How to Add Contact Shortcuts to Your Android Phone

Adding contact shortcuts or a folder for contact shortcuts to your Android operating system's home screen can save you time and frustration when dialing. By adding a shortcut for each frequently dialed contact to your Android phone, you can bypass the typical protocol, which often involves hitting the dial button, selecting the "Contacts" tab, scrolling to your contact and then selecting the contact, before you can even dial.

How to Add Contact Shortcuts to Your Android Phone

Press "Menu" from your home screen and select "Add," which will take you to "Add to Home screen." Select "Shortcuts." From the "Select Shortcut" menu, select "Direct dial." After clicking, you will be presented with your contact list. Find the contact you want to create a shortcut for and select it. It will appear on your home screen. Repeat for each frequently visited contact. Once finished, you need only tap the contact for your phone to dial.

If you intend to add quite a few contacts to your home screen, be sure to dedicate one of your home screens to your contacts to allow for greater ease and organization. Most Android setups, by default, have three to five home screens, which can be used for games, applications or widgets. If necessary, consider combining other functions to allow you to dedicate an entire screen to your contacts.

Alternatively, you can create a folder on your home screen and place your newly created contact shortcuts within it. This is also a great way to organize contacts, such as by lumping all of your business or medical contacts. You can also create a folder to place your games in, if you find that they are taking up too much space on your home screen.

To create a folder, click on the "Menu" button and select "Add." From the "Add to Home screen" window that pops up, select "Folders." Tap "New folder." This will place a blank folder on your home screen.

To name the folder, open it. Press down on the title bar (where you see the text "folder"). A "Rename folder" window will open. Enter the name of the folder and tap "OK."

To drag your contact shortcuts into the folder, hold down on the shortcut until it vibrates, then drag it to the folder.

You can always drag an empty folder to the trashcan to remove it from your screen.