided (or the format doesn’t match the rules), the import will show an error for that column, so you can correct it before proceeding.
Exporting Contacts with Phone Number Types
Exports are designed so you can round‑trip your data: export contacts with their typed phone numbers, edit them, and then re‑import without losing type information.
Export Formats
When you export contacts (for example to CSV/Excel or via APIs):
Phone numbers are exported with both the number and its type.
When there are multiple numbers, they are comma‑separated in the same format as imports:
+123456+345678 (Mobile)+123456, +345678 (Mobile)
Round‑Tripping Your Data
If your export contains clearly separated columns or structured values for phone types (for example “Phone (Mobile)”, “Phone (Work)” or
+123456 (Mobile)), you can later re‑import that data and Nexl will recognise and preserve each phone type.Integration and API users should rely on the explicit “number + type” format instead of a flat list of numbers.
This ensures that if you export your contacts and then import them again, labels like Mobile, Assistant, Home, etc. are preserved.
Existing Phone Numbers (Migration)
If you used Nexl before phone types were introduced, all your existing data is preserved. Since there was no previous type information, the type is left blank by default.
Enriched Phone Numbers
Some phone numbers are added by automated processes, such as:
Email signature parsing
Third‑party data providers
CRM or directory syncs that add/update phone numbers
How Types Work for Enriched Numbers
When Nexl enriches or discovers a phone number automatically, it does not assign a type by default.
These numbers are saved without a type, but users can manually assign a type at any time (for example, change it to “Mobile” or “Company Main”).
What This Means for You
You may see enriched numbers without labels initially.
You can update them with the correct type whenever you have that information.
FAQ – Explaining Phone Types to Users
1. What changed?
Every phone number on a contact can now have a clear label (Mobile, Home, Company Main, etc.). This makes contact data easier to understand and use across Nexl and Outlook.
2. Where will I see phone types?
You’ll see phone types wherever phone numbers appear: contact details, company contacts tables, review screens, and in the Outlook add‑in, including before you sync.
3. How do imports behave now?
If your CSV, CRM, or directory clearly separates phone types (for example, Mobile vs Work), Nexl reads those values and assigns the matching type. You can also import multiple numbers per contact in a single field.
4. How do exports behave now?
When you export contacts, numbers are provided with their types, so you can export → edit → import without losing which number is Mobile, Home, etc.
5. What about my existing contacts?
All your existing phone numbers are preserved. You can add or update types any time.