PhoneView Manual
PhoneView Manual
PhoneView Manual
Product Manual
PhoneView is a Mac application for accessing iPhone, iPad or iPod touch iMessages, SMS/MMS, WhatsApp messages, recent
calls, contacts, voicemails, shared app data, Safari web bookmarks and web history, iTunes media, photos, books, notes and
voice memos. It also allows you to use your iOS device for file storage.
Note: The iPhone operating system does not provide a way to view files stored using PhoneView's Disk mode. PhoneView's Disk
mode is intended for file storage and access via a Mac.
System Requirements:
• Any iPhone, iPad or iPod touch
• Mac OS X 10.6 or newer. (Mac OS X 10.8 or newer required for iOS 10 compatibility.)
• iTunes 9.2 or newer (iTunes 12.4 or newer required for iOS 10 compatibility.)
Getting Started
Installing PhoneView:
After unzipping the downloaded file, drag the PhoneView program to your Applications folder. If you previously installed the
PhoneView Demo, be sure to drag that to the trash icon in your dock. If you previously used an older version you should drag
that to the trash.
Uninstalling PhoneView:
To uninstall, drag the PhoneView application to the trash can icon in your dock. You may also choose to trash the PhoneView
folder in Library/Application Support. This is where your archive data is stored.
Connect your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch to your Mac using its USB cable. We recommend connecting it directly to the Mac, as
using a USB hub or keyboard USB connection may result in slower performance.
iTunes will launch automatically when the iPhone, iPad or iPod touch is attached. You can safely close or ignore it.
Devices can also connect wirelessly. To turn on Wi-Fi syncing, check the “Connect to Devices via Wi-Fi” checkbox in
PhoneView’s settings. The device must be on the same Wi-Fi network as the Mac, and you must also turn on wireless syncing for
the device in iTunes. In the device’s Summary screen in iTunes, locate the Options section, and check the box labeled “Sync with
this iPhone over Wi-Fi”. Note that Wi-Fi syncing is typically slower than connecting with a cable.
Launching PhoneView:
After downloading PhoneView, double-click the program's icon to start it. You will see the PhoneView file browser window and
toolbar.
Messages Mode
To access the device’s iMessages, SMS messages, and WhatsApp messages, choose Messages from the left-hand sidebar.
PhoneView will save your messages each time the iPhone is connected and PhoneView is opened. Message mode shows all
conversations currently stored on the iPhone. If corresponding phone numbers and contact images are present in your iOS or
Mac Contacts app, the appropriate names and photos will be displayed.
Method 2:
Highlight the message or message groups to be copied. To select a range of messages, click the first message, and then hold
down the shift key on your keyboard while clicking the last message. Once the desired messages or message groups have been
selected, click the "Copy From iPhone" button on the toolbar. You will see a file chooser showing a location on your computer.
Select a destination location for the messages, choose formatting options, and click the "Save" button. The selected messages
and media items will be copied into the selected folder on your Mac.
Method 3:
Drag messages or message groups directly from the PhoneView browser into a Finder window or onto the Desktop. The
selected messages and media items will be copied to the destination. You can specify the format of exported messages in the
PhoneView settings. (See PhoneView Settings section below.)
Messages are archived each time an iOS device is connected to PhoneView. To access the archived data, click the "Archives"
button in the PhoneView toolbar or choose Message Archive from the PhoneView menu.
If you back up your iOS device to your Mac using iTunes, PhoneView will allow you to view and archive messages from the
iTunes backup. To access the backed up data, click the "iTunes Backups" button in the PhoneView toolbar or choose View
Message iTunes Backup from the PhoneView menu. Note that this feature will not if you back up to iCloud instead of your Mac.
Voicemail Mode
To access the iPhone's visual voicemail, choose Voicemail from the left-hand sidebar. Note that Voicemail mode requires "visual
voicemail", which may not be available from certain wireless carriers.
PhoneView will archive your voicemail messages each time the iPhone is connected and PhoneView is opened. Voicemail mode
shows all visual voicemail messages currently stored on the iPhone. If the corresponding phone numbers are present in your
iPhone or Mac Contacts application, the caller names will also be displayed.
Voicemails marked as new on the iPhone will be displayed with a blue dot icon. Note that listening to a voicemail in PhoneView
will not change the status on the iPhone.
Method 1:
Double-click a message in PhoneView to play it.
Method 2:
Select a message and then click the play button at the bottom of the PhoneView window.
Method 1:
Highlight the items to be copied. Click the "Send to iTunes" button on the toolbar. The selected items will be copied and sent
directly to iTunes as MP4 audio files.
Method 2:
Highlight the messages to be copied. Click the "Copy From iPhone" button on the toolbar. You will see a file chooser showing a
location on your computer. Select a destination location for the messages and click the "Save" button. The messages will be
copied into the selected folder on your Mac as MP4 audio files.
Method 3:
Drag messages directly from the PhoneView browser into a Finder window or onto the Desktop.
Voicemail messages are archived each time an iPhone is connected to PhoneView. To access the archived data, click the
"Archives" button in the PhoneView toolbar or choose Voicemail Archive from the PhoneView menu.
Voicemail iTunes Backup Access:
If you back up your iPhone to your Mac using iTunes, PhoneView will allow you to view and archive voicemail data from the
iTunes backup. To access the archived data, click the "iTunes Backups" button in the PhoneView toolbar or choose View
Voicemail iTunes Backup from the PhoneView menu. Note that this feature will not work if you back up to iCloud instead of your
Mac.
PhoneView will archive your call history each time the iOS device is connected and PhoneView is opened. Call Log mode shows
all call log information currently stored on the device, along with duration information. If the corresponding phone numbers are
present in your iOS or Mac Contacts app, the caller names will also be displayed.
Method 1:
Highlight the call log items to be copied. Click the "Copy From iPhone" button on the toolbar. You will see a file chooser
showing a location on your computer. Select a destination location for the call data and click the "Save" button. The selected
info will be copied into the selected folder on your Mac as a text file.
Method 2:
Drag call log items directly from the PhoneView browser into a Finder window or onto the Desktop.
Double-clicking a FaceTime video call will dial the number with the Mac version of FaceTime. Double-clicking a Skype call will
dial the number in the Mac version of Skype.
Double-clicking a normal call will open an app such as Skype or FaceTime depending on your macOS version and installed
applications. In OS X 10.10 or newer, select the desired telephony application in FaceTime's preferences.
Call log data is archived each time a device is connected to PhoneView. To access the archived data, click the "Archives" button
in the PhoneView toolbar or choose Call History Archive from the PhoneView menu.
If you back up your device to your Mac using iTunes, PhoneView will allow you to view and archive Call Log data from the iTunes
backup. To access the archived data, click the "iTunes Backups" button in the PhoneView toolbar or choose View Call History
iTunes Backup from the PhoneView menu. Note that this feature will not work if you back up to iCloud instead of your Mac.
Contacts Mode
To access the iPhone, iPad or iPod touch contact list, choose Contacts from the left-hand sidebar.
Contacts mode shows all contacts stored on the iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, as well as the associated image, phone numbers
and email addresses.
Copying Contacts From the iPhone, iPad or iPod touch to Your Computer:
Method 1:
Double-click one or more items. The contacts will be saved to your Documents folder as a V-Card file.
Method 2:
Highlight the contacts to be copied. Click the "Copy From iPhone" button on the toolbar. You will see a file chooser showing a
location on your computer. Select a destination location for the contacts and click the "Save" button. The selected contacts will
be saved into the folder as a V-Card file.
Method 3:
Drag contacts or contact groups directly from the PhoneView browser into a Finder window or onto the Desktop. The selected
contacts will be saved into the selected folder as a V-Card file.
Method 4:
Highlight the contacts to be copied. Click the "Send To Mac Contacts" button on the toolbar. The selected contacts will be
transferred directly to your Mac's Contacts application.
Notes Mode
To access notes stored on the iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, choose Notes from the left-hand sidebar. Support for the enhanced
Notes format introduced in iOS 9 requires Mac OS X 10.11 or newer.
Method 1:
Highlight the notes to be copied. Click the "Copy From iPhone" button on the toolbar. You will see a file chooser showing a
location on your computer. Select a destination location for the notes and click the "Save" button. The selected notes will be
copied into the selected folder on your Mac. If any selected notes contain image attachments, you will also see a checkbox to
indicate whether to save the attachments.
Method 2:
Drag notes directly from the PhoneView browser into a Finder window or onto the Desktop. To save an image attachment, drag
the image to the Finder.
Method 3:
Highlight a note and click the "Send to Mail" button in the PhoneView toolbar. A new outgoing email message containing the
note will be created in Apple Mail.
Web Mode
To access your device's bookmarks and web history, choose Web from the left-hand sidebar.
Copying Bookmark and History Information From the Device to Your Computer:
Method 1:
Double-click one or more items. The selected web sites will open in your default web browser.
Method 2:
Highlight the web sites to be downloaded. Click the "Copy From iPhone" button on the toolbar. You will see a file chooser
showing a location on your computer. Select a destination location for the items and click the "Save" button. The selected items
will be copied into the selected folder on your Mac as .webloc files.
Method 3:
Drag items directly from the PhoneView browser into a Finder window or onto the Desktop. The selected items will be copied
into the selected folder on your Mac as .webloc files.
Method 4:
To import the items as browser bookmarks, drag items directly from the PhoneView browser into your web browser's
bookmarks window. For example, click the book icon in your Safari toolbar to reveal the bookmark organizer.
Apps Mode
PhoneView provides access to Documents folder of third-party apps that support iTunes File Sharing. Some examples are Air
Sharing, GoodReader and Documents To Go. To view and copy files, choose "Apps" from the left-hand sidebar. Then choose an
app. Refer to Files Mode above for instructions on moving files in and out of Apps mode.
Viewing All Apps: Apps mode only provides access to the Documents folder of apps that support iTunes File Sharing. To view the
contents of all apps on your device, select the "Show All App" checkbox in Apps mode. Note that this feature is no longer
available as of iOS 8.3.
Disk Mode
To view and copy files, choose "Disk" from the left-hand sidebar.
There are two ways to transfer your files and folders to the device:
Method 1:
Click the "Copy To iPhone" button on the toolbar. You will see a file chooser showing the files on your computer. Select one or
more files or folders and click the "Select" button. The selected files will be copied into the currently selected folder on the
iPhone.
Method 2:
Drag files and folders directly from the Desktop or a Finder window into the PhoneView browser.
There are three ways to transfer your files and folders from the device.
Method 1:
Highlight the files or folders to be copied. Click the "Copy From iPhone" button on the toolbar. You will see a file chooser
showing a location on your computer. Select a destination location for the files and click the "Save" button. The selected files
will be copied into the selected folder on your Mac.
Method 2:
Drag a file or folder directly from the PhoneView browser into a Finder window or onto the Desktop.
Method 3:
Simply double-click a file to download it to your Documents folder. Certain files such as pictures and movies will open
automatically after being transferred to your Mac. A double-clicked application will be copied to a temporary location and
launched.
Other Options:
New Folder:
You can create folders on the iPhone to organize your data. To create a new folder, click the "New Folder" button on the toolbar.
You will be prompted to name the folder. Enter a name and click "OK".
Delete:
To remove files or folders from the device, select the items to be removed and click the Delete button on the toolbar.
Move:
To move files or folders on the device, select the item to be moved and drag them to a new folder within the PhoneView
window.
Rename:
To rename files or folders on the device, select the item to be renamed and choose Rename from the File menu.
Normal mode provides disk access to a specific PhoneView folder (called iPhoneDrive) in the iPhone's media storage area.
Select the "Show Entire Disk" option from PhoneView's settings to access the entire Media folder section in Disk mode. This is
useful for direct access to the camera photo directory, as well as access to media used by other native iPhone apps. On
jailbroken devices, this checkbox will provide access to the device's root directory. Root directory access may require installing
afc2add from Cydia.
Media Modes
To access music, videos and books stored on the iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, choose one of the media categories (Music,
Videos, Books, Podcasts, Ringtones or Voice Memos) from the left-hand sidebar.
Copying Media from the iPhone to Your Computer:
Method 1:
Highlight the items to be copied. Click the "Send to iTunes" button on the toolbar. The selected items will be copied and sent
directly to iTunes.
Method 2:
Highlight the items to be copied. Click the "Copy From iPhone" button on the toolbar. You will see a file chooser showing a
location on your computer. Select a destination location for the files and click the "Save" button. The selected media will be
copied into the selected folder on your Mac.
Method 3:
Drag media items directly from the PhoneView browser into a Finder window or onto the Desktop.
In Music, Ringtone and Voice Memos modes, playback controls will appear at the bottom of the PhoneView window. Note that
digital-rights-managed (DRM) audio files may not play via PhoneView.
Method 1:
Double-click a song in PhoneView to play it.
Method 2:
Select a song and then click the play button at the bottom of the PhoneView window.
Photos Mode
To access iPhone camera photos, recorded movies and synced photos stored on the device, choose Photos from the left-hand
sidebar.
Phantom Photos: Occasionally, PhoneView will find photos and videos in your camera roll which do not show up anywhere in
your device’s Photos app. Usually, they are photos that have been deleted, but for some reason have not actually been removed.
PhoneView will place these items in an album called “Phantom”.
Method 1:
Highlight the photos or movies to be copied. Click the "Send to iPhoto" button on the toolbar. The selected items will be copied
and sent directly to iPhoto.
Method 2:
Highlight the items to be copied. Click the "Copy From iPhone" button on the toolbar. You will see a file chooser showing a
location on your computer. Select a destination location for the photos and click the "Save" button.
Method 3:
Drag photos directly from the PhoneView browser into a Finder window or onto the Desktop.
Method 4:
Simply double-click a photo to download it to your Pictures folder. The item will automatically open in Preview or Quicktime
Player.
Highlight the photos to be deleted. Click the Delete button in the PhoneView toolbar. The selected photos will be permanently
deleted from the iPhone. Note: Delete works only for the "Camera Roll" section (or the "Saved Photos" section for devices with
no camera.) Also, if you have selected to “Show All Burst Photos” in PhoneView’s preferences, note that the additional burst
items will not be deletable. The delete function may also become unavailable if iCloud Photo is enabled on the device and the
Mac or if the device is connected to the Mac via Wi-Fi rather than a USB cable.
Managing Archives
PhoneView automatically archives Message, Call Log and Voicemail data for connected devices. To access the archived
information, click the "Archives" button in PhoneView's toolbar, or choose Archives in the PhoneView menu. To manage your
archives, choose "Manage Archives…" from PhoneView's device list.
Turn Archiving On or Off: You may decide not to archive data from a specific device. Use the blue checkbox to turn automatic
archiving on or off.
Renaming an Archive: To rename an archive, double-click the phone name, and type a new name. PhoneView does not use this
name to match the archive to the device. Any name can be provided here.
Deleting an Archive: To remove all archived data and cached information about a device, select a device and click the "Remove
Selected Archive" button.
Merging Archive Data: You may wish to combine the data from two phones, for example your old iPhone and your new iPhone.
To do this, drag your old phone's archive to your new phone's archive. The old phone's Message, Call Log and Voicemail data
will then be copied to the new phone's archive.
PhoneView Settings
To access PhoneView settings, choose "Settings..." from the PhoneView menu or click Settings in the PhoneView toolbar.
Launch PhoneView when a Device is Attached: Select this option if you would like PhoneView to be launched automatically
whenever an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch device is connected to your Mac.
Connect to Devices via Wi-Fi: Select this option to allow PhoneView to connect to devices wirelessly. The device must be on
the same Wi-Fi network as the Mac, and you must also turn on wireless syncing for the device in iTunes. In the device’s
Summary screen in iTunes, locate the Options section, and check the box labeled “Sync with this iPhone over Wi-Fi”. Note that
Wi-Fi syncing is slower than when connected with a USB cable. If a download is taking too long, try connecting using a USB
cable instead.
Show Entire Disk in Disk Mode: Normal mode provides disk access to a specific PhoneView folder (called iPhoneDrive) in the
iPhone's media storage area. Select the "Show Entire Disk in Disk Mode” option to access the entire Media folder section in Disk
mode. This is useful for direct access to the photo and voice memo directories, as well as access to media used by other native
iPhone apps. On jailbroken devices, this checkbox will provide access to the device's root directory. Root directory access may
require installing afc2add from Cydia.
Photos Mode Shows All Photos from Bursts: By default, PhoneView will only display the master photo from a burst, along with
any items that have been selected as favorites. Select this option to show all photos from a burst.
Export Message Threads as Individual Files: This checkbox determines how messages will be exported when multiple threads
are selected in the left-hand column. Check this to save a separate file for each thread. Uncheck it to save one file containing all
messages for the selected threads.
Use Larger Text For Message Mode: This checkbox will increase the text size used to display message bubbles.
Legacy Emoji Symbol Conversion: Check this checkbox to enable additional support for older Macs and devices. Specifically,
this will convert SoftBank Emoji to Unicode Emoji, and add limited support for displaying Emoji on older Macs that don't include
an Emoji font.
Show All Apps in Apps Mode: Check this checkbox to show all installed apps and view the contents. This is only useful for app
developers, as you will not be able to access the contents of apps installed via the App Store.
Dragging or Double-Clicking Messages Saves: Specify what export format to use when double-clicking or dragging items in
Messages mode. PDF format will save a PDF file. Text format will export selected messages in a simple text format readable in a
program such as Word or TextEdit. Tab Delimited and CVS format are ideal for import into a spreadsheet or database program
such as Microsoft Excel or Apple Keynote. XML format will export an XML document.
Also Save Attached Media Files: When messages threads containing attachments are dragged or double-clicked, this option will
also save the associated media items as individual files alongside the PDF or text file.
Messages Mode Shows: Choose to view messages from the Messages or WhatsApp.
PDF & Printing Options: Options that will effect the appearance of PDFs and print-outs. Choose Monochrome Message Bubbles
when printing to a black and white printer.
Other Options
Moving the Archive Location: PhoneView’s archive database is normally located in ~/Library/Application Support/PhoneView.
(Note that this Library folder is a hidden folder in your home folder, which is different from the Library folder that you can see in
Macintosh HD.) To reveal this folder, choose “Go To Folder” from the Go menu in the Finder. Enter in:
~/Library/Application Support
and press Go. In the window that shows up, locate the folder called PhoneView.
You may wish to change the location of this folder, in order to move it to a different disk. To do this:
1) Quit PhoneView.
2) Copy the existing PhoneView archive folder to the desired location.
3) Remove the PhoneView archive folder from the original location.
4) Now open PhoneView while holding down the option (or alt) key on your keyboard. PhoneView will prompt you with a
question. Click the button labeled “Change Archive Location”. Then pick the new location.
Moving the Temporary Storage Location: PhoneView download’s data to a temporary location on your main disk. If you are low
on space, you may wish to use a different disk drive for PhoneView’s temporary storage. To do this:
1) Quit PhoneView.
2) Open PhoneView while holding down the option (or alt) key on your keyboard. PhoneView will prompt you with a question.
Click the button labeled “Change Temporary Storage Location”. Then pick the new location.
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