With the Dialer screen you can make calls using the ten digit keypad that you usually find on traditional phones. Keys from two to nine also contain letters. These letters can be used to search for contacts. The plus button on the bottom-left can be used to add the plus symbol if it's the first key you touch. After you have tapped the first key, the plus key becomes the phone key that can be used to dial the number you've entered. The zero key can be used to input spaces when searching for contacts or to match special characters (i.e. symbols). Use the backspace key on the bottom-right to delete the last number you've tapped. You can also tap and hold to automatically delete numbers faster or tap the clear button on the right of the number to delete all. Keys make DMTF tones when touched. You can disable this feature on the settings (ABContacts -> Dialer -> Dialer Keypad). Keys one through nine also have another feature. If you tap and hold them they will call the corresponding favorite number (see favorites section of the user's guide).

For example, this screenshot shows the contacts found with keys 2-6. The first three contacts matches on the first name A(2)-N(6). The last contact matches on the last name C(2)-O(6). Search is done on first name, last name, company and notes and phone numbers (if enabled on the settings, see the contacts page of this guide). The search is performed as you type the keys. This way you can stop typing as soon as you find the contact you're searching. If you're not searching a contact but you're typing a number you can tap the phone key on the bottom-left to call the number you've entered.

If you're searching a contact and you find it, you can tap the contact name to call his first phone number in the order set on the settings (ABContacts -> General -> Numbers sorting). Remember that "main" labeled numbers always comes first and unlabeled numbers always comes last. Other label numbers order depends on the setting. If you want to call another number or you want to send an SMS or an email you can simply open the quick actions screen with a tap & hold on the contact name.

This screenshot shows another example for keys 6-0-7. The first match is "Marcia Swanson". The match comes from 6 for "M", 0 for the space, 7 for the "S". Remember that the zero matches every symbol that is not a letter or a number 1-9. The last match is "Oscar Reyes - McFarland Inc.". The match comes from 6 for "M" in "McFarland", 0 for a space, 7 for "R" in Reyes. Other matches are similar to the first one. This example shows that you can search for multiple words using the zero as a separator or words with symbols using the zero for the symbol. Words with symbols can also be searched considering them as multiple words. For example "O'Reilly" can be found if you type "7-3" for "R-E" because "Reilly" is searched as a single word.

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