How to Import History into Act! without a Plugin
In Act!, importing contacts allows you to add a note to a field, but you cannot put in a history. If you are doing this for a one-off like importing names from a trade show; then recording the fact they attended the show as a "Meeting Held" is preferred to a note.
This would work on v17+, and not tested for earlier versions.
- Create a lookup of contacts in Act! (Sample Video)
- Change Act! preferences to "Create a separate activity for each contact" (Video)
- Schedule a meeting for all the contacts (Video)
- You can clear multiple activities at once (Video)
This will create a unique history for each contact record. If you find yourself doing this quite often, we recommend contacting us to learn about Oak!Merge Advanced Edition. This plugin to Act! enables you import multiple histories at once and other entities.
Act! Doesn't Start After Applying Windows 10 Update
We have taken a few calls on this recently and read this on the boards. Apparently, Windows 10 slows down the SQL service starting up quickly as we want. This means you could get an error like the "Act! Database not found" or the database won't open.
For sync users and single users of Act!, you need to update the SQL service so it's a delayed start. Here are the steps:
- Press Windows "Start" (or CTRL-Escape)
- Type in "Services.msc"
- Find the service called "SQL Server (ACT7)"
- Right click and select "Properties"
- Change it from "Automatic" to "Automatic (Delayed)"
Keyboard Shortcuts with Act! and Windows and Web Browsers
Sometimes, keyboard shortcuts in Act!, Windows or web browsers are faster than using the mouse.
Or, you can press ALT-L ; then, L. Here is a complete list, and it doesn't matter which version you use. The keyboard shortcuts have been consistent since 1987.
For everyday work, I use these Windows shortcuts because it's faster than looking around others' desktops to find their icons.
- Windows + R - Brings up the Windows Run command. In Windows 7+, you can even use this file search tool
- Windows + E - Brings up Windows Explorer
- Windows + D - Brings up Windows Desktop
- CTRL-ESC - Brings up the Windows Start Menu
- Fastest way to start a browser and website is to press Windows + R then type in the website address and press Enter. This brings up your default browser along the with the website
Here is a complete list for Windows, Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome.
If you are trying to make any data entry process faster in Act!, send the request to me. Chances are I may have a solution for you.
How to Use the Campaign Results in Act! E-Marketing to Get New Leads
Swiftpage bought Act! in 2013 and integrated a new e-mail marketing tool called Act! E-Marketing (AEM). Unlike other CRM systems, Act! offers a unique integration between campaigns and leads generated from it.
As shown in this video, I sent an offer to upgrade Act!. The results are shown within Act!. Just click a name, and it goes right to the lead with history ready to go for the rep.
Act! Dialog Boxes Are Wrong Size
Sometimes, the Act! dialog boxes don’t appear correct, and the boxes are out of scale relative to the screen. This is because you need to change the text scaling to 100% DPI from 125%+. Yes, it makes other icons relatively small, but it’s a flaw in legacy code from Act! for Windows that hasn’t been migrated yet.
Follow the video below, and you will need to log out and log back into Windows.
