Phone number format recognition details
By default, Internet Explorer 11 automatically detects and highlights phone numbers within a webpage. As you might expect, phone number format recognition depends on a variety of factors, including the way a number is presented and the region of the webpage.
For IE11 on Windows 8.1, phone number detection recognizes the most common phone number formats.
To be recognized (and highlighted), phone numbers must be:
- Internationally formatted numbers (numbers include a '+' and country code prefix before the area code and subscriber number)
- Locally formatted numbers (numbers contain an area code and subscriber number only)
- Numbers containing alpha-numeric digits
- Numbers written in left-to-right format
IE11 recognized phone number examples
IE11 recognizes a variety of phone number formats, based on region. Here are a few examples from selected regions:
Region | Common formats |
Australia | 0412 123 456 0412.345.678 (0412) 345-678 +61 2 8273 1234 (+61) 2 8273 1234 +61 / 2 8273 1234 +61282731234 |
Brazil | 21 2594-4556 21.2594.4556 21-2594-4556 21 2594 4556 (21) 2594-4556 +55 21 2594-4556 (+55) 21 2594-4556 +55 / 21 2594-4556 +55 21.2594.4556 |
China | 021 5114 8005 (021) 5114 8005 021.5114.8005 021-5114-8005 021/5114-8005 +86 21 5114 8005 (+86) 21 5114 8005 +86 / 21 5114 8005 +862151148005 +86 21.5114.8005 |
France | 05 61 80 43 36 05.61.80.43.36 05 / 61 80 43 36 (05) 61 80 43 36 +33 5 61 80 43 36 (+33) 5 61 80 43 36 +33 / 5 61 80 43 36 +33 (5) 61 80 43 36 |
Germany | (089) 3086191 (089)308-6191 089-3086191 089.3086191 089/3086191 +49 89 3086191 (+49) 89 3086191 +49-89-3086191 +49.89.3086191 |
Italy | 06 12345678 (06) 12345678 06.1234.5678 06-1234-5678 06 1234 5678 (+39) 06 12345678 +39 06 12345678 +39/06 12345678 +39-06-1234-5678 |
Japan | (03)3370-7231 03.3370.7231 03 - 3370-7231 03 3370 7231 (+81) 3-3370-7231 81 / 3-3370-7231 +81 3.3370.7231 +81 3 3370 7231 |
Netherlands | 020 663 7563 (020) 663 7563 020.663.7563 020-663-7563 020/663-7563 +31 20 663 7563 (+31) 20 663 7563 +31 / 20 663 7563 +31206637563 |
Russia | 495 629-41-65 495-210-16-19 495.210.16.19 (495) 210 16 19 +7 (495) 210 16 19 7 495 629-41-65 (+7) 495-210-16-19 +7 / 495.210.16.19 |
United States | (206)200-1234 (206) 200-1234 206-200-1234 (206) 200 - 1234 206 200 1234 206.200.1234 206 . 200 . 1234 206/200-1234 1(206)200-1234 (+1)/(206)200-1234 +12062001234 (+)/(1206200)-1234 +1/206-200-1234 (+1)/206-200-1234 (+)-1-206-2004347 1-800-CONTOSO |
United Kingdom | 020/7928 8888 020 7928 8888 020-7928-8888 020.7928.8888 +44 / 20 7928 8888 +44 - 20 7928 8888 (+44) / 20 7928 8888 +44 20 7928 8888 |
Note These examples reflect only a subset of the phone number formats (and regions) recognized by IE11.
Phone number patterns in IE11
IE11 recognizes the following patterns:
- +x/(y-y-y)-z-z-z
- (+x)/(y-y-y)-z-z-z
- (+)/(x-y-y)-z-z-z
- +x/y-z-z
- (+x)/y-z-z
- (+)-x-y-z
- x/(y-y-y)-z-z-z
- (y-y-y)-z-z-z
- y-z-z
- +x/(y)-z-z
- (+x)/(y-y)-z-z-z
- +1-x-N
- 1-x-N
- (x)N
- x-N
Here's how to read the previous list:
- 'x' represents a group of consecutive digits that is one to three digits in length.
- 'y' represents a group of consecutive digits that is at least 1 digit in length.
- 'z' represents a group of consecutive digits that is at least 1 digit in length.
- '+' represents any international dialing prefix. Supported international dialing prefixes are '+' and '00.'
- '+' is shown adjacent to 'x' in a format, the two parts can be separated by up to two ASCII spaces.
- '+' is shown, the next numeric group (x, y, or z) must begin with an internationally dialing prefix.
- 'N' represents at least seven characters that are either digits, capital Latin letters, or supported delimiters. The sequence cannot end with a delimiter or contain consecutive delimiters, and any characters in the 'N' part beyond the ninth may only be letters.
- '/' represents any supported delimiter, including '-', '.', '/', en-dash (0x2013), minus (0x2212), full-width hyphen minus (0xFF0D), and up to four ASCII spaces.
- '-' represents any supported delimiter except '/'.
- Any supported delimiter , with the exception of ASCII spaces, can be padded by up to two ASCII spaces on each side. Padding need not be balanced. However, a '.' cannot be padded on the right unless it's also padded on the left.
- All delimiters are optional and can be omitted.
- '(' represents any supported open bracket delimiter ('(' and '[').
- ')' represents any supported close bracket delimiter (')' and ']').
- Brackets are required.
- Brackets can have up to two spaces of padding on each side.
Note Certain keywords in a page might lead to unpredictable results. For example, a number preceded with the word 'fax' (i.e. Fax: (425)123-4567) is not automatically highlighted because fax numbers are handled by registered apps. Related keywords include 'kg', 'km', 'ml', 'tty', and other abbreviations commonly associated with numbers.
Known limitations of IE11 phone number format recognition
There are currently a few limitations of phone number detection:
Right-to-left numbering is not supported.
Non-alphanumeric digits are not supported.
Lower case letters are not supported. That is, "1-800-contoso" is not supported, but "1-800-CONTOSO" is.
Delimiters are required. That is, "1234567890" is not supported, but "123-456-7890" is.
If a delimiter is not clearly described as supported, assume it's not.
Numbers must be at least seven (7) digits long.
Support is limited for pages that don't declare lang attribute values. This primarily affects pages containing numbers outside the region of the current user.
Full support is limited to webpages written in these languages:
Arabic Finnish Norwegian Bulgarian German Polish Chinese (Simplified) Greek Portuguese (Brazil) Chinese (Traditional) Hebrew Portuguese (European) Czech Hungarian Romanian Danish Italian Russian Dutch Japanese Spanish English Korean Swedish Estonian Lithuanian Turkish French Support for pages written in other languages varies.
At this time, support for phone number format recognition is limited for these regions:
AD Andorra NF Norfolk Island AE United Arab Emirates NU Niue AQ Antarctica NZ New Zealand BL Saint Barthelme PF French Polynesia BQ Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba PH Philippines CK Cook Islands PM Saint Pierre and Miquelon CO Colombia PW Palau CR Costa Rica RE Reunion CW Curaçao SB Solomon Islands FK Falkland Islands (Malvinas) SE Sweden FO Faroe Islands SH Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan Da Cunha GF French Guiana SM San Marino GG Guernsey SX Sint Maarten GL Greenland TK Tokelau GP Guadeloupe TO Tonga IM Isle of Man TV Tuvalu IO British Indian Ocean Territory TZ United Republic of Tanzania JE Jersey UZ Uzbekistan KI Republic of Kiribati VN Viet Nam LR Liberia VU Vanuatu LT Lithuania WF Wallis and Futuna MF Saint Martin WS Samoa MG Madagascar YE Yemen MQ Martinique ZM Zambia MY Malaysia ZW Zimbabwe NC New Caledonia