How do you create a group on the iPad or iphone

I just tried this method and it works. I'm also looking into creating groups using iCloud, but haven't really read into it yet.

1) go to your Contacts App. Select "All Contacts", or whatever area you want to include your new group.

2) touch the + sign at the bottom which will add in a new contact. Yes, you're right, this is NOT a group contact, but an individual one.

3) In the "First" name field, add in the name of the group. You can ignore Last name and/or company if you want, or add in more info.

4) add your string of email names in the "email" field. I believe the default just says Home.

voila.

I recommend that you first make the string of names in another text app, such as notes first as I accidentally touched the little 'x' mark on the far right side which deleted my progress...argh. Or, if you have a lot of addressses to add, you might want to do it on your computer first, and then just email the list to yourself. I'm sure there are easier ways, but this is a quick and easy way, especially if your email group isn't large.

HOW TO create a group address on your iPad Address Book app . . .

MerryMaryJ had a good idea. The easiest way seems to be to start on your Macbook or MBP. You *might* be able to paste addresses one-by-one from your Address Book app into a group address, but I found this to be quicker.

1. On your Mac laptop, create a new message in your Mail app.

2. In the TO: box, put all the addressees that you want in your group.

3. COPY all those addresses (Cmd-A, Cmd-C) to memory.

4. PASTE them (Cmd-V) into the body of the message.

5. Send the message to yourself.

6. Use your Mail app on the iPad to collect the message

7. Use Cmd-A Cmd-C again to copy the addresses in the message body to the iPad's memory

8. Create a new iPad Address Book entry for the group. Use the Firstname box if the group name is only one word, the Firstname and Lastname boxes if it's two words.

9. In the email box for that group, paste (Cmd-V) the addresses from the email message you sent yourself. They'll be in exactly the right format for iPad Mail to read them correctly.

10. Send a test message to check the validity of the group address. It should be OK

It is time consuming but can be done without an app.

Go into your contacts and give your group a name (example: Group - Family)

In the email field add your email addresses as follows (your email field will be one long string):

Mom(space)<mom@gmail.com>,(space)Dad<dad@gmail.com>,(space)BrothersName<brother@gmail.com>,(space)and so on

Note: spaces and commas - IMPORTANT!

Thanks Merrymaryj, I was looking for this solution myself! I was very surprised Apple doesn't make it easy to do this in their native apps. I honestly don't understand the way Apple operates at times. They make these really wonderful tools, programs, etc., then leave out what I consider essential components. (I was also trying to organize my videos on my iPad)

I could be wrong, but I believe that the first space in your example (after Mom) is a mistake. I left that one out and it worked for me.

This was so very helpful, thank you! - and so very frustrating! By which I mean that it's a fantastic workaround, but it's ludicrous that it's needed.How on earth could Apple, of all companies, not foresee that people might want to use groups of contacts to send emails to them 😕 ???

Jonobugs - you are so right...i went "space" crazy. thanks for the catch and sorry to everyone else who didnt catch it - YIKES! so...example should be:

Mom<mom@gmail.com>,(space)Dad<dad@gmail.com>,(space)BrothersName<brother@gmail.com>,(space)and so on

Sorry. The little envelope next to the bullet.

I had believed that it's somewhere between impossible and snowball in hades. I found that I can create groups in my Mac and the iPad displays the groups but that's a tease. The groups are completely useless on the iPad. They can not be used for group messages. In fact, you can't do anything except look at them!

merrymaryj wrote:

It is time consuming but can be done without an app.

Go into your contacts and give your group a name (example: Group - Family)

Since you cannot create/name a group, perhaps you would explain exactly how to select a group and name it anything?

Or are you suggesting to create a new contact then simply add all the email addresses to this single contact?

deltasweetiepi wrote:

please help me, where do you create this new group at

You don't.

They are suggesting you create a new (single) contact and add all the email address you want into the email address field of this one contact.

I have been trying to do this all day today - after an hour of searching on the Internet, I finally found this thread. I'm pretty sure I could create new groups in my iPad 2 with ios 5. It is strange that we have to create a new single contact and add all the address we want in that contact. Why does the Contacts app still have Groups in it if you can't use it? I'll try creating new contacts with my group names and see how that goes. It seems that ios 6 has taken us a few steps backwards. Sheesh!

Turtle07 wrote:

I have been trying to do this all day today - after an hour of searching on the Internet, I finally found this thread. I'm pretty sure I could create new groups in my iPad 2 with ios 5.

I'm absolutely positive this was not possible. (and it still isn't possible with iOS 5)

Not very easy if you are on a PC and using the default Contacts app. I personally sync my contacts with icloud from where i create my contact groups. However have used these steps before using icloud in order to group contacts on my iphone.

The comma symbol is not available in Contacts so I am unable to separate them that way. I tried the other method (via email) but Contacts is not allowing me to paste anything, either. Any other ideas?

This was my workaround since I wasn't able to paste the string of addresses from email, nor use a comma to enter them on one line.

1. Go to the To: line in email

2. add the first name in your group to the To: field

3. double-click on it. this will open the Contact for that person.

4. Select and copy the email address.

5. Create a new contact and give it the group name.

6. Go down to the email address area and add email address fields until you come to Other.

7. paste the first address there

8. Go back out to email, add then double click the next name, select and copy the email address, go back to contacts, hit Add Email and paste that address. Etc.

Each new email field you add says Home after the Other field. You can start on any email line but this is how I wanted to do it.

It would let me paste one at a time like but not the entire string at once, on one line. Painstaking but it gets done.