user’s guidesoftware4advisors.com/actguide60.pdf098765 43211. notice: interact commerce...

User’s GuideUser’s Guide

V E R S I O N 6.0V E R S I O N 6.0

User’s Guide

Interact Commerce Corporation would like to thank the following individuals for contributing examples of customizations that have been included in whole or modified form in ACT! 6.0 for Windows: Susan Clark, Brad Crumpecker, Michelle Crumpler, Brenda Dixon, Edward Kachinske, Terry Kasper, Bevan Wistar.

ACT! User’s GuideThe software described in this book is furnished under a license agreement and may be used only in accordance with the terms of the agreement.

Copyright Notice

Copyright © 2002 Interact Commerce Corporation, a Division of Best Software. All Rights Reserved.

Released: 7/2002 for ACT! version 6.0 for Windows.

This document may not, in whole or in part, be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated, or reduced to any electronic medium or machine-readable form without prior consent in writing from Interact Commerce Corporation, 8800 North Gainey Center Dr., Suite 200, Scottsdale, Arizona, 85258.ALL EXAMPLES WITH NAMES, COMPANY NAMES, OR COMPANIES THAT APPEAR IN THIS MANUAL ARE IMAGINARY AND DO NOT REFER TO, OR PORTRAY, IN NAME OR SUBSTANCE, ANY ACTUAL NAMES, COMPANIES, ENTITIES, OR INSTITUTIONS. ANY RESEMBLANCE TO ANY REAL PERSON, COMPANY, ENTITY, OR INSTITUTION IS PURELY COINCIDENTAL.

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this manual. However, Interact Commerce makes no warranties with respect to this documentation and disclaims any implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Interact Commerce shall not be liable for any errors or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this manual or the examples herein. The information in this document is subject to change without notice

TrademarksACT! is a registered trademark in the United States and throughout the world, exclusively owned or controlled by Interact Commerce Corporation, a Division of Best Software, Scottsdale, AZ, USA. All other trademarks are the property of their owners.

Printed in the United States of America.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

INTERACT COMMERCE CORPORATION ACT! LICENSE AND WARRANTY

NOTICE: INTERACT COMMERCE CORPORATION, A DIVISION OF BEST SOFTWARE (“INTERACT COMMERCE”) LICENSES THIS SOFTWARE TO YOU ONLY UPON THE CONDITION THAT YOU ACCEPT ALL OF THE TERMS CONTAINED IN THIS LICENSE AGREEMENT. PLEASE READ THE TERMS CAREFULLY BEFORE CONTINUING THE INSTALLATION PROCESS, AS PRESSING THE “ACCEPT TERMS” BUTTON WILL INDICATE YOUR ASSENT TO THEM. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS, PLEASE PRESS THE “NO” BUTTON DURING INSTALLATION TO CANCEL THE INSTALLATION AS INTERACT COMMERCE IS UNWILLING TO LICENSE THE SOFTWARE TO YOU.IF YOU ARE UNWILLING TO ACCEPT THE TERMS AND YOU PURCHASED THE SOFWARE FROM A RESELLER, YOU SHOULD RETURN THE FULL PRODUCT WITH YOUR RECEIPT TO THE RESELLER FROM WHOM IT WAS ACQUIRED WITHIN, THIRTY (30) DAYS OF PURCHASE AS SPECIFIED BY THE THIRTY (30) DAY GUARANTEE.

THIRTY (30) DAY GUARANTEE: If you purchased the Software from a reseller and you are the original licensee of the Software and you are dissatisfied with it for any reason, you may return the complete product, together with your receipt, to the place of purchase, postage prepaid (if applicable), for a full refund at any time during the thirty (30) day period following the date of purchase.

THERE IS NO THIRTY (30) DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE WITH SOFTWARE THAT IS DOWNLOADED FROM THE ACT! ONLINE STORE.

USE OF SOFTWARE: The software that accompanies this license (the “Software”) is the property of Interact Commerce or its licensors and is protected by copyright law and international treaty. While Interact Commerce and its licensors continue to own the Software, you will have certain rights to use the Software after your acceptance of this license. Except only as may be modified by a written license addendum which accompanies this license, your rights and obligations with respect to the use of this Software are as follows:

You may:

(i) use only one copy of the Software on a single computer;

(ii) make one copy of the Software for archival purposes, or copy the software onto the hard disk of your computer and retain the original for archival purposes;

(iii) use the Software on a network, provided that you have a licensed copy of the Software for each computer that can access the Software over that network;

(iv) after written notice to Interact Commerce, transfer the Software on a permanent basis to another person or entity, provided that you retain no copies of the Software and the transferee agrees to the terms of this Agreement; and

(v) if a single person uses the computer on which the Software is installed at least 80% of the time, then after registering the product, that person may also use the Software on a single home computer.

You may not:

(i) copy the documentation which accompanies the Software;

(ii) make any copies of all or part of the Software other than as expressly permitted in this Agreement;

(iii) sublicense, rent or lease any portion of the Software or host the Software on your computer for others to use;

(iv) reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, modify, translate, make any attempt to discover the source code of the Software or create derivative works from the Software; or

(v) use a previous version or copy of the Software after you have received a disk replacement set or an upgraded version as a replacement of the prior version, unless you donate a previous version of an upgraded version to a charity of your choice, and such charity agrees in writing that it will be the sole end user of the product, and that it will abide by the terms of this Agreement. Unless you so donate a previous version of an upgraded version, upon upgrading the Software, all copies of the prior version must be destroyed.

(vi) use the ACT! or ACT! trademarks as part of a product name, trademark or business name without prior written approval from Interact Commerce.

(vii) create, market or distribute add-ons or enhancements to the Software without the prior written consent of Interact Commerce.

(viii)copy any portion of the ACT! product graphical user interface for incorporation into or use for any software or other product without the prior written consent of Interact Commerce.

You acknowledge and agree that:

(i) Interact Commerce or its licensor are the exclusive owners of all rights in the Software, including all intellectual property rights now in existence or which come into existence,

(ii) you will comply with all of the terms and conditions of this Agreement.

(iii)Any violation by you of this Agreement will cause Interact Commerce or its Licensor irreparable harm entitling Interact Commerce to immediate and permanent injunctive relief in addition to all other available remedies.

(iv) Any claim or dispute relating to this Agreement must be brought in the appropriate state or federal court located in Phoenix Arizona. You agree to the assertion of personal jurisdiction over you by the State of Arizona and the Arizona federal court, and you waive the right to challenge personal jurisdiction.

You have had a complete opportunity to review and understand this Agreement before using the Software.

LIMITED WARRANTY: Interact Commerce warrants that the media on which the Software is distributed will be free from defects for a period of thirty (30) days from the date of delivery of the Software to you. Your sole remedy in the event of a breach of this warranty will be that Interact Commerce will, at its option, replace any defective media returned to Interact Commerce within the warranty period or refund the money you paid for the Software. Interact Commerce does not warrant that the Software will meet your requirements or that operation of the Software will be uninterrupted or that the Software will be error-free.

THE ABOVE WARRANTY IS EXCLUSIVE AND IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. THIS WARRANTY GIVES YOU SPECIFIC LEGAL RIGHTS. YOU MAY HAVE OTHER RIGHTS, WHICH VARY FROM STATE TO STATE.

DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES: REGARDLESS OF WHETHER ANY REMEDY SET FORTH HEREIN FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE, IN NO EVENT WILL INTERACT COMMERCE OR ITS LICENSOR BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THRID PARTY FOR ANY SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT OR SIMILAR DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY LOST PROFITS OR LOST DATA ARISING OUT

OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE EVEN IF INTERACT COMMERCE OR ITS LICENSOR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IN NO CASE SHALL INTERACT COMMERCE’S LIABILITY EXCEED THE PURCHASE PRICE FOR THE SOFTWARE. The disclaimers and limitations set forth above will apply regardless of whether you accept the Software.

U.S. GOVERNMENT RESTRICTED RIGHTS: RESTRICTED RIGHTS LEGEND. All Interact Commerce software and documentation are commercial in nature. The Software and Software documentation are “Commercial Items”, as that term is defined in 48 C.F.R. §2.101, consisting of “Commercial Computer Software” and “Commercial Computer Software Documentation”, as such terms are defined in 48 C.F.R. §252.227-7014(a)(5) and 48 C.F.R. §252.227-7014(a)(1), and used in 48 C.F.R. §12.212 and 48 C.F.R. 227.7202, as applicable. Consistent with 48 C.F.R. §12.212, 48 C.F.R. §252.227-7015, 48 C.F.R. §227.7202 through 227.7202-4, 48 C.F.R. §52.227-14, and other relevant sections of the Code of Federal Regulations, as applicable. Interact Commerce ‘s computer software and computer software documentation are licensed to United States Government end users with only those rights as granted to all other end users, according to the terms and conditions contained in this license agreement. Manufacturer is Interact Commerce Corporation, 8800 North Gainey Center Drive, Suite 200, Scottsdale, Arizona, 85258, USA.

GENERAL: This Agreement will be governed by the laws of the State of Arizona, U.S.A. relating to contracts made there. The U.N. Convention on the International Sale of Goods is expressly excluded. This Agreement may only be modified by a license addendum which accompanies this license or by a written document which has been signed by both you and Interact Commerce. Should you have any questions concerning this Agreement, or if you desire to contact Interact Commerce for any reason, please write: Interact Commerce Corporation, Customer Sales and Service, 8800 North Gainey Center Drive, Suite 200, Scottsdale, Arizona, 85258, USA.

Contents

Managing Contacts with ACT!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i

Using ACT! on a daily basis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ii

Chapter 1 Installing and Starting ACT! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

System requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

Installing ACT! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3Uninstalling ACT! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Getting assistance with ACT! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Using the online Help system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4Using other resources for information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Starting to use ACT!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Creating a new database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6Converting a database from an earlier version of ACT! . . . . . . . . . .7

Chapter 2 Working with Contacts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Looking at the Contact window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Entering contact information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Entering contacts in the Contact window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11Entering contacts in the Contact List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Entering notes about contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Attaching files to contact records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Finding and sorting contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Finding contacts and information using lookups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15Looking up contact activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Looking up annual events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Finding contacts and information using keywords . . . . . . . . . . . . .17Finding contacts using queries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18Sorting contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18Printing contact and group information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Getting contact information from the Internet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Chapter 3 Working with Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Advantages and uses of groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Creating and duplicating groups and subgroups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Adding contacts to a group or subgroup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25Entering group notes, histories, and attachments . . . . . . . . . . . . .26Assigning and viewing group activities and sales. . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Finding groups and group information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Reorganizing groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Chapter 4 Scheduling Activities and Managing Your Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Setting up scheduling and calendar preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Viewing and printing calendars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Scheduling activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Scheduling activities from a contact record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32Scheduling activities from a calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34Scheduling recurring activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35Creating an activity series. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Viewing and managing your activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Working with the Task List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36Keeping track of annual events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37Recording completed activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Synchronizing Outlook and ACT! calendars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Viewing Outlook activities in ACT! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

Chapter 5 Managing Sales Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Understanding the sales development cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

Creating a sales opportunity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

Forecasting sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44Using the sales pipeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44Using sales graphs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Recording the outcome of a sales opportunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Chapter 6 Using the Telephone and Fax with ACT! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Using the ACT! Dialer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48

Dialer system requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48Setting up the Dialer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48

Making telephone calls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49

Managing your calls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50Using Caller ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

Sending faxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

Specifying your fax software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51Sending a Quick Fax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51Faxing word-processing documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52Faxing reports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52Faxing address books and calendars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53Using WinFax PRO with ACT! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53

Chapter 7 Using e-mail with ACT!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Setting up your e-mail system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56

Setting up multiple e-mail accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57Looking at the E-mail window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

Working with e-mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

Writing and sending e-mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59Receiving and reading e-mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60Managing e-mail addresses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62Using folders to organize e-mail messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62

Using ACT! with Outlook e-mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63

Chapter 8 Working with Documents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Specifying your word processor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66

Using the ACT! word processor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66

Creating letters and memos to a single contact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66Editing documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68Formatting documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68

Adjusting page margins, headers, and footers . . . . . . . . . . . .68Changing font attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68Formatting a paragraph. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68Setting page breaks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68

Changing display options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69Working with templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69

Modifying letter, memo, and fax templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70Creating letter, memo, and fax templates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71Creating and sending documents to multiple contacts . . . . . . . . . .72Modifying and creating label and envelope templates . . . . . . . . . .73Learning more about modifying templates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75

Using the Library tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76

Chapter 9 Producing Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Running a report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78

Customizing reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80

Understanding the sections of a report template . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80Creating and modifying a report template. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81Specifying data to appear in a report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82

Chapter 10 Synchronizing Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Understanding synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84

Synchronizing with another database. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84Synchronizing with other users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85

Synchronizing using e-mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85Synchronizing using shared folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85Synchronizing using a modem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86

Comparing synchronization methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86Planning for synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87

Setting up synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87

Setting synchronization preferences. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87Setting up synchronization with another database . . . . . . . . . . . . .89Setting up synchronization with other users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89

Synchronizing data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90

Sending and applying synchronization updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90What happens when you synchronize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91Scheduling automatic synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92

Chapter 11 Performing Database Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Using a password to protect your data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94

Setting up a database for multiple users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95

Adding users to a database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95Checking for duplicate records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96

Performing database maintenance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97

Backing up your ACT! data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97

Performing a backup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98Saving a copy of your database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98Restoring a database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99

Chapter 12 Importing and Exporting Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Importing ACT! data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102

Importing data from other programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102

Exporting data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103

Chapter 13 Customizing ACT!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Customizing Contact and Group windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106

Creating and modifying fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106Creating and changing layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108Customizing columns in list views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109

Customizing ACT! for efficiency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110

Using macros to automate tasks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110Running a macro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111Making the startup process more efficient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111Speeding up lookups, queries, and data sorting. . . . . . . . . . . . . .112Customizing the menu bar, menus, and toolbar actions. . . . . . . .113

Using the View bar display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113Customizing the menu bar and menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114Customizing the toolbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115

Creating and modifying keyboard shortcuts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115Running or launching other applications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115

Chapter 14 Using SideACT!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Starting SideACT!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118

Setting preferences for SideACT! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119Working in SideACT! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119

Recording information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119Marking items as completed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120Moving or copying items to ACT! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121

Appendix A Shortcut Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Appendix B Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

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Managing Contacts with ACT!

Welcome to ACT!™ version 6.0 for Windows—the only software application you need to manage your personal and business relationships.

With ACT!, you can keep track of information about the people you do business with and provide them with personal attention, while you efficiently manage and increase your business.

You can keep track of addresses, phone numbers, e-mail, appointments, birthdays, and more. With ACT!, you can write or fax letters or send e-mail, and have those activities recorded in the contact’s record.

Throughout this guide, you will learn how to use the features of ACT! to help you plan your day and keep up with contacts. This guide uses real-world scenarios to help you understand how ACT! can increase your productivity. (Scenarios are indicated in gray shading.) This guide also directs you to the online Help and other resources for more detailed information.

For a list of new features available in this version of ACT!, see the online Help.

ii

Using ACT! on a daily basisThe following scenario is the basis for examples throughout the guide that will help you understand how ACT! can assist you in performing your day-to-day tasks.

Chris Huffman is the owner and operator of a small wholesale coffee company. Business is growing and Chris needs a better way to manage his day-to-day tasks, customer and vendor information, and sales opportunities.

On a typical day, Chris reviews products with vendors, places customer orders, and makes sales appointments with potential buyers.

Chris wants to have one place to view all of his contacts, keep a history of their orders, and record price quotes from his vendors so that he can easily monitor his contacts’ activities. He also needs a system that allows him to organize and sort his contacts into groups, such as vendors, clients, or even golf partners.

Chris wants a tool that will allow him to:

• view all information about the people he does business with—their names, phone numbers, addresses, and so on.

• schedule appointments with people, whether it is for a business lunch or meeting, to call his suppliers, or to see his dentist.

• keep a history of orders each customer has placed.

• organize his contacts in different ways so he can send personalized letters and promotions.

He currently uses his Day Timer and Microsoft Outlook for scheduling, but has to copy information between the two. He keeps track of sales information using Microsoft Excel, but would like to have this integrated with his contact and scheduling information.

Chris knows that in order to do more business, and do it efficiently, he needs to use several methods of communicating with his contacts. He is looking for a program to handle his Internet, e-mail, fax, and telephone needs, so that he can reach more people, in more ways, to increase sales and improve customer relations.

Most importantly, Chris wants a tool that will grow with his business needs. As he hires more employees, he will want them to have access to the same contact information that he has. He may want to create special reports or new form letters, or work with customers in groups rather than individually.

Chris needs an all-in-one system to manage his business and improve his customer relations. Chris needs ACT!.

ACT! User’s Guide

1

1

Installing and Starting ACT!

Before you install ACT!™ version 6.0 for Windows, make sure that you have the required system hardware and software. Once installed on your computer, ACT! will automatically convert your database from an earlier version. You can also create a new database.

During installation, you can easily import data from other programs, such as Microsoft Outlook, Palm Desktop, and more, as described in Chapter 12, “Importing and Exporting Data”.

At anytime while using ACT!, you can get assistance by using one or more references described in this chapter.

2

System requirementsTo use ACT! version 6.0 for Windows, you need the following hardware and software:• An IBM PC or equivalent computer with a Pentium 133 MHz or higher

processor

• VGA or higher resolution monitor

• At least 64 MB of RAM (more memory increases performance)

• At least 50 MB of free disk space on your hard disk for installation

Note In addition to the disk space required to install ACT!, you need enough disk space to accommodate twice the size of your database when you perform certain functions, such as backing up your database. For example, if your database is 10 MB, you need 20 MB of free disk space.

• CD-ROM drive

• A mouse or other pointing device supported by Windows

• Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows NT version 4.0, or Windows XP

• Microsoft Internet Explorer version 5.5 or 6.0

The following hardware is recommended, but is not required:

• Windows-compatible modem (for automatic dialing or modem-based synchronization)

• Printer supported by Windows

ACT! also supports the following hardware and software:

• Lotus Notes Mail 5.0; Microsoft Outlook 2000 or 2002, Outlook Express 5.5 or 6.0; and Internet e-mail (SMTP/POP3)

• Microsoft Word 2000 or Word 2002

• WinFax PRO 9.0 or 10.0

• Microsoft TAPI-enabled telephone hardware and Caller ID support

The following networks are supported:

• Novell NetWare version 3.12 through 5.0

• Microsoft Networks

• Synchronization to Palm OS handhelds 3.0 or later

ACT! User’s Guide

Installing ACT!You can install a single-user copy of ACT! on your computer for your own use, or you can share a database on a network if several users need to access the same data. (Users can share one or more databases, but each person must have a separate, legally licensed copy of ACT!. For information about using ACT! in a network environment, see “About multiuser databases” in Help.)

You can share data using a process called synchronization. Synchronization ensures that all users have access to the most current data at all times. For more information about synchronization, see Chapter 10, “Synchronizing Data”.

Note If your database was created in a previous version of ACT!, reindex the database before installing ACT! version 6.0 for Windows. For more information, see “Compressing and reindexing a database” in your current version of ACT! Help.

To install ACT!

1 Insert the ACT! CD into the CD-ROM drive.

The installation program starts automatically. From the installation screen, you can install ACT! and other related software programs.

Note If the installation program does not start automatically, double-click the My Computer icon on your Windows desktop. Locate the CD-ROM drive in the window, double-click the drive letter to display the contents of the CD, and then double-click SETUP.EXE.

2 Click Install ACT!.

3 Follow the instructions on the screen.

During installation, you are prompted to enter the serial number printed on the ACT! CD sleeve.

Note You must register ACT! before you can create or open a database. Registering ACT! allows you to access information about ACT! updates.

Installing and Starting ACT! 3

4

Uninstalling ACT! If necessary, you can easily remove ACT! from your computer.

To uninstall ACT!

• Click the Windows Start button, point to Programs, point to ACT!, and then click Uninstall.

Getting assistance with ACT!This guide will help you get started with ACT!. It provides an overview of features and procedures for the basic tasks you can perform. Throughout this guide, you will be directed to the Help system for more information about features and functionality.

In this guide and in Help, you are instructed to click View bar or toolbar buttons, or to choose menu commands to perform a task. In many cases, you can create shortcuts or commands to access data and complete procedures. You can experiment with those options to find the one that works best for you.

Using the online Help systemThe User’s Guide directs you to Help topics in the Help Index to find more information about ACT! features. For example, you may need more information about viewing activity details in the Task List. The User’s Guide would display the following table:

In this example, you would type “activities” in the Help Index tab. Under the “activities” heading, scroll to locate “details”. Click “details”, and then click the “Viewing activity details in the Task List” topic.

In some cases, you will be directed to a general index topic, such as “fax software” that covers many subjects related to the topic.

You might also see text surrounded by brackets ([ ]) in the Help reference table, such as “Sorting groups [subgroups]”. This indicates there are two separate Help topics, “Sorting groups” and “Sorting subgroups.”

For more information or procedures, see the following topic in the Help index or press F1.

activities: details: Viewing activity details in the Task List

ACT! User’s Guide

You can also find information about features in the Help Contents or Find tabs. You may discover that you prefer one method of using Help to another, depending on the information you need. For example:

• The Contents tab lists topics as if they were chapters in a book. You can search for topics or subject matter by title.

• The Index tab lets you search topics or subtopics using keywords or phrases, as in a book index.

• If you have difficulty finding information, the Find tab offers you a way to search for all occurrences of a word, in every topic in the Help system.

• Many topics have a Related Topics button that displays a list of topics that may provide additional information.

• You can find troubleshooting information related to various features by searching “troubleshooting” in the Index.

To access the online Help system

• From the Help menu, click Help Topics.

- or -

From most windows or dialog boxes, press F1 on your keyboard.

Using other resources for informationIf you do not find what you need in Help, you can access the Knowledge Base on the ACT! Web site at http://service.act.com. You can also contact Technical Support as described on the back cover of this guide.


help: About online Help


6

Starting to use ACT!You enter information about your contacts, such as addresses, activities, and notes, in an ACT! database. This information becomes a person’s contact record. If you are using ACT! for the first time, and you are not converting a database created in a previous version of ACT!, you must create a new database.

Creating a new databaseYou can create a database using the New command from the menu bar or using the ACT! QuickStart Wizard. The QuickStart Wizard displays step-by-step instructions on the screen. For more information, see “QuickStart Wizard” in Help.

The first time you create a database, you must enter information about you or your company. Information such as your name, address, and telephone number becomes a part of your database called My Record. My Record is the contact record for the owner of a database. In a multiuser database, each user has a My Record. Your My Record is used as the source of your information when addressing mail merges and for scheduling activities or tasks for yourself.

To create a database using the New command

1 From the File menu, click New.

2 In the New dialog box, select ACT! Database, and then click OK.

3 In the New Database dialog box, enter a name for the new database, and then click Save.

4 In the My Record dialog box that appears, enter your information, click OK, and then click Yes to confirm that your information is correct.

Note My Record becomes a contact record in your database. You can update My Record information at any time.

ACT! User’s Guide

Converting a database from an earlier version of ACT!ACT! automatically converts a database that was created in an earlier version of ACT! when you open the database in ACT! version 6.0 for Windows. You should compress, reindex, and back up your previous database first.

Consider the following before you convert your database to ACT! 6.0:

• You cannot share databases between ACT! 6.0 and an earlier version.

• Groups that you convert from ACT! 2.0 are automatically marked as private in ACT! 6.0.

• Groups that you convert from 3.0, 4.0, or 5.0 do not change.

• If you customized the menus, toolbars, or shortcut keys in an earlier version of ACT!, the customizations are not available when you convert your database to ACT! 6.0.

• You cannot open an ACT! 6.0 database in an earlier version, although you can convert an ACT! 6.0 database to 3.0, 4.0, or 5.0.

For more information or procedures, see the following topics in the Help index or press F1.

databases: About converting databases

databases: creating

troubleshooting: installation


2

9

Working with Contacts

The central element of ACT! is the contact. A contact is a customer, business associate, friend, or anyone that you need to keep track of. All contact information—name, address, phone number, employer, and so on—makes up the contact record, which is stored in the ACT! database. Everything you do in ACT! relates to a contact.

For example, you can enter all of the information you normally keep in files into ACT! so that you can access it easily. In addition to names, addresses, and phone numbers, you might want to add notes and sales data, and attach documents to a contact’s record.

In the following sections, you will learn how to enter contact data, attach word-processing documents to contact records, and quickly find and print contact information.

10

3

4

Looking at the Contact windowWhen you first start ACT!, you see the Contact window, which displays information about one contact.

The Contact window is divided into two sections and has a View bar, toolbar, and tabs, as shown in the following illustration.

What’s in the Contact window?

Feature Function

1 Toolbar Includes tools to access features, such as the ACT! word processor or reports.

2 View bar Contains buttons you can use to change views, for example, to view a list of contacts.

3 Top portion of window Includes information on a typical business card, such as name, address, and telephone number.

4 Bottom portion of window Displays information relative to the tab selected.

5 Tabs Allow you to view sales opportunities, notes, or activities, and to perform related tasks.

6 Contact Layout button Changes how the window looks and the fields it contains.

1

2

5 6

ACT! User’s Guide

The toolbar and tabs display in all ACT! windows and views, although there may be some differences depending on the particular window or view that you display.

Entering contact informationYou can add contacts in either the Contact window or the Contact List. ACT! automatically saves new contacts to your database as soon as you move to another record or perform another action.

You can also make a contact “private,” which means that no one, including the Database Administrator, can view the contact information.

Entering contacts in the Contact windowYou can add contacts in the Contact window, and then speed up data entry by duplicating information from one record to another.

To add a contact in the Contact window

1 On the toolbar, click the New Contact tool.

A blank contact record appears.

2 Complete the fields, pressing TAB to move between fields.

Note Make sure that ACT! correctly identifies the contact’s first and last name, as well as any title. ACT! uses the title and names in the salutation when you write letters or memos. You can edit name prefixes and suffixes on the Names tab in the General Preferences dialog box.

3 (Optional) Click in the Contact field, and then click the Browse (...) button to edit contact name details.

4 (Optional) Click in the Phone or Fax fields, and then click the Browse (...) button to display a dialog box where you can format telephone numbers.

Working with Contacts 11

12

Note When you click in a field that shows a button with an arrow, the field contains a drop-down list. You can click on the arrow and select an item from the list, or you can type one or two letters in the field and ACT! will fill in the field from the list. If you enter text in the, Title, Department, City, or Country fields, ACT! automatically adds the text to the drop-down lists.

To duplicate contact information

1 Select the contact with the information you want to copy.

2 From the Contact menu, click Duplicate Contact, and then click either Duplicate data from primary fields or Duplicate data from all fields.

For more information about primary fields, see Chapter 13, “Customizing ACT!”.

3 Click OK.

Entering contacts in the Contact ListOnce you have entered contacts and contact information, ACT! creates a Contact List. In the Contact List, you can enter or change contact information, and add or sort contacts.

To add a contact in the Contact List

1 On the View bar, click Contact List.

2 When the Contact List appears, select Edit Mode from the drop-down list, above the first column in the Contact List.


contact information

contact name: salutations

contacts: private

entering: Entering basic contact information

entering: international phone numbers

entering: speeding up entry

printing: contact information

deleting: contact records: About changing contact records

ACT! User’s Guide

3 On the toolbar, click the New Contact tool.

A blank line appears.

4 Complete the fields, pressing TAB to move between fields.

To sort the Contact List

• Click on a column heading.

Entering notes about contactsYou can create a note to attach to a contact record. A note can be any information that does not fit into a field on the Contact window.

To enter a note in a contact record

1 Display the contact record in the Contact window, and then click the Notes/History tab.

2 Click Insert Note, and then type the note in the Regarding field.

The note is saved when you click outside of the Regarding field.

Note You can type as much information as you want in the Regarding field.


Contact List

Contact List: finding contacts in


14

You can delete notes you no longer want, as described in Help.

Attaching files to contact recordsTo keep track of all documents associated with your contacts, you can attach documents, such as spreadsheets, reports, letters, memos, or e-mail messages, to the contact record. You can also scan documents, such as receipts and invoices, and attach the scanned versions to the contact record.

Note From the Library tab, you can link documents to the contact record so that you can edit them from within ACT!. For more information, see “About the Library tab” in Help.

To attach a file to a contact record

1 Display the contact record in the Contact window.

2 From the Contact menu, click Attach File.

3 In the Attach File dialog box, locate the file to be attached, and then click Open.

Note An attached file is not stored in the ACT! database. Therefore, it is not sent with ACT! data when you synchronize with another user or another database, and is not backed up when you back up your database.


notes: entering in contact records


files: deleting from contacts

e-mail: attaching to contacts

ACT! User’s Guide

Finding and sorting contactsYou can find and sort your contacts in the Contact window or in the Contact List using lookups, keywords, and queries, or by using criteria that you specify. You can also use the Look for feature to quickly find a contact in the Contact List.

To find a contact using the Look for feature

1 On the Contact List, click the column heading in which you want to search. For example, Company.

2 Although no field appears, start typing the contact information you want to find.

As soon as you begin typing, the Look for field appears above the column heading, and the closest match is located. The Look for field closes when you select a contact or click anywhere on the screen.

Finding contacts and information using lookupsYou can use a lookup to find contacts. A lookup is a selection of contact records based on specified criteria. For example, you might create a lookup of all contacts who work at the same company so that you can produce a phone list for that company.

To find contacts using a single search criterion

1 From the Lookup menu, click a Lookup command.

The Lookup dialog box appears.

Note The Lookup dialog box does not display if you select these commands: My Record, All Contacts, Keyword Search, Previous, By Example, Internet Directory, or Synchronized Records.

2 In the Search For box, type a word to search for or select a word from the list, and then click OK.

When the results of the lookup appear, a record counter at the top of the Contact window shows the total number of records found for that lookup and which record number is displaying.


16

If the results are not what you need, you can create more sophisticated lookups, and you can broaden or narrow a lookup. If you want to create a lookup of contacts who do not share all of the same information required to generate the lookup, you can “tag” contacts in the Contact List, and then create a lookup of the tagged contacts.

Looking up contact activityYou can monitor a contact’s activities based on the last time you modified their record, such as an address change. ACT! identifies these contacts based on the last time you modified data in contact or group fields, in the Notes/History or Sales Opportunities tabs, in E-mail addresses, or in attachments.

You can look up contact activity by date range, activity type, and history type.

To look up contact activity

1 From the Lookup menu, click Contact Activity.

2 In the Search For list, select either Modified or Not Modified contacts, and then select a date range to search.

3 Check one or more of the Search in check boxes, and then click Find Now.

4 You can further refine your search by selecting one or more History Types.

Looking up annual eventsYou can create a lookup of upcoming annual events for the current week, the current month, or a specified date range. For information about entering annual event dates, see “Keeping track of annual events” in Chapter 4.

Chris wants to know which of his customers he has had the least contact with since he opened his business in 1999. He is looking for contacts with whom he had scheduled an activity, such as a call, and generated a history, such as a sales opportunity, but then had no further contact with them. Chris wants to determine which relationships to re-establish in order to generate more business.

ACT! User’s Guide

To look up annual events

1 From the Lookup menu, click Annual Events.

2 From the Annual Events Search dialog box, select an event from the Search for list.

3 In the Time Range box, select a set of dates, or date range, in which to search for events, and then click Find Now.

A list of contact names and dates appear.

4 Click Create Lookup to create a lookup of the contacts.

- or -

Click Print List to print a list of the contact names.

5 (Optional) To display a specific contact record, select the contact from the list, and then click Go To Contact.

6 (Optional) To schedule a recurring to-do for the event, select a contact from the list, and then click Schedule To-do.

The Schedule Activity dialog box appears where you can schedule the activity. All activities scheduled for an annual event appear as to-do activities on your calendars.

7 Click Close to exit, or click New Search to find other annual events.

Finding contacts and information using keywordsAnother way to find contacts is by searching for keywords. A keyword is a word that appears anywhere in an ACT! database. It is the most powerful way to find information about your contacts. You can start a keyword search from the Lookup menu.


finding: contacts using lookups

finding: contacts in Contact List

lookups: contact activity

lookups: broadening [narrowing]

tagging

annual events: creating lookups for


keywords: finding contacts using

keywords: using the results of


18

Finding contacts using queries A query is a search that compares all contacts in the open database with multiple criteria that you specify. All contacts that match those criteria are listed in the resulting lookup. Queries allow you to find contacts that you cannot find using the commands in the Lookup menu.

For example, you can create a query to find all contacts who work in a specific city; who you last contacted after January 1, 1999; and who work for two (out of the six) companies with whom you do business.

Sorting contactsACT! automatically sorts contacts alphabetically by company name in the Contact window and Contact List. You can use the Sort feature to sort your contacts by last name, city, area code, and so on.

You can also sort contacts based on more than one criterion. For example, you can sort by city first, and then by last name.

Printing contact and group informationYou can print contact information from the list views and tabs. The following list explains what will print when you click on the Printing tool in the toolbar.

• Contact List—prints a list of your contacts.

• Task List—prints a list of your activities.

• Notes/History tab in the Contact or Groups window—prints notes, histories, and attachments for a contact or group.

• Activities tab in the Contact or Groups window—prints activities scheduled with a particular contact or activities associated with a group.

• Sales/Opportunities tab in the Contact or Groups window—prints sales opportunities, closed/won sales, and lost sales for a particular contact or group.


queries: creating

queries: creating advanced

For more information, see the following topic in the Help index or press F1.

sorting: contacts

ACT! User’s Guide

• Groups tab in the Contact window—prints groups to which the contact belongs. For more information about Groups, see Chapter 4, “Working with Groups”.

• Contacts tab in the Groups window—prints contacts in a selected group. For more information about Groups, see Chapter 4, “Working with Groups”.

To print contact information

1 Display the window or tab you want to print.

2 From the File menu, click Print or Print <window or tab name>, as appropriate.

You can print additional group information and address books, as described in Help.

Getting contact information from the InternetYou can access ACT! Internet Services to view a company’s Web site or to get contact information from the Internet and add it to your database. Using the ACT! Web browser, you can go to Web sites and attach Web pages to contact records, access your Favorites list, or save Web pages for offline use. To use ACT! Internet Services, you need an Internet account, an Internet Service Provider, and Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6.0.

To access Internet Services

• On the View bar, click Internet Services.


Internet services

Internet services: enabling or disabling

Internet directory services

Internet: accessing Internet links

Web pages: adding to Favorites

Web pages: attaching to contact records

Web pages: saving


3

21

Working with Groups

To simplify managing contacts with similar information, you can organize your contacts into groups. A group is a collection of contacts that have something in common, such as working for the same company or being involved on the same project.

Once contacts are organized into groups and subgroups, you can view activities or sales associated with the groups. You can also attach notes, histories, and files to groups, just as you can with contacts.

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Advantages and uses of groupsYou can organize contacts into groups so you can work with them more efficiently. You can also designate some groups as private, such as family and friends, so no one else can view them.

Note ACT! uses the terms contact and member interchangeably when referring to a contact within a group.

Following are a few examples of how you can use groups.

• Create a group as a company record, then use subgroups to organize your contacts in the company by region, department, or function.

• Create a group as an account record, then keep track of account information such as revenue forecasts or sales opportunities.

• Use groups as a collection of contacts that have something in common, such as golf partners, prospective customers, or personal contacts.

• Use groups to identify projects or committees. For example, you can group vendors and sales associates working on a common project under one group heading.

To work with groups

• On the View bar, click the Groups button.

The Groups window has most of the same features as the Contact window and shares many of the same tabs, such as Notes/History, Activities, and Sales/Opportunities.

ACT! User’s Guide

The following illustration shows the Groups window. Notice the list of groups on the left.

To display subgroups

• Click the plus sign next to a group name. To hide subgroups, click the minus sign.

ACT! includes special layouts for groups, which you can choose from the Group Layout button.


Groups window

groups: private

printing: group information

Working with Groups 23

24

Creating and duplicating groups and subgroupsYou can create a group and subgroups, and then create new groups or subgroups by duplicating the existing group. If you delete a group or subgroup that you no longer need, this only deletes the group, not the contacts.

To create a new group

1 On the View bar, click Groups.

2 On the toolbar, click the New Group tool.

A blank group record appears.

3 In the Group Name field, enter a name for the group. Continue entering information, pressing TAB to move between fields.

ACT! automatically saves the new group, and adds the group name to the list of names on the left, when you select or create another group.

Once you have set up a group, you can add contacts to it. See “Adding contacts to a group or subgroup” in this chapter.

To duplicate a group

1 Select a group with the information you want to copy.

2 From the Group menu, click Duplicate Group, and then click either Duplicate data from primary fields or Duplicate data from all fields.

For more information about primary fields, see Chapter 13, “Customizing ACT!”.

3 Click OK.

Chris wants to create a subgroup called “Marketing” within a group that already exists in his database. He can speed up the process by duplicating the group record that holds all of the address and contact information. When he duplicates a group record, he has the option to duplicate data from the record’s primary fields or from all fields.


groups: deleting

subgroups: creating

ACT! User’s Guide

Adding contacts to a group or subgroupWhen you create a group or subgroup, you must specify the contacts to add to the group or subgroup. You can also add contacts to multiple groups. For example, if you play golf with some of your distributors, you can add them to your “Distributors” group as well as to your personal “Golf” group.

You can add contacts to a group or subgroup from the Contact window or Contact List, or you can set up group membership rules for adding members. A group membership rule defines the conditions under which contacts are assigned to a group. Contacts matching the criteria in a rule are added to the group when you run the rule. A rule can be as simple as specifying that all companies with an ID/Status of “suppliers” belong to a group. You can easily define membership rules with the Group Membership Rules wizard.

To add a contact to a group

1 From the Groups window, click the Add/Remove tool.

2 In the Add/Remove Contacts dialog box, select the name of the contact to add to a group, and then click Add. Repeat to add more contacts.

The contact names are moved to the Group membership list box.

Tip You can select multiple contacts at one time. Select adjacent names by holding down the SHIFT key as you click each name; select non-adjacent names by holding down the CTRL key as you click each name.

3 When you are finished, click OK.


groups: adding contacts to

groups: removing contacts from

group membership rules

subgroups: adding contacts to


26

Entering group notes, histories, and attachmentsYou can add notes and histories to a group or subgroup using the Notes/History tab. You can also attach files and e-mail messages to group records just as you can to contact records. This is useful if you want each contact in the group to share the same information.

For example, if you have a group of contacts and want to keep a history of their special requests in one location, you can enter their requests as notes and attach them to the group.

To enter a note for a group or subgroup

1 On the View bar, click Groups, and then select the group for which you want to enter a note.

2 Click the Notes/History tab, and then click the Insert Note button.

3 In the Regarding field, type the note.

For information about attaching e-mail messages, see Chapter 7, “Using e-mail with ACT!”.

Assigning and viewing group activities and salesWhen you schedule an activity or record a sales opportunity with a contact, you can link, or assign, that activity to a group or subgroup. Then you can view all activities or sales opportunities for all contacts associated with a group.

Scheduling activities and recording sales opportunities are discussed later in this guide.

Note You cannot directly schedule an activity or record a sales opportunity with a group or subgroup.


files: attaching to groups

filtering: Notes tab in Groups window

e-mail: attaching to groups

notes: assigning to groups

ACT! User’s Guide

To assign an activity to a group

1 From the Contact window, click the Activities tab, and then double-click the activity you want to attach to the group.

The General tab in the Schedule Activity dialog box appears.

2 From the Associate with group list, select the group to which you want to assign the activity, and then click OK.

Finding groups and group informationAs your list of groups, subgroups, and members grows, you can easily locate groups and group information in several ways.

• You can create a lookup of the members of a group so that you can perform functions such as creating letters for each member.

• You can use the Keyword Search to find a group record based on a keyword.

• You can search for groups and subgroups with specific criteria, such as all groups within the same industry and located in Central America.

• You can search for groups with a selected field that is blank. For example, you might want to find all groups with a blank telephone number field so you can update that information.

When ACT! finds one or more groups, it creates a group lookup. Only the groups in the lookup will display in the group list.

To find groups using a lookup

1 From the Groups window, click the Lookup menu, and then click Other fields.

2 In the Lookup dialog box, select the field on which to search from the Lookup list.


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3 In the Search for box, type or select the word or phrase to search for.

4 (Optional) Select Replace lookup, Add to lookup, or Narrow lookup, and then click OK.

Tip Press F1 from any dialog box for field or terminology definitions.

Reorganizing groupsYou can reorganize your groups to suit your needs. You might want to reorganize groups to:

• “promote” a subgroup to a group when it has grown large enough to merit its own group.

• move a subgroup to another group.

• “demote” a group to a subgroup when it is no longer large enough to be its own group.


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Scheduling Activities and Managing Your Calendar

ACT! makes it easy to schedule activities, such as telephone calls, meetings, and to-do items, and to keep track of annual events, such as birthdays or anniversaries. If you schedule activities using both Microsoft Outlook and ACT!, you can display those activities on either calendar.

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Setting up scheduling and calendar preferencesYou can set options for scheduling and calendar preferences that make it easier for you to manage your activities and speed up the scheduling process. For example, you can set a default duration for activities or specify to have your system automatically check for scheduling conflicts.

Viewing and printing calendarsACT! includes Daily, Weekly, and Monthly calendars that you can use to schedule your activities or to display information about an activity. The number of scheduled activities appears in the status bar at the bottom of the calendar. You can display basic activity information using calendar pop-ups, or you can select an activity from a calendar to view its details. You can also view the Mini-Calendar that shows three months at a time.

The following illustration shows the various types of ACT! calendars.


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What’s in the calendars?

When you view a calendar, you can display the previous or next day, month, or year (as applicable) using the Move Back or Move Forward tools in the toolbar.

You can designate some of your activities as “private”. This way, if others can view your calendar, no one, including the Database Administrator, can view those activities.

You can print your calendars, choosing from several formats, such as Avery, Day Runner, and Day Timer, and you can specify the information you want to print. For example, you may want to print only meetings with a high priority.

To display basic activity information

• Using your mouse, hold the pointer over an activity on your Daily or Weekly calendars.

Basic activity details appear including whether the activity is recurring, has an alarm attached, is private, has been cleared, or was scheduled from Outlook. Ellipses indicate that there are more details about the activity than what appears in the calendar pop-up. You can view the full details by double-clicking on the activity.

To display and print a calendar

1 On the View bar, select any calendar, and then click the Printer tool.

2 In the Print dialog box, select the calendar type from the Printout type list.

3 Select a calendar format from the list box on the left.

Feature Function

1 Daily Calendar Displays activities scheduled on any single day. The day is divided into time intervals. Vertical bars indicate activities that span more than one time interval.

2 Weekly Calendar Displays seven days of scheduled activities. Each day is divided into time intervals. Vertical bars indicate activities that span more than one time interval.

3 Monthly Calendar Displays a full month’s scheduled activities. Horizontal bars, or Banners, indicate activities that span several days.

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4 To specify what prints on the calendar, click Options.

5 In the Calendar Options dialog box, select items to print in the Print box.

6 (Optional) To filter the calendar printout, click Filter, then specify the type, priority, date, and so on.

7 Click OK to close each dialog box.

8 When the Windows Print dialog box appears, click Print.

Scheduling activitiesYou can use ACT! to schedule meetings, calls, or to-do’s (tasks) with contacts. You can also schedule personal activities in your My Record, such as a reminder to make a doctor’s appointment.

You can schedule activities from a contact record or from your calendars, and include detailed descriptions of the activities. You can also set alarms to remind you of upcoming activities.

Note ACT! can remind you of activities even when the program is not open. For more information, see Chapter 14, “Using SideACT!”.

Scheduling activities from a contact recordAll activities must be scheduled with a contact. For example, you can schedule a telephone call with your contact by entering the time and date that the call is scheduled for, and the details about what is to be discussed.


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ACT! User’s Guide

To schedule an activity from the contact record

1 From the Contact window, click the Schedule Call, Meeting, or To-do tool on the toolbar.

2 On the General tab of the Schedule Activity dialog box, enter the information to schedule, such as:

• Select or type the time. In the Time list, select Timeless to schedule an activity that you want to occur on a specific day, but at an unspecified time.

Note Timeless activities appear in the daily recap area of Daily, Weekly, and Monthly calendars.

• Specify with whom the activity is scheduled (the current contact is the default). Schedule personal activities by clicking My Record in the Contact list.

• Select or type a description in the Regarding field. If you need more space, use the Details tab.

• To be reminded of the activity, select the Ring Alarm check box.

• To schedule this activity for another user, click the Schedule For/By button.

3 Click OK.

When you schedule an activity with a contact or group, you can attach the activity to an e-mail message to notify them. This way, they can add the activity to their calendars. You can also change, reschedule, and delete activities.


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Scheduling activities from a calendarYou can schedule a meeting from the Daily calendar, specify when it will start and how long it will last, and then select the people with whom you will meet. You can set up calendar preferences to notify you of any scheduling conflicts.

Note From a calendar, you can schedule an activity with a new contact and add the contact to your database at that time.

To schedule an activity from a Daily or Weekly calendar

1 On the View bar, click the Daily or Weekly calendar.

A calendar with time slots and a small monthly calendar appear. The Daily calendar displays today’s date, and the Weekly calendar displays this week’s dates.

2 On the small calendar, click the date on which you want to schedule an activity.

3 On the calendar, double-click the time you want to schedule the activity.

- or -

Place the pointer on the time the activity will start, hold down your left mouse button, and then drag the pointer to the time the activity will end.

The General tab of the Schedule Activity dialog box appears.

4 Enter the information to schedule the activity.

• Select or type the date.

• Select or type the time. In the Time list, select Timeless to schedule an activity that you want to occur on a specific day, but at an unspecified time.

Note Timeless activities appear in the daily recap area of Daily, Weekly, and Monthly calendars.

• Select or type the duration.

• Specify with whom the activity is scheduled (the current contact is listed automatically). Schedule personal activities by clicking My Record in the Contact list.

• Select or type a description in the Regarding field. If you need more space, use the Description tab.

• Select the group with whom to associate the activity.

ACT! User’s Guide

• Select the activity’s priority and the color in which the activity displays in your Task List.

• To be reminded of the activity, select the Ring Alarms check box.

Note ACT! can remind you of activities even when the program is not open. For more information, see Chapter 14, “Using SideACT!”.

5 Click OK.

Scheduling recurring activities

To create a recurring activity

1 From the Schedule Activity dialog box, click the Recurring Settings tab.

2 Select a Frequency. The default is Once.

The information in the Activity Occurs box changes depending on the frequency selected.

3 Complete the fields as necessary, and then click OK.


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Chris meets with his vendors each Monday, sends invoices to his accountant every other Friday, and picks up his daughter from piano lessons the last Saturday of each month. With ACT!, Chris can enter these periodic activities once, specify them as recurring, and then specify when and how often they occur.


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Creating an activity seriesYou can schedule a series of tasks that are date-dependent. For example, three days after a contact becomes a customer, you mail a brochure, and then mail a follow-up letter ten days later. With ACT!, you can schedule these tasks as an activity series; a series of tasks that are task and date dependent. Each task can be scheduled based on either the start or due date of another activity.

Viewing and managing your activitiesWith ACT!, you can view all of your activities in one list so you can easily manage your day. When an activity is complete, you can record its outcome and ACT! automatically creates a history of it, attached to the appropriate contact.

Working with the Task ListYou can view all of your activities from the Task List. Activities can also be viewed in the Activity tab of a contact’s record. You can select a specific task to view its details or to make changes. You can also print your activities for a particular contact or print your entire Task List.

The following illustration shows all tasks for today and future dates, including completed tasks (displayed with a line through them).


scheduling: activity series

ACT! User’s Guide

You can filter the Task List by type, priority, and date. For example, you can view only your high-priority meetings for next week. The number of scheduled tasks appears in the status bar at the bottom of the window.

To view and print your Task List

1 On the View bar, click Task List.

The Task List appears.

2 (Optional) Filter the list by Type, Priority, or Date.

3 On the toolbar, click the Print tool.

Note If no tasks appear in the list, the Print Task List command will not display.

Keeping track of annual eventsYou can enter annual event dates on contact records to keep track of important yearly events, such as birthdays or anniversaries. When you create a new database, ACT! includes a birth date annual event field by default, but you can add as many annual event fields as you like.

When you enter an annual event date, ACT! keeps track of the event from year to year so that you can perform a lookup of annual events for the current week, the current month, or a specified date range. For information about looking up annual events, see Chapter 2, “Working with Contacts”.

Annual events do not display on your calendars, but you can create a to-do activity associated with an annual event. For example, you may want to remind yourself to purchase a birthday gift one week before a contact’s birthday.

Note To enter an annual event, you must first define the annual event field, and then add the field to a contact or group layout, as described in Help.


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To enter annual event dates

1 Display the contact record for whom you want to enter a date.

2 In an annual event field, type a date (for example, 01/01/2003) or use the drop-down calendar to select a date.

If you do not enter a year, ACT! automatically enters the current year date.

Caution Annual event fields accept only date formats, such as 01/01/2002. If you want to replace a current date field that accepts characters as dates, such as January 1, 2002, with an annual event field, first, change all of the dates to MM/DD/YYYY format, and then perform a copy and replace of the field content. If you simply change the type format from “character” to “date” in the Define Field dialog box and do not copy and replace the data, you may lose data.

Recording completed activitiesWhen you clear an activity from your schedule, you can record the outcome of the activity, and ACT! automatically creates a history for it. This way, you can view the details of any activity, at any time, for all of your contacts.

To clear an activity and schedule a follow-up activity

1 Display the activity you want to clear, from either the Activity tab of the Contact or Group window, the Task List, or a calendar that displays the activity.

2 Select the activity you want to clear by clicking in the check mark column next to the activity.

The Clear Activity dialog box appears.

3 Enter the activity details and result of the activity.

4 (Optional) To schedule a follow-up activity:

a Click Follow-Up Activity.

b Enter information in the General tab of the Schedule Activity dialog box, and then click OK.


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5 Click OK to close the Clear Activity dialog box.

Note Clearing an activity does not delete information about the activity, it simply marks it as completed and changes the display on calendars and in the Task List.

Synchronizing Outlook and ACT! calendarsIf you schedule some appointments and tasks in ACT! and some in Outlook, you may find it helpful to view all of your calls, meetings, and to-do’s on a single calendar in either ACT! or Outlook.

Note To share information between ACT! and Outlook calendars, you must be using Outlook 2000 or later.

You can synchronize, or update, your ACT! calendar with Outlook activities, update your Outlook calendar with ACT! activities, or do both in a single operation. Outlook does not have to be running for you to update your ACT! or Outlook calendar.

Note If you use a multiuser database, only your activities are updated in ACT!. Every user must update his or her own calendars.

To update your ACT! or Outlook calendar

1 From the ACT! Tools menu, point to Outlook Activities, and then click Update.

2 In the Update Calendars dialog box, select the option that describes what you want to update in the Update box.

3 In the For these dates box, select a date or date range to synchronize.

Note If you are updating your ACT! calendar with Outlook activities and a recurring Outlook activity falls within the date or dates you select, your ACT! calendar will include all occurrences of the Outlook activity.

4 Click Update.


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Viewing Outlook activities in ACT!You can view Outlook activities on ACT! calendars, in the Task List, or in the Activities tab. You can identify an Outlook activity by the following Outlook activity icon.

Note You can view Outlook activities in ACT!, but you cannot change them in ACT!.

If you prefer to view all of your Outlook contact records and activities in ACT!, you can import the Outlook data. For more information about importing, see Chapter 12, “Importing and Exporting Data”.

For more information about how you can use Microsoft Outlook with ACT!, see Chapter 7, “Using e-mail with ACT!”.


Microsoft Outlook: About scheduling with Outlook in ACT!

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Managing Sales Opportunities

ACT! has powerful tools that you can use to record sales opportunities and track the progress of sales throughout the sales process, so that you can reach your sales goals.

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Understanding the sales development cycleA sales opportunity is a potential sale to a contact. You can use ACT! to monitor your sales opportunities throughout each stage of the sales development cycle. ACT! identifies 11 stages in the development cycle to track sales progress. You can modify or add stages to suit your needs.

Sales Stages

When you create a new sales opportunity, you can forecast its potential earnings, enter the probability of closing the sale, and include information about your contact’s buying decisions. You can track progress through each stage of the sale and record its outcome.

ACT! provides reports and graphical representations of your sales stages so you can easily plan the appropriate actions to meet your goals.

Stage Description

New Opportunity Potential sales opportunity.

Pre-Approach Gather information on potential opportunity.

Initial Communication First contact with the prospect (fax, e-mail, letter, brochure, call, etc.).

First Interview First discussion with the prospect.

Opportunity Analysis Gather and analyze information in order to understand the opportunity.

Solution Development Creating focused solution(s) to meet prospect’s need(s).

Solution Presentation Presentation of proposed solution(s).

Customer Evaluation Customer evaluation of the proposed solution(s).

Negotiation Negotiate acceptable terms (price, delivery, quantity, etc.).

Commitment to Buy Customer has agreed to move the sale to a level of closure.

Follow-up Follow-up with customer. Opportunity to maintain a sales relationship.


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Creating a sales opportunityYou can create sales opportunities, maintain lists of products and competitors, and enter the sales stages within the Sales/Opportunities tab of your contacts’ records.

Note Each sales opportunity must be associated with a contact.

To create a sales opportunity

1 From the Contact or Groups window, click the Sales/Opportunities tab, and then click New Opportunity.

2 On the General tab of the Sales Opportunity dialog box, enter the information about the sales opportunity as described below.

• Select or type the Product, sales Type, Units, Unit Price, and Amount.

• Select or type the date that you expect to close the sale in the Forecasted close date field.

• Type a percentage indicating the probability of closing the sale in the Probability field.

• Select a sales stage from the Sales stage list.

• Modify the contact information and creation date if necessary.

• Associate the sales opportunity with a group, if appropriate.

3 Click OK.

You can also add information about the sale or about your competitor, and you can import product lists from another application or from another ACT! database, as described in Help.


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Forecasting salesWith ACT!, you can forecast your sales by using the sales pipeline or sales graphs. For example, if you want to know how many sales opportunities you have in the Initial Communication and Negotiation stages, use the sales pipeline or sales graphs to quickly calculate that information.

Using the sales pipelineThe sales pipeline is a graphical representation you can use to monitor and forecast your sales opportunities. It shows the number of sales opportunities you have at each stage of the sales development cycle. The sales pipeline indicates only open sales opportunities, not won/closed or lost sales.

To produce a sales pipeline

1 From the Contact or Groups window, click the Sales menu, and then click Sales Pipeline.

2 In the Create graph for box of the Sales Pipeline Options dialog box, select Current contact, Current lookup, or All contacts.

ACT! User’s Guide

3 In the Display Data For Sales Managed By box, select All users or Selected users. If you chose Selected users, select users from the list box.

4 Click the Graph button.

The Sales Pipeline appears.

You can change the display by assigning different colors to the sales stages or display data for only selected users. You can also print the pipeline, save it as a bitmap file, or copy it to the clipboard so that you can paste it into another document.

Using sales graphsYou can use graphs or reports to show sales opportunities, forecasted sales, or closed/won sales for specified time periods.

When you create a sales graph, you specify the data that you want the graph to use and how it should appear.

For information about sales reports, see Chapter 9, “Producing Reports”.


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Recording the outcome of a sales opportunityWhen you complete a sales opportunity, you can record the outcome of the sale, and ACT! automatically creates a history of the results in a contact’s or group’s Notes/History tab.

To record a completed sale

1 From the Contact window, click the Sales/Opportunities tab, and then click the check mark column of the sale you want to close.

2 In the Complete Sale dialog box, enter the information about the sale.

• In the Result box, select Closed/Won Sale or Lost Sale.

• In the Reason box, select or type the reason.

• Change data in the Product information and Sales information boxes, as necessary.

3 Click OK.

To reopen a completed sale

1 Find the contact for whom you are reopening the sale.

2 In the Sales/Opportunities tab, double-click the Selection button for the sales opportunity.

3 In the Completed Sale dialog box, click Reopen Sale, and then click OK.


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Using the Telephone and Fax with ACT!

You can use ACT! to manage telephone calls and record them to a contact’s history. This allows you to easily and efficiently track your communication with contacts. For example, you can have ACT! dial the contact’s number, then time the duration of the call as you talk. You can continue making notes in the contact’s record during the conversation, and then record the call to the contact’s history when you are finished.

Some systems allow you to use the Caller ID feature. Caller ID lets you identify your contacts by their contact record when they call you.

You can also fax documents to contacts from ACT!, such as letters, reports, and your calendars and address book.

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Using the ACT! Dialer The ACT! Dialer works as an extension of a phone or modem. Using the Dialer, you can place and manage telephone calls to contacts. However, your system must support call-management features, such as Call Forward or Call Transfer. If you have the appropriate equipment, you can also use the Caller ID feature, which displays the contact’s record when a contact calls you.

You can continue to schedule activities or other tasks while you talk to your contacts, and then record the history of the call when it is completed.

Dialer system requirementsTo use the ACT! Dialer, you must have at least one of the following:

• A modem that shares the same line as your telephone.

• A telephone equipped with Telephony Application Programming Interface (TAPI) hardware 1.0 or later and the appropriate telephone driver software installed on your computer. TAPI operates as a link between your computer and your modem or phone.

Note For assistance with modem features or using your telephone with the ACT! Dialer, contact your telephone administrator or telephone system vendor, or refer to your modem documentation.

Setting up the DialerBefore you can use the ACT! Dialer to place telephone calls, you must turn it on and set user preferences. User preferences tell the Dialer how to work with your telephone or modem. For example, you can specify how area codes are handled or specify calling card features.

To set up the Dialer

1 From the Edit menu, click Preferences.

2 In the Preferences dialog box, click the Dialer tab.

3 Select the Use Dialer option to turn on the Dialer.

4 Choose your modem or telephone line from the drop-down list, click Setup, and then complete the fields to configure the line.

5 Choose a location from the drop-down list, click Properties, and set the location options in the dialog box that appears.

ACT! User’s Guide

6 Choose the telephone extension or modem address from the Address list.

7 Click OK.

You can also customize dialing options, as described in Help.

Making telephone callsYou can place calls to contacts from the Contact window or Task List, and you can record the time of each call. When you complete a call and hang up, you can record the outcome of the call in the Notes/History tab.

To make a telephone call from the Contact window

1 Display the contact you want to call.

2 On the toolbar, click the Dial Phone tool.

3 In the Dialer dialog box, double-click the telephone number, and then click Dial.

You can also dial a toll call, as described in Help.

For more information or procedures, see the following topics in the Help index, or press F1.

Dialer

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Managing your callsYou can place calls on hold, forward or transfer calls, and perform three-way calling (also referred to as conference calling). The Mute and Speaker telephone features are available if your modem has speaker telephone capabilities.

Using Caller ID The Caller ID feature displays the contact record of the person who is calling. With this feature, you can be reminded of your last conversation, the customer’s last order, and so on, before you answer the call. Using ACT!, you can determine if your telephone systems or modems support call-management features.

Sending faxesYou can fax any item that you can print in ACT!, including documents, letters, reports, calendars, and address books. You can fax documents that you create using a word processor or use the Quick Fax tool to create and fax a document without using a word processor. You can use the ACT! fax cover page template to create a cover page, and if you use WinFax PRO with ACT!, you can record a history of sending the fax.

To send faxes, you must have a fax modem installed and configured to work with your fax software.


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Specifying your fax softwareYou must specify your fax software before you can send faxes. You can specify the software in the QuickStart Wizard or in the General tab of the Preferences dialog box. If you use WinFax PRO, you can take advantage of special features in both ACT! and WinFax PRO that simplify sending faxes. See “Using WinFax PRO with ACT!” in this chapter.

Sending a Quick FaxYou can use the Quick Fax tool to create faxes without using a word processor. With this tool, you can create and send a fax directly from the Contact window or Contact List. This is useful if you want to send a fax without attached documents. You can also record a history of sending the fax.

To send a Quick Fax

1 From the Contact window or Contact List, select the contact(s) to whom you want to send the fax.

2 On the toolbar, click the Quick Fax tool.

3 In the Quick Fax dialog box, compose and send your fax, following the instructions for your fax software.


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Faxing word-processing documentsOnce you create a letter or memo, you can fax it to contacts. If you use WinFax PRO, you can use mail merge to fax a document to several contacts and include each contact’s name and address in the document. For more information about creating letters or mail merges, see Chapter 8, “Working with Documents”.

To fax a document from the ACT! word processor

1 Select a contact, or create a lookup of contacts to whom you want to send a fax.

2 In the ACT! word processor, create or open the document to be faxed.

3 From the File menu, point to Send, and then click Fax.

4 In the Send dialog box, type the subject of the fax, and then click Send.

Depending on your fax software, a dialog box may appear.

5 If necessary, select options in the dialog box.

Faxing reportsYou can run various reports on contacts and sales using ACT!, and then fax them to one or more contacts or to a group.

For example, you may want to fax to your contact a record of all requests made by the contact’s company and the status of those requests.


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Faxing address books and calendarsIn addition to documents and reports, you can send other items as faxes. For example, if you are travelling, you may want to fax a page from your calendar or send contact information from your address book to your assistant at your office.

Using WinFax PRO with ACT!When you use ACT! with WinFax PRO, you can take advantage of several unique features. For example, you can specify that a particular WinFax PRO cover page be used, and you can set up a delivery schedule for documents produced with mail merge. When you send a fax, WinFax PRO records the event in the Notes/History tab. After WinFax PRO records a history, you can link from the tab to that fax. WinFax PRO can also remind you to resend a fax if it was not successfully sent.

To use the WinFax PRO features with ACT!, you must set up preferences that specify how faxes are sent from each ACT! database. You can also select the ACT! databases that you want WinFax to use as phonebooks. A WinFax phonebook is a directory in WinFax that contains your contacts’ names, telephone and fax numbers, and other information that makes it easy for you to fax your contacts.

Tip If you send mail merge faxes, you may want to turn off the Display Call Status option so that dialog boxes do not display for every merged document.


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Using e-mail with ACT!

With ACT!’s e-mail features, you can easily manage messages that you send or receive. ACT! integrates with many e-mail systems and works with most Internet Service Providers so that you can continue using your e-mail system with ACT!.

You can send e-mail messages to one or more of your contacts and attach contact records, group records, or files to your messages. If you receive messages with contact record or activity attachments, you can merge them into your database.

If you use Microsoft Outlook to send some of your messages, you can access your ACT! address books from Outlook. Whether you send a message from Outlook or ACT!, you can record a history of the e-mail messages you send and of those you receive, and easily organize those messages using e-mail folders.

Using HTML format, you can customize the look of e-mail messages and create templates for mail merge.

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Setting up your e-mail systemBefore you can use e-mail within ACT!, you must select an e-mail system, set up your e-mail preferences using the QuickStart Wizard or in the Preferences dialog box, and enter your e-mail address in your My Record.

To set up your e-mail in ACT!, you need to install one of the following programs:

• Microsoft Outlook 2000, Outlook 2002, or Outlook Express 5.5 or 6.0

• Lotus Notes Mail version 5.0

• Internet e-mail (SMTP/POP3). You do not need e-mail software in addition to ACT!, however, you do need an Internet account with an Internet Service Provider (ISP). ACT! includes a POP3 e-mail client that can be used for Internet e-mail.

Note If you are using Outlook Express 6, you may receive a virus protection error message each time you send or receive e-mail using ACT!. You can disable the message in Outlook Express.

To set up your e-mail system using Preferences

1 From the File menu, click Preferences, and then click the E-mail tab in the Preferences dialog box.

When you set up e-mail preferences, you specify how your e-mail system will operate. For example, you can create signature text (such as your name, title, and address) that appears at the end of your messages, specify whether messages are kept in the Notes/History tab for each contact, or specify how attached documents will be saved.

2 In the E-mail system box, click E-mail System Setup, and follow the instructions on the E-mail Setup Wizard. Press Next to advance through the wizard.

When you finish setting up your e-mail system, check your My Record to make sure you have entered an e-mail address.

You can override some preferences when sending specific e-mail messages.


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e-mail: preferences for: About e-mail preferences

ACT! User’s Guide

Setting up multiple e-mail accountsIf you use more than one e-mail software or system, you can set up multiple e-mail accounts in ACT!. You may do this, for example, if you use different systems at work and at home.

You set one account as your default account, however, you can change the account you use to send e-mail when you create a new message.

Looking at the E-mail windowWhen you open the E-mail window, you can view messages in your Inbox, display messages in other folders, access your address books, or quickly reply to or forward e-mail.

The E-mail window is divided into three sections and has a menu bar, a toolbar, and a status bar as shown in the following illustration.


e-mail: changing default e-mail systems

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Using e-mail with ACT! 57

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What’s in the E-mail window?

To display a message in the preview pane

• Select a message from the message list.

To display a message in another folder

1 In the Folder List, click a folder.

2 Select a message from the message list.

For more information about reading e-mail or opening attachments, see “Receiving and reading e-mail” in this chapter.

Feature Function

1 Tool and menu bars Displays menu items and tools to perform actions in e-mail. Tooltips display for each tool on the toolbar.

2 Folder List Displays e-mail folders for storing messages. ACT! includes five default folders: Inbox, Outbox, Sent Items, Deleted Items, and Drafts.

3 Message list Displays read or unread messages for the selected folder.

4 Splitter bars Use to adjust the size of each section in the window.

5 Preview pane Displays the content of the message selected in the message list.

6 Status bar Displays the number of read and unread messages for the selected folder.


e-mail: displaying: Displaying or hiding the preview pane

e-mail: changing pane size

ACT! User’s Guide

Working with e-mail You can compose and send e-mail to one or more contacts or groups and save e-mail to your contacts’ history. You can also work with e-mail offline and save messages to folders to easily manage and organize your e-mail.

Using ACT!, you can create or modify special e-mail templates to run mail merges or use HTML to format your e-mail text, add background colors, or insert pictures or hyperlinks. For more information about document templates used for e-mail mail merges, see Chapter 8, “Working with Documents”.

You can create multiple e-mail accounts for yourself and store multiple e-mail addresses for you and your contacts.

Writing and sending e-mailIn addition to sending e-mail messages, you can send letters, memos, reports, contact and group records, and scheduled activities as attachments to your message. You can send messages immediately or store them to deliver at another time. Before sending your e-mail, you can check your spelling with the ACT! spelling checker, set the e-mail’s priority, or request a return receipt from the recipients.

To send an e-mail message from the E-mail window

1 On the View bar, click E-mail.

2 From the E-mail window, click the File menu, and then click New.

The New E-mail Message window appears.

3 In the To, Cc, and/or Bcc fields, type one or more e-mail addresses or the names of contacts in your open database.

- or -

Click the To, Cc, and/or Bcc buttons to select names from one or more Address books.

4 In the Subject field, type a subject.

5 In the text box, type the message.

Before sending your e-mail, you can select other options, as described in Help.

6 Click Send, or if you want to store the e-mail in your Drafts folder and send it later, click the Save tool on the toolbar.


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To attach a file to an e-mail message

1 Open the New Message window, address and type your message as described in the previous procedure.

2 From the Insert menu, click File.

3 In the Insert File Attachment dialog box, locate the file to insert and then click Open.

The file displays in the Attach field.

4 Send your e-mail.

You can also attach ACT! contact or group records to an e-mail message so recipients can merge the attached records into their ACT! databases, as described in Help.

Receiving and reading e-mailWhen you receive an e-mail message, it appears in your Inbox. You can open the message to read it or read it in the preview pane on the E-mail window. You can also open and read saved messages stored in folders in the Folder list. After reading a message, you can reply to it or forward it to others.

If you receive an e-mail message with an ACT! contact or group record attached, you can merge the record into the open ACT! database. If you receive an e-mail reminder for an activity, you can merge the activity into your database so it appears on your calendar. You can also attach a message you have received to a contact or group record, so that you have a history it. Additionally, you can create a contact record from an e-mail message.


e-mail: creating

e-mail: attaching files to messages

e-mail: working offline

e-mail: sending stored messages

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e-mail: formatting text in

e-mail: HTML format

e-mail: attaching contacts [groups] to

e-mail: attaching activities to

e-mail: spell checking

documents: graphical HTML templates

mail merges

ACT! User’s Guide

To read and reply to e-mail messages

1 From the View bar, click E-mail.

2 In the E-mail window, locate the message to which you want to reply.

3 Select the e-mail in the message list, and then click the Reply tool on the toolbar.

- or -

Double-click the e-mail in the message list and when the message opens, click the Reply tool on the toolbar.

4 Type your reply in the text box, and then click Send.

To open an e-mail attachment

1 In the E-mail window, double-click the message with the attachment.

2 Double-click the attachment in the Attach list.

The appropriate application for the attachment is launched, and the attachment appears.

To attach an e-mail to a contact record

1 From the View bar, click E-mail.

2 In the Folder List on the E-mail window, click the folder where your e-mail is stored.

3 When the list of e-mail messages appears, click the message you want to attach.

4 From the Actions menu, click Attach to Contact.

5 In the Attach E-Mail to Contacts dialog box, select a contact name to attach the e-mail to, and then click Add.

You can add more than one name or all contact names. You can also attach an e-mail to a group record, as described in Help.


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Managing e-mail addressesYou can enter one or more e-mail address for each contact. You can enter addresses in a contact record or in the ACT! Address Book. If you enter more than one address, you must designate one as the primary address. ACT! sends your e-mail messages to the primary address by default, but you can choose a different address before sending the e-mail.

When you send an e-mail, ACT! compares the address to the information in the open database, but you can also manually check addresses.

Using folders to organize e-mail messagesYou can easily organize and manage your messages using folders in the Folder List. Messages you send are automatically stored in your Sent Items folder by default, however, you can turn off that option in E-mail Preferences. Messages you save to send later are automatically stored in your Drafts folder.

Note If you set up more than one e-mail account, the messages will be stored in the folders for the account in which they were created.


e-mail: reading

e-mail: forwarding

e-mail: saving to a file

e-mail: deleting

e-mail: creating folders

e-mail: creating contact records from

e-mail: opening attachments

e-mail: attaching to groups

e-mail: merging attachments


e-mail: addressing

e-mail: entering addresses

e-mail: checking names

contacts: entering e-mail addresses for

ACT! User’s Guide

You can create new folders in which to save messages, and then move or copy messages from one folder to another. For example, you can create work-related and personal folders in which to categorize and store your messages. You can also move a folder into another folder.

To move an e-mail message into a folder

• In the E-mail window, select the message in the message list, and drag it to a folder in the Folder list.

To create a new folder

1 In the E-mail window, click the File menu, point to New, and then click Folder.

2 In the Create Folder dialog box, type the Folder name in the field.

3 From the list box, select the folder in which to create the new folder, and then click OK.

Using ACT! with Outlook e-mailIf you use Microsoft Outlook to send and receive e-mail messages, you can add address books for multiple ACT! databases to Outlook. Then, from Outlook, you can select ACT! contacts to send e-mail messages to, record those messages to the contact’s history, or attach Outlook e-mail messages to a contact’s record.


e-mail: moving messages

e-mail: moving folders

e-mail: copying folders

e-mail: deleting folders

e-mail: renaming folders


Microsoft Outlook: adding ACT! address books

Microsoft Outlook: setting history options for ACT!

Microsoft Outlook: attaching e-mail to contact records

e-mail: sending messages from Outlook


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Working with Documents

With ACT!, you can use a word processor to write letters and memos to your contacts, and to create faxes, labels, and envelopes. You can use templates, which are forms or outlines for documents that you create often, and ACT! will automatically add contact information from the contact record, such as name and address, to the document template.

You can choose to use the ACT! word processor or Microsoft Word 2000 or Word 2002.

Note For instructions on using Microsoft Word to write letters and other documents, refer to that program’s online Help system.

Using the Library tab, you can view and edit documents created in other programs, such as Microsoft Excel, and attach them to your contact’s record.

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Specifying your word processorBefore you can write letters and memos, you must specify whether you want to use the ACT! word processor or Microsoft Word. You can specify your word processor in the QuickStart Wizard or in the Preferences dialog box.

Note If you choose Microsoft Word for word-processing in ACT!, you may need to change the macros security levels in Word. See “Microsoft Word” in Help.

To select your word processor in Preferences


2 In the General tab of the Preferences dialog box, select the word processor you want to use from the Word processor list, and then click OK.

Using the ACT! word processorYou can use ACT! to create and edit letters, memos, labels, and envelopes, or to create and edit templates, just as you would with any word processor. You can format documents, check spelling, and set tab stops and page breaks. When your document is complete, you can edit, save, print, fax, or e-mail it using features provided in ACT!.

Creating letters and memos to a single contactYou can easily write and print letters and memos to a single contact.

To write and save a letter or memo

1 Select the contact to whom you want to write a letter.

2 From the Write menu, click Letter or Memorandum.

The word processor starts and displays a blank letter or memo form with the current contact’s information.

3 Type the letter or memo.

You can change display options, format, and edit the contents of the letter, as described later in this chapter.

4 From the File menu, click Save.

ACT! User’s Guide

5 In the Save As dialog box, type the File name you want to save the document as, and then click Save.

6 To close the document, click the Close button in the upper right corner.

You can also open an existing document, print or modify it, and save it with a different name, as described in Help. In addition, you can insert RTF or plain text files, bitmaps, or an existing ACT! word-processing document into any ACT! document.

To print a letter or memo

1 Open the document if it is not already displayed.

2 On the toolbar, click the Print tool.

3 In the Print dialog box, select your preferred printer, and then click OK.

4 (Optional) In the Create History dialog box, type a description of the document in the Regarding field, and then click Create.

A dialog box appears, asking if you want to print an envelope.

5 Click Cancel if you want to print only a letter.

- or -

Click OK to print an envelope, select the envelope size in the list box, and then click OK.

6 In the Windows Print dialog box, click OK.

You can also fax or e-mail a document and attach it to history, or print mailing labels or envelopes for your contacts without creating letters or memos, as described in Help.


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documents: creating: Creating a document

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Editing documentsACT! includes commands on the Edit menu, and equivalent tools in the toolbar, so you can edit your document, find and replace words or phrases, insert a time and date stamp, and check your spelling. You can also copy or move text to other locations.

Formatting documentsAs with any word processor, you can modify the format of your document even if you choose to use a template. Templates are discussed later in this chapter.

Adjusting page margins, headers, and footersYou can change your page margins to adjust the amount of space in the top, bottom, left, or right margins of the page. You can also create a page header or footer. For example, if you want your company logo to print on each page, you would place the logo in the header or footer of the first page.

Changing font attributesYou can change the font, font style, font size, or color of the text in order to emphasize words, phrases, or paragraphs.

Formatting a paragraph You can change a paragraph format when you create a document or modify a template. For example, you can indent paragraphs, align paragraphs to the left or right margin, or double-space lines.

Setting page breaksThe ACT! word processor automatically inserts page breaks when a page is full, but you can manually insert a new page. For example, you can insert a page break when you want to start a new topic.


documents: spell checking

word processor: editing documents


documents: formatting

ACT! User’s Guide

Changing display optionsYou can change your ACT! word processor display options to display a ruler and page guides, and you can change a ruler’s units of measurements. You can specify whether to use inches, centimeters, points, or picas.

You can use rulers to change the paragraph format, such as to change margins and indentations, or to add or change tab stops.

Page guides mark the boundaries of a page; they show where your text will be placed on the page.

Working with templatesACT! includes templates for letters, memos, faxes, labels, and envelopes. You can modify templates or create your own. (It is generally easier to modify a template than to create a new one.) You can save and reuse templates and share them with others.

Letter, memo, and fax templates are word-processing documents with special characteristics, as shown in the following illustration.


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Microsoft Word Template

ACT! Template


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What’s in a letter or memo template?

Modifying letter, memo, and fax templatesACT! includes standard templates that you can modify or format to suit your needs. For example, you can design a custom letterhead for your company by modifying an existing letter template. You can also modify a special graphical, or HTML template that is used for sending documents to multiple contacts through e-mail. ACT! includes several HTML templates from which you can choose. For more information, see “Creating and sending documents to multiple contacts” in this chapter.

To modify an existing document template

1 From the Write menu, click Edit Document Template.

- or -

Click Edit Graphical (HTML) E-mail Template to edit a template for e-mail mail merges.

2 In the Open dialog box, select the template you want to modify, and then click Open.

3 Modify the template:

• Add fields by selecting each from the list, and then clicking Insert. For HTML templates, you can also insert images.

• Delete fields by selecting the text, and then pressing DELETE.

• Add text by placing the cursor where you want, and then begin typing. You can format text as you like.

Feature Function

1 Identification Text This text identifies certain contact information and is required in ACT! templates. The text is usually hidden, but you can display it. DO NOT DELETE THIS REQUIRED TEXT.

2 Brackets Square brackets identify fields in a Microsoft Word template. Angled brackets identify fields in an ACT! word-processing template.

3 Fields Contact fields, such as name and address. (Any field in ACT! can be imported into a template.)

4 Body Text you write for this document.

ACT! User’s Guide

4 Save the template with a different name (using the File, Save As command) or save the new information in the original template.

5 To close the template, click the Close button in the upper right corner.

Note You can import templates that were created in an earlier version of ACT!. You can also create a template based on a Microsoft Word document, but you cannot import a template created in Word.

Creating letter, memo, and fax templatesUsing ACT!, you can create a new template.

To create a new document template


2 In the New dialog box, select the template file type for your word processor, or select Graphical (HTML) E-mail Template if you are creating a template to be used for e-mail mail merges, and then click OK.

3 In the Mail Merge Fields dialog box, select the Field Type you are adding to the template.

4 Select the field name, and then click Insert.

Continue to select field names that you want in your template. Click Insert after each selection. (Make sure you change field types as necessary.) ACT! enters the fields you select into the template in a single line. For example:

<Contact><L:Contact><My:Company><My:Phone><My:Contact>

Note “My” denotes fields from My Record, and “L” denotes field labels.

5 Arrange the fields as you want them to display on your document and include the necessary spaces and punctuation.

6 Type the body of the letter.


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For example, after adding text and arranging the fields as described in step 4, the template could appear as follows:

Dear Ms. Harper,

CONTACT: The XYZ Company at (800)-555-1000 to receive a free gift.

Sincerely,

Chris Huffman

Note If you create an HTML template, you can also insert images from the Insert menu.

7 From the File menu, click Save As, and then type the name of the template in the File name field. Click Save.


Creating and sending documents to multiple contacts

You can send a document to multiple contacts via fax or e-mail, or you can send the document to your word processor so that you can modify it or print it.

To write a letter or memo to multiple contacts using mail merge

1 Create or modify a template to contain the information, text, and formatting you want. Then save and close the template.

2 From the Contact List, find contacts to whom you want to send a letter or memo.

You can create a lookup, select contacts by clicking on them, or tag contacts (using Tag mode) to select them.


word-processing templates

word-processing templates: creating for Word documents

Chris wants to send a welcome letter to several new contacts, but wants each letter to be addressed individually. To accomplish this, he can create a bulk mailing through a process called mail merge.

ACT! User’s Guide

3 From the Write menu, click Mail Merge.

4 Follow the instructions on the Mail Merge Wizard, pressing Next to advance through the wizard. On any panel, Press F1 for more help.

When you press Finish, your document is immediately sent to the output chosen.

Modifying and creating label and envelope templatesUsing templates, you can change the size and style of envelopes and create address labels. (It is generally easier to modify a template than to create a new one.)

Note In label and envelope templates, you can only change fields and the appearance of objects.

To modify a label or envelope template

1 On the toolbar, click the Open tool.

2 In the Open dialog box, click the Files of type list, and then select either Label Template or Envelope Template.

3 Select the template you want to modify from the list of templates, and then click Open.

4 Modify the template by using the tool palette or by double-clicking on a field and choosing options in the Object Properties dialog box.

5 From the File menu, click Save As.

6 In the Save As dialog box, type the name of the template in the File name field, and then click Save.



documents: About writing to multiple contacts

documents: opening

documents: creating: Sending documents to multiple contacts

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To create a new label template


2 In the New dialog box, select Label Template, and then click OK.

3 In the New Label dialog box, select a label type from the Choose a label layout list, and then change Page margins, Space between Labels, Label Size, or Number of Labels, as needed.


A blank label template and the tool palette appear.

5 To add a field, click the Field tool on the tool palette, and then position your cursor on the template where you want the field.

6 Hold down the left mouse button, and then drag the pointer to define the field’s size.

When you release the mouse button, the Field List box appears.

7 Select a field to add, and then click Add.

Continue adding fields as needed. You can change the font and color of the field label, as described in Help.




To create a new envelope template


2 In the New dialog box, select Envelope Template, and then click OK.

3 In the New Envelope dialog box, select an envelope size from the Choose envelope size drop-down list, and then modify the Width or Height, as needed.


A blank envelope template and the tool palette displays.

5 To add a field, click the Field tool on the tool palette, and then position your cursor on the template where you want the field.

6 Hold down the left mouse button, and then drag the pointer to define the field’s size.

When you release the mouse button, the Field List box appears.

ACT! User’s Guide

7 Select a field to add, click Add, and then you can either:

• Close the Field List dialog box, draw the field using the tools, and pick the fields from the dialog box for each field you want to add.

- or -

• Draw one field and then add all the fields you want from the dialog box (they will all be sized the same as the first one). Then close the dialog box and resize or rearrange fields as necessary.

You can change the font and color of the field text, as described in Help.




Learning more about modifying templatesWhen you modify a letter, memo, or fax template, you can change virtually every feature of the template including appearance, field labels and fields, or field properties. For more information about modifying templates, access the Knowledge Base articles available on the ACT! Service and Support Web site at http://act.service.com.


envelope templates

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tool palette


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Using the Library tabThe Library tab allows you to view and edit documents within ACT! that were created in other programs. When you add a document to the Library tab, you attach it to a specific contact. This allows you to easily locate or update the document without opening the program in which it was created.

You can access documents from the following programs:

• Microsoft Word

• Microsoft Excel

• Microsoft PowerPoint

• Microsoft MapPoint

• Adobe Acrobat

You can also access BMP and JPEG images.

Note To add a document to the Library tab, the program in which it was created must be installed on your computer.


Library tab: adding documents into

Library tab: editing documents in

Library tab: saving documents in

Library tab: printing documents from

ACT! User’s Guide

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Producing Reports

ACT! provides several reports comprised of information from your database. (You can view a list of ACT! reports and a description of each in the Help system.) You can generate reports for your contacts, or for other user’s contacts if you are running a multiuser database.

ACT! generates reports from report templates. You can modify report templates to suit your needs, or you can create new report templates.

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Running a reportWhen you run a report, you can include data for any of the following:

• the current contact record

• all contacts

• the current group record

• all groups

• the current lookup

• the current group lookup

For example, you could run a History Summary report for a single contact or a Contact report listing all contacts in a state or region.

To run a report

1 Select a contact or group record, or perform a lookup to find the records that you want to include in the report.

Note If you want contacts in the report to appear in a particular order, such as alphabetically, sort the contacts before running the report.

2 From the Reports menu, click the report that you want to run, or click Other Report if you do not see the report in the list.

3 On the General tab of the Run Report dialog box, specify the contacts or groups to include in the report from the Create report for box.

Note If you sorted contacts, select the Current lookup option, even if you sorted all contacts in the database. If you do not select this option, the contacts in the report do not display in the sort order you specified.

4 Check Exclude “My Record” if you do not want information from your My Record in the report. For example, if you run a Phone List report, you may not want to include your company information in the list.

5 In the Send output to list, select one of the following:

• Printer—Sends the report to the default printer.

• Preview—Displays a preview of the report on-screen.

• Fax—Sends the report using your selected fax software.

ACT! User’s Guide

• E-Mail—Sends the report as an attachment to an e-mail message.

• File ACT! Report—Saves the report as an ACT! report (.RPT) file that you can open, view, or print at another time.

• File Editable Text—Saves the report in a .RPT, .RTF, or .TXT format that you can open, view, or print at another time.

6 In the Include data for contacts managed by box, select one of the following:

• All Users—Includes contact records managed by all users of the database.

• Select Users—Includes contact records managed by other users of the database (for multiuser databases only). Select the users from the list.

7 (Optional) Click the Activities/Notes/Histories tab and specify the data to include in the report.

• Select a date range for Notes/History and for Activities, or click Custom and specify a date range.

• Specify whether to run the report for all users or selected users. If you specify selected users, select user names from the list.

8 (Optional) Click the Sales/Opportunities tab.

• In the Sales box, select the type of sale you want to include in the report. Select a date range or click Custom and specify a range.

• In the Sort sales by list, select a sort order for the report.

• In the Include data for contacts managed by box, select one of the following:

All Users—Includes sales managed by all users of the database.

Select Users—Includes contact records managed by other users of the database (for multiuser databases only). Select the users from the list.

Depending on the output you selected, the report will appear or be printed, the New E-mail window will appear so that you can e-mail the report, or a dialog box will appear so you can save the report.

9 To close the report, click the Close button in the upper right corner.


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reports: filtering data in

Producing Reports 79

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Customizing reportsYou can modify a report’s layout, appearance, or data to provide a report that is more useful for your specific needs. You can add or delete fields, modify field values, or create a new template and then save it for others to use.

Understanding the sections of a report templateSections separate the information in reports into logical groupings. You can add or remove sections from the report template, such as headers, but you cannot change the order of sections. Also, the template must have at least one section in which to store information. You can set options that determine how sections work in a report, such as:

• specifying that sections or blank lines collapse, that is, they do not display if they contain no data.

• specifying a particular field for sorting data in a Summary section.

• indicating whether page breaks occur before or after each section and whether sections can break across multiple pages.

Templates are displayed in the report designer window, as shown in the following illustration.

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ACT! User’s Guide

What’s in the report designer window?

Creating and modifying a report templateWhen you create a report template, the template will initially display the three sections, all blank, which are identified by headings. When you open an existing template to modify it, the sections will contain field labels and fields, as shown in the following illustration.

What’s in a report template?

You can use rulers and grid displays to make it easier to place field labels and fields in a report template. You can create or rearrange objects such as graphics; change the appearance of objects using colors or borders; or change an object’s properties, such as specifying that duplicate fields do not print.

Tip When you create or modify a template, you should preview it frequently to make sure the results are what you want.

Feature Function

1 Menu bar/Toolbar Includes tools to access features in the designer window.

2 Sections A header section that usually includes the report name; a contact section that includes information from a contact or group record; a footer section that can contain information such as the date and time a report is run.

3 Tool palette Used to change the appearance of your report layout.

Feature Function

1 Field labels Used to identify information in a field.

2 Fields Place holders for information extracted from contact or group records.

3 Summary fields Used to calculate values for a set of records.

2 3

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To modify a report template

1 From the Reports menu, click Edit Report Template.

2 In the Open dialog box, select a template, click Open, and then modify the template using the tool palette or by double-clicking on a field and choosing options in the Object Properties dialog box.



You can also share your templates with others, as described in Help.

Specifying data to appear in a report When you create a report template, you can set filters to determine the data that appears in a report each time you run it. For example, you can set a report filter to display information about a contact’s activities in the last quarter. Setting filters in the template saves you time if you frequently run the same report with the same filter settings.


report designer

report designer: previewing templates in

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report templates: removing sections from

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report templates: saving

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report templates: filtering data in

ACT! User’s Guide

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Synchronizing Data

Using data synchronization, you can share information between two databases or with others, so that the contacts and activities in your database match those in other databases.

Synchronizing is a way to keep your master database and local or remote databases current.

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Understanding synchronizationYou can synchronize data with another database or with other users. During synchronization, you can choose to send and receive updates.

When you synchronize, your database receives and applies updates, consolidates all changes into an update file, and then sends the update file to another user or another database.

Synchronizing with another databaseSynchronizing with another database, also called direct synchronization, is the most useful way to synchronize data between your computers, such as your desktop and laptop computers. Both computers must be connected on a network to perform direct synchronization.

During direct synchronization, ACT! checks the records in the sending and receiving databases. For all changed records, ACT! determines which contains the latest information and updates each database accordingly.

To use direct synchronization, your situation must meet the following:

• You are synchronizing only two databases. For example, you can synchronize one ACT! database with another, or one ACT! database to one handheld device.

• You have a security level of Administrator and exclusive access to both databases.

• You are synchronizing on a Local Area Network (LAN) or the same computer.


synchronizing data

Chris wants all of his employees to have the most up-to-date contact and group information, including notes, histories, activities, and sales data. He would also like to have the same data on his laptop computer as he does on his desktop computer. With ACT!, Chris can use one of several methods to synchronize contact data with his employees and between his two computers.

ACT! User’s Guide

To synchronize as a remote user on a Wide Area Network (WAN) or via a modem, see “Synchronizing with other users” in this chapter.

Synchronizing with other usersWhen you synchronize data with another user, you can share information using e-mail, a shared folder on a network, or a modem.

Note If you and users with whom you want to share data have access to a network drive, you may prefer to set up a multiuser database, rather than synchronizing data. See “Multiuser Databases” in Help.

Synchronizing using e-mail When you synchronize by e-mail, updates are sent as e-mail attachments. ACT! uses the primary e-mail address from My Record to determine which e-mail Inbox to check for updates.

To synchronize data using e-mail, your e-mail system must be supported by ACT!, and each user who is synchronizing must have a separate e-mail account.

Synchronizing using shared folders You and other users can also exchange synchronization updates using a shared folder on a networked computer or server. The shared folder acts as an “Inbox” for receiving updates.

Both you and others user must have a shared folder before you can begin synchronizing data. Each user has a folder called Sync located in the ACT! folder on each person’s hard drive, however, you can change the name and location of your folder.

Note You must know the name and location of the other user’s folder before synchronizing data.


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Synchronizing using a modem In modem-to-modem synchronization, one person places a call from his or her computer, while the other person’s computer receives the call. The recipient’s modem must be in Wait For Calls mode to receive updates.

Comparing synchronization methodsThe following table describes the differences between synchronization methods so you can choose the method best suited to your needs.

Now that you understand synchronization types, you can plan for synchronization.

Synchronization

Method Easiest Secure

Most

Reliable Fastest Best suited for

E-mail X X Small user base

Private information

Shared Folder X X Work groups

Remote staff

Modem-to-Modem X Small user base

Users without e-mail


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ACT! User’s Guide

Planning for synchronizationPlanning before you synchronize data helps ensure a smooth process.

First, determine your needs. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What types of data will I need to share? For example, will I need to share field definitions? Groups? Activities? Notes/Histories?

• How many people will need to synchronize data?

• Will everyone need the same data?

• When should I perform the synchronization? (What time of day?)

• What method should I use?

Next, you need to set up your database for synchronization.

Setting up synchronizationBefore synchronizing data for the first time, you must set up Data Synchronization preferences. For example, you can specify that a synchronization report generates each time you synchronize, or you can schedule synchronizations to occur automatically.

Tip To assist you with synchronization, use the step-by-step method described in Help.

Setting synchronization preferencesYou must first set up data synchronization preferences which apply to both direct synchronization and synchronization with other users.

You will not need to perform the setup procedure again unless you want to change the synchronization settings for a database or user.

To set synchronization preferences


2 In the Preferences dialog box, click the Synchronization tab.


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3 In the When synchronizing box, select whether you want to send or receive updates, or check both options to send and receive updates.

Note It is recommended that you select both options to ensure data is synchronized for all databases and users.

4 In the Data to synchronize box, select the types of data to synchronize.

5 In the Location for received synchronizations box, select the location to receive synchronization updates.

6 In the Modem settings box, select the modem to use if you will use a modem for synchronization.

7 (Optional) Select Generate synchronization report to generate a detailed report each time you synchronize data.

Note Generally, you only need a synchronization report to help you diagnose a synchronization problem.

8 (Optional) Select the Display reminder if you have not synchronized in ___day(s) to remind you to perform synchronization.

9 In the Purge transaction log and synchronization reports after ___day(s) field, select when you want to ACT! to purge the transaction log and synchronization reports.

Note Purging data that is no longer required improves database efficiency.

10 Click Schedule to set up a schedule for automatic synchronization.

Caution Do not set up automatic synchronization until you have successfully completed synchronization at least once.

11 If you will be sending and receiving synchronization updates via modem, and you will receive the call on this computer, complete the Wait for and Answer modem after ___ rings fields.

Note Do not click the Wait for Calls button until you have set up synchronization and are ready to receive updates.


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ACT! User’s Guide

Setting up synchronization with another databaseTo synchronize two databases, such as your computer at work and your laptop computer at home, you must be sure of the following:

• You have an Administrator security level for both databases.

• No other user is logged on either database.

• The target database is closed.

• The database you will perform the synchronization from is locked.

To set up direct data synchronization with another database

1 From the File menu, click Synchronize Setup.

2 Follow the instructions in the Synchronization Wizard to specify options, including:

• the name and location of the database with which to synchronize.

• the types of data to include.

• the groups to include.

• whether or not to include field definitions or private data.

• whether you want to set up a synchronization schedule.

• whether to send all records or only changed records.

3 Press Finish. You can now choose to synchronize data or cancel out of the wizard and synchronize later.

Setting up synchronization with other usersYou can share the most current contact and group information with other synchronization users. A synchronization user is a person with whom you send and receive updates. You can set up users of your database as synchronization users, or you can create synchronization users who have no access to your database.


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To set up synchronization with one or more users

1 From the File menu, click Synchronize Setup.

2 Follow the instructions in the Synchronization Wizard to specify options, including:

• the types of data you want to synchronize.

• the users with whom you want to synchronize.

• the method you want to use for synchronizing.

• the specific data you want to send and receive from each user.

• whether you want to set up a synchronization schedule.

3 Press Finish. You can now choose to synchronize data or cancel out of the wizard.

Synchronizing dataAfter completing the setup process, you are ready to synchronize data with another database or user.

Sending and applying synchronization updatesYou can send and receive information at the same time, or perform either task separately. If you want to change your preferences, you can do so at this time.

To send and receive synchronization updates

1 From the File menu, click Synchronize.

2 In the Choose an action box, within the Synchronize dialog box, select either or both of the Send updates and Receive updates options.

Note It is recommended that you select both options to ensure data is synchronized for all databases and users.

3 In the Select type of synchronization box, specify how you will be synchronizing.


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ACT! User’s Guide

4 (Optional) Select the Lock database upon synchronizing option to lock the database before synchronizing.

If you select this option, anyone using the database is notified that the database will be locked in a specified amount of time. Users still logged on at that time, are automatically logged off.

5 (Optional) Select the Prompt to receive previously unapplied synchronizations option. You will be notified every time you receive a synchronization update from a user.

6 (Optional) Click the Wait For Calls button if your modem will receive the synchronization call.

7 Click Synchronize.

Caution Some data in ACT! will not synchronize. For a list of data that does not synchronize, see “About synchronization” in Help.

What happens when you synchronizeThe following table shows the results of synchronization updates depending upon the synchronization method you have chosen.

Synchronization Setup Results

Direct synchronization with another database

ACT! opens the other database and applies the synchronization updates.

Synchronization with other users via e-mail

ACT! attaches your synchronization update file to an e-mail message and sends the update file using the specified e-mail system. If you use a remote e-mail system, the synchronization updates are not sent until you connect to your e-mail system.

Synchronization with other users via shared folder

ACT! places your synchronization update file in the synchronization folder you specified for each user.

Synchronization with other users via modem

ACT! first applies any synchronization updates that you have received, then creates a synchronization update from your database, dials the modem number that you specified for the user, and sends your updates over the modem line.


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Scheduling automatic synchronization You can schedule data synchronization to occur automatically, so that you can leave your computer unattended and still send and receive updates.

Caution Do not set up automatic synchronization until you have successfully completed synchronization at least once.

The database must be open at the scheduled times so that synchronization updates can be sent and received. If you synchronize using e-mail, you must log on to your e-mail system through ACT! and remain logged on during the scheduled synchronization times.

To set up automatic synchronization

1 Open the database that you want to set up for automatic synchronization.


3 In the Preferences dialog box, click the Synchronization tab, and then click Schedule.

4 In the Synchronization Schedule dialog box, select the day(s) on which you want to synchronize data.

5 Select the times at which you want to synchronize data, click Add, and then click OK.

Note If you synchronize via modem, select the Wait for Calls option.

If you use a remote e-mail system, ACT! puts outgoing updates in your outbox and sends them the next time you connect to your e-mail system.


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Performing Database Administration

The person who creates an ACT! database is automatically the administrator of that database. The administrator can set up passwords and add users to the system. The administrator can also check the system for duplicate records, perform database maintenance, and back up all data in the system.

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Using a password to protect your dataEven though you may be the only user of your database, you can set up a password for yourself. You may eventually add users to your system, and passwords ensure that no one else can view or change your private data.

In a multiuser database, all users should have unique passwords. If you forget your password, you cannot open your database until the Administrator resets it.

To set a password for your database

1 From the File menu, click Administration, and then click Set Password.

The Set Password dialog box appears.

2 If this is the first time you are setting a password, type your password in the New password field.

3 In the Retype new password field, type your password again, and then click OK.

To change a previously set password

1 From the File menu, click Administration, and then click Set Password.

2 In the dialog box, type the old password in the Old password field.

3 Type the new password in the New password field.

4 In the Retype new password field, type your password again, and then click OK.

To reset a password

1 From the File menu, point to Administration, and then click Define Users.

2 Select the user whose password you must reset, and then type the new password in the Password field on the User Settings tab.

3 Click OK.

ACT! User’s Guide

Setting up a database for multiple usersYou can set up an ACT! database on a network so that other ACT! users have access to it. The shared database must be on a networked computer that other users have access to. When setting up a multiuser database, you can specify the location of the shared database in each user’s copy of ACT! (you do this from the General tab of the Preferences dialog box), and then add users to the shared database, as described in the next section.

Adding users to a database

To add users to a database

1 From the File menu, click Administration, and then click Define Users.

2 In the Define Users dialog box, click Add User.

3 On the User Settings tab, type the user name and password for the new user.

4 From the Security Level list, select one of the following security levels for the user.

• Browse—Users can see the records in the database, but cannot add, modify, or delete records.

• Standard—Users can see the records in the database; add, delete, and modify records; and synchronize with another database or user. They cannot add users, perform maintenance on the database, or modify fields.

• Administrator—Users can perform all standard functions, add users to the database, perform maintenance, and modify fields.


databases: About multiuser databases

databases: specifying locations of shared

Chris needs to give his assistant access to his calendars so she can schedule appointments for him. He would like to set her up as a user on his database, but limit her access and the tasks she can perform.

Chris would also like to share contact information with his employees through synchronization, but does not want them to use some of the features in the database. With ACT!, Chris can set up users for different purposes.

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5 (Optional) Select the Enable Logon or Enable Synchronization options.

Enable Logon allows the user access to the database to which you are adding them.

Note Do not select this option if you are setting up this user for synchronization purposes only.

6 Repeat steps 2-5 to add more users, and then click OK.

7 In the Assign My Records dialog box, assign a My Record for each user who will log on to the database by selecting the user, and then click Assign Now or Assign Later.

Note Users who only send or receive synchronizations do not need a My Record. For information about synchronizing, see Chapter 10, “Synchronizing Data”.

8 If you chose Assign Now, in the Enter “My Record” Information dialog box, complete the fields, and then click OK.

If you chose Assign Later, the user is prompted to create a My Record the first time he or she logs on to your database.

Checking for duplicate recordsIn your database, you may find two or more records for the same person or group. This is especially common in a multiuser database where users inadvertently add a contact record that another user has already entered. You can scan a database for duplicate contact or group records and create a lookup of duplicates. Then, you can view the duplicates and delete them as appropriate.


databases

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ACT! User’s Guide

Performing database maintenanceRegular maintenance keeps your database running efficiently, and it is recommended that you routinely perform database maintenance. ACT! lets you set a reminder to do so.

One type of database maintenance is reindexing. Whenever you delete a record or information you no longer need, such as transaction logs or cleared activities, the disk space that holds the information becomes fragmented and cannot be used again. When you compress and reindex your database, you make the space available so that your database operates smoothly.

To perform any type of database maintenance, you must be the only user logged on to the database, and you must have an Administrator security level. If you are performing maintenance on a multiuser database, you must lock out the other users.

To check your security level

• From the Help menu, click About ACT!.

The General tab of the About ACT! dialog box displays your user name and security level.

Backing up your ACT! dataYou should back up your data frequently so you can recover from unexpected system failures with minimal data loss. You can back up all data files associated with a database and restore the backup, if necessary.

Tip It is recommended that you back up your database to external media, such as a Zip disk, at least once a week.


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Performing a backupYou can back up some or all of your ACT! data, such as contact records, templates, layouts, documents, or reports. You must lock users out of the database to perform a backup. Only users with an Administrator security level can perform a backup.

To back up an open ACT! database

1 From the File menu, click Backup.

The Backup dialog box appears displaying the General tab. The name of the current database is displayed, and a name and location is assigned for the backup database.

2 (Optional) Click the Browse button to select a different location in which to back up the database.

3 Click the Options tab, and then select the items to back up.

4 (Optional) To be reminded to back up data, select the Remind me to back up every __days, and then select a time interval.

5 Click Start to begin the backup process.

ACT! compresses the data into a .zip file.

Saving a copy of your databaseYou can also back up an ACT! database using the Save Copy As command.

To save a copy of an ACT! database

1 From the File menu, click Save Copy As.

The Save Copy As dialog box displays with the Copy database option selected by default.

2 Click OK.

3 In the Save As dialog box, select a location and type a new file name for the copied database, and then click Save.


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ACT! User’s Guide

Restoring a databaseYou can restore contact records that you have deleted using the backup copy of your database. You can also restore a backup of your database if a hardware or software problem corrupts the data.

Note If you backed up the data to multiple disks, make sure you have all the disks before you begin restoring your backup file. ACT! asks you to insert each disk during the restoration process.

To restore a backup

1 From the File menu, click Restore.

2 In the Restore dialog box, type the name of the file to restore, or click the Browse button to locate the file.

3 Type the location to restore the file to, or click the Browse button to select a location.

4 If you backed up your data to removable media, such as a Zip disk, insert the disk into the appropriate drive.

5 Click Start.


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Importing and Exporting Data

You can import data from an ACT! database or another program, and you can import an electronic mailing list into an open ACT! database. For example, you may want to import records from one ACT! database into another, or from Microsoft Outlook to an ACT! database to consolidate all of your records.

You can also export data from one ACT! database to another or to a text file for use in another program.

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Importing ACT! data If you created more than one ACT! database, you can consolidate them into one.

Note If the database you are consolidating is from an earlier version of ACT!, you must first open it in ACT! 6.0 for Windows, so that it can be updated to the proper format.

To import one ACT! database into another ACT! database

1 Open the ACT! database that you are importing to.

2 From the File menu, click Data Exchange, and then click Import.

3 Follow the instructions in the Import Wizard to specify options, including:

• the file type.

• the file name and location.

• the type of records to import.

• how fields should be mapped.

Importing data from other programsWhen you import a database or a file created in another program, you must specify how to put the incoming information into the fields in the open ACT! database. This is called mapping fields. Predefined maps are provided for some programs. If a predefined map does not meet your needs, you can specify how fields are mapped using the Contact or Group Map panel of the Import Wizard.


importing: another ACT! database

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troubleshooting: importing and exporting

ACT! User’s Guide

ACT! accepts the following formats:

• Delimited text

• Microsoft Outlook 2000 or Outlook 2002

• Palm Desktop

• dBASE III-V

• Symantec Q&A 4.0 to 5.0

To import contact data from any program not listed, you must first open the data file in its original program and save it in a format supported by ACT!, such as a delimited text file. Then you can import the data into ACT!.

Caution The maximum length of an ACT! field is 254 characters. If you use Symantec Q&A with expanded fields, you must modify the Q&A database before importing the data into ACT!. If you do not prepare the Q&A database, you may incur a loss of data.

Exporting data You can export data from an open ACT! database to another ACT! database. You can export contact records, group records, or both, and you can specify whether to export only the current lookup, the current record, or all records. For example, to reduce the size of your database, you can export inactive contacts to another database and delete them from the original database. This allows you access to the inactive records if you ever need them.

You can also export data for use in another program, such as a spreadsheet program. In this instance, you cannot export both contact and group records at the same time. To export both record types, you must export contact records first, and then export group records.


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Customizing ACT!

You can customize ACT! to save you time and help you work efficiently.

From modifying your Contact window’s layout and fields to creating macros to automate tasks, you can change the way you display and manage your contact’s information to suit your needs.

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Customizing Contact and Group windowsYou can customize the Contact and Group windows’ layouts by changing window color or fonts; renaming, adding, or modifying fields; or changing columns in the list views. You can also modify existing layouts or create layouts that contain only those fields you need, in the order you need them.

Creating and modifying fieldsYou can create, modify, or delete fields, and you can establish field attributes in the contact and group records. Field attributes specify how a field is used, such as whether it accepts text or numbers, the number of characters allowed in the field, whether the field will generate history, and rules for entering data into the field.

Note If you want to add or modify fields in a multiuser database, you must have an Administrator security level and exclusive access to the database.

To create a field

1 From the Edit menu, click Define Fields.

2 On the Fields tab of the Define Fields dialog box, select Contact or Group from the Record type list.

3 In the Attributes tab, click New Field.

4 In the Field Name field, replace New Field 1 with a name for the new field.

5 Set any other attributes for the field, and then click OK.

For a definition of field attributes, press F1.

Now you can add the field to a layout as described in Help.

Chris keeps information about conversations with contacts in the Last Results field on the Contact window. However, the field is too small, so he wants to increase the size of the field and the number of characters it will hold.

ACT! User’s Guide

To modify a field


2 On the Fields tab of the Define Fields dialog box, select Contact or Group from the Record type list.

3 From the list of field names, select a field to modify.

You can add, modify, or remove field attributes or items in lists. You can also specify to launch a program when entering or exiting a field.

You can specify a default value for a field and specify a field as a primary field. Primary fields, such as Company and Contact fields, are used when you duplicate a contact or group record. Additionally, you can delete non-primary fields that you do not use or that slow down your data entry.

Caution If you change the name of a primary field, some lookup commands may not function. Also, changing a field type can result in loss of data. For a list of primary fields, see “Primary field attributes” in Help.

You can also import or export items to and from lists and specify whether the data in the field will be received or sent during synchronization.

For more information about modifying fields, see “Creating and changing layouts” in this chapter.


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Creating and changing layoutsYou can create or modify a layout using the layout designer, shown in the following illustration.

What’s in the layout designer window?

Feature

1 Fields Placeholders for information extracted from contact or group records. You can add, modify, or delete a field. You can also move fields within the window or to other tabs.

2 Field entry order Specifies the order your cursor will follow when you press the Enter or Tab key.

3 Group stop Allows you to enter data in a certain order.

4 Tool palette Contains tools to change the appearance of your layout.

5 Tabs You can rename, reorder, or add tabs to the contact or group windows.

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4

3

5

ACT! User’s Guide

For example, if you have contacts for whom you keep additional information, such as the contact’s spouse’s name or number of children, you can modify a contact layout to include those fields.

It is generally easier to modify an existing layout than to create a new one.

To modify a layout

1 From a Contact or Group window, click the layout button, and then select a layout you want to modify.

The selected layout appears.

2 From the Tools menu, click Design Layouts.

The layout designer window appears, where you can make changes to the layout.

3 Click File, and then click Save As.

4 In the Save As dialog box, select a location, type a file name, and then click Save.

5 Click View, and then click Records to close the layout designer window and display the record you were viewing previously.

You can also share layouts with others, as described in Help.

Customizing columns in list viewsMany ACT! windows and tabs contain lists of data in columns. These include the Contact List, Task List, Activities tab, Sales/Opportunities tab, Notes/History tab, Groups tab (in the Contact window), and Contacts tab (in the Group window). You can change the display of information by adding, removing, rearranging, or resizing columns.


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Customizing ACT! for efficiencyYou can increase your productivity by customizing the way you use ACT!. For example, you can create macros that automate procedures you perform repeatedly, index fields to speed up queries, specify what layout displays when you start ACT!, have ACT! remind you to perform certain tasks, or change your toolbar or menus to suit your needs. You can also specify that new contacts or groups are private by default.

Using macros to automate tasksA macro is a shortcut that automates procedures that you perform regularly. Think of a macro as a recorder. You can record a sequence of procedures, then play all of them back by choosing a command or by entering or exiting a specified field. Using a macro can save you time and reduce errors.

To create a macro

1 From the Tools menu, click Record Macro.

2 In the Record Macro dialog box, type the name and description of the macro.

3 From the Record events list, select an event, and then click Record.

You can record just mouse events; everything, including mouse and keyboard events; or everything except mouse events.

Tip To increase performance and speed, record only keyboard events.


customizing: About customizing for efficiency

Every week, Chris runs a Sales by Contact report and e-mails it to his staff in his Hawaii office. To do so, he performs the following procedures:

• First, he creates a contact lookup based on selected criteria.

• Next, he selects the report to run.

• Then, he creates and sends an e-mail message with the report attached.

• Finally, he closes the e-mail application.

Using a macro, Chris can accomplish this task in one step.

ACT! User’s Guide

4 Perform the procedures you want to record.

Every action is recorded, including mistakes and corrections.

5 When you are finished recording, click Tools, and then click Stop Recording Macro.

Running a macroAfter you create a macro, you can run it in many ways.

• You can select the name of a macro to run from the Tools menu.

• If you use a particular macro frequently, you can create a command to run it from an icon on your toolbar.

• You can set up a macro to run when you enter or exit a designated field or when you start ACT!.

To run a macro from the Tools menu

1 From the Tools menu, click Run Macro.

2 In the Run Macro dialog box, select the macro to run, and then click Run.

Making the startup process more efficientYou can specify what happens or what displays when you start ACT!, by setting your startup preferences.

For example, you can:

• specify that a specific database opens.

• display a specific layout.

• be reminded to perform certain tasks.

• automatically launch a macro.


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To specify startup preferences


2 In the Preferences dialog box, click the Startup tab.

3 Select options for startup, and then click OK.

Speeding up lookups, queries, and data sortingWhen you perform a lookup or query, or sort for information about contacts or groups, ACT! searches for the data based on your criteria and displays the information. ACT! performs the following procedures when you choose a lookup for contacts in a particular company:

• First, the database is searched for the specified company name in the company fields.

• Then, all records containing the company name are selected.

• Finally, all selected records display.

ACT! can find and display data in some fields more quickly than others, because those fields are indexed. Indexes are tables of the data that is contained in fields. When you perform a lookup on an indexed field, ACT! searches the index of that field rather than searching through all fields in all records.

When you perform a lookup, query, or sort on a non-indexed field, ACT! might take longer to process the data. To speed up the process, you can index fields on which you frequently perform lookups, sorts, or queries.

For a list of default indexed fields, see “Indexed fields” in Help.

Note Although indexes speed up searches, they take up disk space, which can slow down any other procedure you perform in ACT!. You should index only fields on which you frequently perform lookups, sorts, or queries.


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ACT! User’s Guide

To index a field


2 In the Define Fields dialog box, click the Advanced tab, and then select Contact or Group from the Record type list.

This indicates whether the field you want to index is on the Contact or Group window.

3 Click New Index, select a field to index from the Index on list, and then click OK.

4 (Optional) Specify secondary sort criteria by selecting a field from the Then On lists.

5 Select options in the Match duplicates using box.

6 Select options for transaction logging, checking duplicates, and allowing history editing.

7 Click OK.

Customizing the menu bar, menus, and toolbar actions

You can organize how information displays and use shortcuts, so that you can navigate ACT! more quickly and easily. You can change how the View bar displays or create or customize the menu bar, menus, and the toolbar so that commands and buttons display in an order you like.

Using the View bar displayThe View bar displays on the left side of the ACT! window by default. You can display the View bar with large or small icons, or display a mini View bar in the lower, right corner of the ACT! window.


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To change the View bar display

1 Right-click anywhere in the View bar.

2 In the shortcut menu, click Large Icons, Small Icons, Large View Bar, or Mini View Bar.

Customizing the menu bar and menusYou can customize the menu bar so it displays only the menus you need, in the order you need them. For example, you can move a command that you use often to the top of a menu, or move a menu to a different location on the menu bar.

You can customize menus, create your own menus, or add submenus. You can add query files to the Lookup menu, word-processing templates to the Write menu, report templates to the Reports menu, and Web site links to the Internet links menu.

You can add icons to a menu or your menu bar to represent commands. For example, you can add a command to run a macro. You can rename, rearrange, or remove commands, and you can add separators between commands. Separators divide commands into logical groupings.

The following illustration shows a menu added to the Contact window. It contains one submenu with three commands.

ACT! User’s Guide

Customizing the toolbarYou can customize the existing toolbar or create your own so it contains the tools you use most often. You can rearrange tools, group tools, change the size of tool buttons, or specify whether tooltips display when you move the pointer over a tool. You can also hide or display specific tools.

Creating and modifying keyboard shortcutsYou can use certain key combinations to perform commands. For example, to open a file, you could use the commands in the menu bar, or you can press Ctrl+O on your keyboard. Shortcut keys exist for all windows, calendars, e-mail, and the word processor.

You can modify existing shortcut keys or create new shortcuts.

The Appendix in this guide lists many of the shortcut keys. All shortcut keys available for each window or feature are listed in Help.

Running or launching other applicationsYou can create macros or commands that launch applications outside of ACT!. For example, if you want to use the Windows Calculator while using ACT!, you can create a command to open the calculator from a toolbar, a menu, or by using a shortcut key.


toolbars

menus

menu bars


shortcut keys: adding

shortcut keys: resetting


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Or perhaps you want to open a program such as Outlook while using ACT!. You can create a macro that automatically opens Outlook when you enter or exit a specified field or when you start ACT!.

Note Once you create a custom command, you must add it to a menu or toolbar, or assign it a shortcut key.


custom commands

macro: launching applications

ACT! User’s Guide

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117

Using SideACT!

SideACT! is a program included with ACT! that you can use to quickly take notes or schedule activities. In SideACT!, the notes and activities you enter become items in a list. You can do several things with items, such as change their order, delete or print them, or move or copy them to ACT!. You can also launch ACT! from SideACT!.

Using SideACT!, you can set up alarm monitoring for ACT! databases which allows you to receive your activity alarms when ACT! is not running.

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Starting SideACT!During installation, you can choose to place the SideACT! icon on your desktop. After you install SideACT!, you can set up preferences for using SideACT! and set up an alarm monitor that reminds you of your activities when ACT! is closed.

To start SideACT!

Do one of the following:

• Double-click the SideACT! icon in the Windows taskbar or on your Windows desktop.

• From the Windows Start menu, point to Programs, point to ACT! 6.0, and then click SideACT!.

• Click the SideACT! icon in the ACT! toolbar.

Note SideACT! has its own online Help topics. Refer to that Help system when searching for help with SideACT!.

What’s in the SideACT! window

Feature Function

1 Text box Use to enter meetings, calls, and to-do’s.

2 Select/Move button Use to select an item in the list, and to change the order of items in the list.

3 Item List Displays items (notes or activities).

1

23

ACT! User’s Guide

Setting preferences for SideACT!You can set up preferences to indicate what happens when you add new items, mark items as complete, or send items to ACT!. You can also set up alarm preferences to indicate which of your ACT! databases should be monitored for alarms. This lets you receive activity notifications when ACT! is closed.

To set up alarms to monitor ACT! databases

1 Start SideACT!

2 From the Edit menu, click SideACT! Alarm Setup.

3 Click Add, select an ACT! database to monitor, and then click Open.

The name of the database displays in the Databases to monitor list.

4 Select a time interval to check for alarms, indicate how you want the alarms to display, and then click OK.

Working in SideACT!

Recording informationWhen SideACT! starts, you can begin typing notes and information immediately. By default, SideACT! categorizes new items as to-do’s, but you can change the activity type.

For more information or procedures, see the following topics in the SideACT! Help index.

set up: setting the default item type

set up: setting up alarms

Preferences dialog box

Chris needs to reduce clutter. His desk is littered with note pads he has used for reminders and to-do lists that he has not had time to enter into ACT!. He needs a quick way to take notes about calls, meetings, and other activities, that he can easily transfer to ACT! so that he can record a history of the activity or task.

Using SideACT! 119

120

To record information in SideACT!

1 Start SideACT!, and then type the information in the text box.

You can type up to 250 characters. The text automatically wraps to the next line.

2 To enter a line break, press CTRL+ENTER.

A line break counts as two characters.

3 Press Enter when you are finished typing.

The text you typed appears in the Regarding field in the Item List. By default, SideACT! assigns the current date to new items and adds them to the bottom of the Item List.

Note An ellipsis (...) in the Regarding field indicates that there is more text. Click the Regarding field to see the rest of the text.

4 (Optional) To change the activity type, select the item, click the Type column, and then select an activity type from the drop-down list.

Marking items as completedWhen you complete a SideACT! item, you can mark it as completed.

To mark one or more items as completed

• Select the check box of the item that you want to mark as completed.

A check mark appears in the check box of the completed item, a line appears through its Regarding field, and its item number is removed.

Note To remove a check mark, simply click the check box.

For more information or procedures, see the following topics in the SideACT! Help index.

recording SideACT! information

changing activity types

clearing alarms

For more information or procedures, see the following topic in the SideACT! Help index.

marking items as completed

ACT! User’s Guide

Moving or copying items to ACT!You can move or copy items, such as to-do’s, from SideACT! to ACT! or to other files. You can choose to send items to your My Record or select a contact to send items to.

To move an item from SideACT! to ACT!

1 Select an item or items to move, by clicking the Select/Move button.

2 On the toolbar, click the Move to ACT! Database tool.

A dialog box displays the name of the database where the item(s) will be moved, and the number of items to move. You can select another database in which to move the items by clicking Change Database.

3 Click Move.

Depending on your preferences, SideACT will either open ACT! (if it is not already opened) and prompt you to select a contact to send items to, or it will send them to your My Record. Items that are sent from SideACT! maintain their activity type. For example, if you send a to-do item from SideACT!, it displays as a to-do item in ACT!.

An item that has not been marked completed displays in the ACT! Activities tab; completed items display in the Notes/History tab.

For more information or procedures, see the following topic in the SideACT! Help index.

copying: items from SideACT! to ACT!

Using SideACT! 121

A

123

Shortcut Keys

The following page lists some of the shortcut keys available in ACT!. The page is designed so that you can easily cut out the list and use it as a quick reference.

For the full list, see “Shortcut keys for all ACT! windows” in Help.

ut keys

Press:

Alt+Home

Alt+End

Ctrl+Page Down

Ctrl+Page Up

Alt+Page Down

Alt+Page Up

Press:

Shirft+F12

Ctrl+Shift+F12

Shift+F8

Shift+F11

Ctrl+Shift+F11

General shortcut keys Contact and Groups shortc

Contact List shortcut keys

To do the following: Press:

Add a new contact or group. Insert

Add a new sales opportunity for the currentcontact.

Ctrl+F11

Attach a file to a contact, group record,activity, or e-mail message.

Ctrl+I

Clear an activity. Ctrl+D

Insert a note for the current contact orgroup.

F9

Record an activity history for the currentcontact.

Ctrl+H

Reschedule an activity. Ctrl+Shift+D

Run a query (Query window only). Ctrl+R

Schedule a call. Ctrl+L

Schedule a meeting. Ctrl+M

Schedule a to-do. Ctrl+T

Send the selected activity as an e-mailattachment.

Ctrl+Shift+S

Switch to the previous layout. F6

Undo the last action. Ctrl+Z

View the activities tab. Alt+F9

View the Contact Window. F11

View the Groups tab. Ctrl+F9

View the Groups window. F10

View the Notes/History tab. Shift+F9

View the Task List. F7

To do the following:

Display the first contact or group in thecurrent database or group.

Display the last contact or group in thecurrent database or group.

Display the next contact or group in thecurrent database or group.

Display the previous contact or group inthe current database or group.

Jump to the company or group startingwith the next letter.

Jump to the company or group startingwith the previous letter.

To do the following:

Look up selected or tagged contacts.

Omit selected or tagged contacts fromlookup.

Switch between Edit and Tag mode.

Tag all contacts.

Untag all contacts.

Calendar shortcut keys

E-mail shortcut keys


View the mini-calendar. F4

View the daily calendar. Shift+F5

View the monthly calendar. F5

View the weekly calendar. F3


Create a new e-mail message. Ctrl+E

Delete an e-mail message. Ctrl+Delete

Forward an e-mail message. Ctrl+F

Reply to an e-mail message. Ctrl+Y

Send e-mail message(s) now. Ctrl+Enter

B

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Glossary

Administrator A user who can perform all functions, including adding users to the database, performing database maintenance, and modifying fields and layouts.

backup file A copy of data made either for an archive or to safeguard files from loss in case the active or master copy is damaged or destroyed.

compress To reduce the size of data so that it can be stored in less space on a computer.

conflict resolution The process of determining which changes to data will be kept when more than one user has changed the same data in a record.

delimited text file Text that is separated by tab characters, commas, or spaces.

filters A feature that allows a user to limit the type of information that displays in a view or on a report.

HTML Acronym for Hypertext Markup Language. Using HTML, you can include graphics or special text formatting in e-mail messages and templates.

indexes Lists of data in fields that are used to find or sort records faster than searching on all fields.

ISP Acronym for Internet Service Provider. A commercial, educational, or government institution providing individuals and companies access to the Internet.

macro A set of keystrokes recorded and saved under a command or name. Often used to record a long sequence of procedures so it can be run by choosing a single command or entering or exiting a field.

128

mapping To translate one value into another. For example, making a field in one program import or export the same data into a field in another program.

multiuser Any computer system that can be used by more than one person. The term is generally reserved for computers or programs that can be accessed simultaneously by several people via network terminals.

My Record The contact record for a user of an ACT! database. It is used to personalize letter and report templates, and to schedule personal activities.

POP3 An acronym for Post Office Protocol version 3. A set of rules used to download mail to a computer. An ISP uses a POP3 host, or server, to transfer mail to the user.

primary fields Designated fields in ACT! that are used when duplicating a contact or group record. Default primary fields exist, but any field can be made a primary field.

query A set of instructions for extracting particular data from a database.

reindexing A maintenance procedure that updates field indexes.

security levels Determine each user’s access to information and functionality in a system. Security is controlled by a combination of record ownership and each user’s security level in a multiuser environment. ACT! provides three security levels, however, security may be further defined by the operating system’s security.

shortcut keys In programs, a key or key combination used to perform a defined function.

SMTP An acronym for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. A set of rules used to transfer Internet mail. An ISP uses a SMTP host, or relay server to transfer mail to the user.

status bar The row of information at the bottom of a program or system desktop showing information about the data on-screen or an explanation of the currently selected menu command.

synchronization The process of sending and receiving data between two databases or two users of a multiuser database. Used to transmit changes so that data matches in each system.

URL An acronym for Uniform Resource Locator. An address that is used by a Web browser to locate a Web or FTP site.

ACT! User’s Guide

Index

AACT! 6.0

hardware requirements 2installing 1, 3introduction iMicrosoft Windows, versions

supported 2networks supported 2software requirements 2system requirements 2uninstalling 4using, scenario ii

activitiesalarms for 32associating groups with 26overview 29recording histories 38recurring 35scheduling 32scheduling follow-ups 38scheduling from calendars 34scheduling from contact record 32series of 36timeless 32viewing in Outlook 40viewing Task List 36

activity series 36alarms for activities 33, 119annual events 16

entering dates for 37overview 37

attachinge-mail to contact records 61e-mails to group records 26files to contact records 14files to group records 26notes and histories to group

records 26notes to contact records 13

Ccalendar

pop-up display 31

calendarsadding Outlook activities 39formats 31overview 30preferences 30printing 31scheduling activities from 34updating Outlook 39viewing activities from 30

Caller ID. See callscalls

making 49managing 50overview 47using Caller ID 50

Contact Listadding contacts 12finding contacts 15

contact recordsattaching e-mails 61attaching files 14attaching notes 13

Contact windowcustomizing 108overview 10scheduling activities from 32

contactsadding in Contact List 12adding in Contact window 11adding to groups 25finding information about 15overview 9sorting 18

customizingcolumns 109fields 106keyboard shortcuts 115layouts 108speeding up ACT! 112startup 111toolbar 115using macros. See macrosView bar 113

Ddatabases

adding users to 95

Index 129

130

databases (continued)backing up 97checking duplicate records 96converting 7creating 6importing 102maintaining 97restoring 99saving 98

dialeroverview 48setting up 48system requirements 48using ACT! with 48

documentscreating letters, memos, and faxes

66display options 69editing 68formatting 68printing 67saving 67

Ee-mail

accounts for 57addressing 62attaching to contacts 61displaying messages 58folders for 62opening attachments in 61preferences 56reading 60receiving 60replying to 61sending 59sending from Outlook 63setting up 56systems used 56writing 59

E-mail windowadjusting view of 58

envelopes 73exporting data 103

Ffaxing

address books 53calendars 53documents 52overview 50Quick Fax 51reports 52software preferences 51using WinFax Pro, overview 53

fieldsattributes, defined 106indexing 112mapping. See importing datamodifying 106primary, defined 107

filesattaching to contact records 14attaching to groups 26

filtering activities 36, 37finding

contact information 15group information 27more contact information 19subgroups 27

follow-up activities, scheduling 38formatting documents. See documents

Ggroup membership rules 25groups

adding contacts to 25advantages of 22associating activities with 26attachments to 26creating 24duplicating 24finding 27organizing 22overview 21reorganizing 28viewing activities for 26

Groups windowcustomizing 108layouts for 23

ACT! User’s Guide

Hhardware requirements for ACT! 2Help

online 4other resources 5

Iimporting data

from ACT! 102from other programs 102

indexing. See fieldsinstalling ACT! 1, 3Internet Services 19

Kkeyboard shortcuts

customizing 115

Llayouts. See customizingletters. See documentslooking up 16lookups

annual events 16, 37contact activity 16finding contacts 15speeding up 112

Mmacros

creating 110running 111running other applications from

115mail merge

for letters, memos, and faxes 72using with WinFax Pro 53

managing calls, overview 50membership rules. See group

membership rulesmemos. See documentsmenu bar, customizing 114menus, customizing 114Microsoft Windows, versions

supported 2multiuser databases 95

My Record, adding 6

Nnetworks supported in ACT! 2notes and histories

for groups 26

Oonline Help 4Outlook

sending e-mail from 63updating calendars from 39using ACT! with 39viewing activities 40

Ppasswords

resetting 94setting and changing 94

phone calls. See callspreferences

calendar 30dialer 48e-mail 56fax software 51for activities 30for calendars 30for starting ACT! 111scheduling 30SideACT! 119synchronizing 87word processor 66

primary fields, defined 107printing

calendars 31contact and group information 18documents 67

Qqueries, speeding up 112query, overview 18Quick Fax 51

Rrecording histories

for activities 38

Index 131

132

recording histories (continued)for sales outcome 46

recurring activities 35report designer 80report templates

modifying 81overview 77

reportsrunning 78sections of 80

Ssales forecasting 44sales graphs 45sales opportunities

adding 43graphing 45overview 42recording outcome of 46stages 42

sales pipeline 44sales stages 42scheduling

activities from calendars 34activities from contact record 32follow-up activities 38overview 32preferences 30

SideACT!alarms 119copying items 121marking items 120moving items 121recording information 120

software requirements for ACT! 2sorting contacts 18sorting, speeding up 112startup preferences. See preferencessubgroups

adding contacts to 25adding to groups 24finding 27

synchronization user 89synchronizing

automatic scheduling for 92comparison of methods 86

synchronizing (continued)methods 85overview 83planning for 87preferences 87sending and receiving updates 90setting up with another database

84, 89setting up with other users 85, 89using e-mail 85using modems 85using shared folders 85

system requirementsfor ACT! 2for ACT! dialer 48

Ttabs, defined 10Task List

filtering 36overview 36printing 37viewing 37

telephone calls. See callstelephones, using with ACT! dialer 48templates

creating letter, memo, and fax 71for envelopes 73for labels 73for reports 80letters, overviewmodifying HTML 70modifying letter, memo, and fax

70reports, overview 80

timeless activities 33toolbar

customizing 115defined 10

Uuninstalling ACT! 4

VView bar

customizing 113

ACT! User’s Guide

View bar (continued)defined 10

viewingactivities in calendars 30activities in Outlook 40activities in Task List 36group activities 26Outlook activities in ACT! 40

WWeb sites 19WinFax Pro. See faxingword processor, specifying 66word-processing templates. See

templatesword-processor display 69

Index 133

ACT! Technical Support Access the online Knowledge Base (created and used by ACT! support professionals), get answers to Frequently Asked Questions, and learn more about available support

options. Answers to most questions are found in the knowledge base articles — check the top 10 list for solutions to your questions.

http://support.act.com

ACT! experts are available to assist you with installation support and contract fee-basedsupport for in-depth technical questions and customizations.

1-800-927-3989

Get priority access to an ACT! expert (charged on a per minute basis). 1-900-225-2205

ACT! Customer ServiceGet general information about ACT! service and support, update your contact information,

order CD and manual replacements, and check your order or rebate status. You can also find out about value-added products and services or time-saving support options.

Most of our customers get immediate online help for their questions. However, if you prefer to speak with an ACT! representative, please call the toll-free number below.

http://service.act.com1-877-386-8083

Worldwide Service and Support Customer Service and Technical Support options vary by country. For international

service and support information, visit www.act.com

Best Software, CRM Division8800 North Gainey Center Drive, Suite 200

Scottsdale, AZ 85258 U.S.A. www.act.com

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this information. We reserve the right to

limit any single support call, change the terms and conditions of support, and change support pricing

and service availability without prior notice.

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