► Free Auto-Refresh for ACT!

 

Durkin Computing has annou nced a new free add-on for ACT! that will auto refresh the current view every x minutes or refresh every x minutes when idle.

Many users will find this useful.

It will work with ACT! 2008/10.0.2 or later.

To install Auto-Refresh, download the installer, close ACT!, run the installer and restart ACT!.

 

Use this link to download directly:

Or go to the download page. The download link is in the "FREE ACT! Addons" section.

Changing the options After installing the add-on you can launch ACT and go to the TOOLS menu. There you will find the menu to access the refresh options.   "Automatically Refresh" option will refresh the view after a set period of time has passed.   "Refresh when idle" option will refresh the view after a set period of time has passed only if the computer has been idle.           ========================================= IRENE'S ADVICE: As with all 3rd party add-ons, use caution - every environment is slightly different - back up your database , test on a single PC first, be alert to any anomalies and provide the developer with feedback if you notice any problems.



► ACT! 2010 Product Of The Year

ACT! 2010 has impressed ACT! Consultants and customers as "the best ACT! yet".
Now here's some external recognition.

Sage North America announced today that Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC)’s  Customer Interaction Solutions magazine has named the ACT! by Sage contact and customer manager as a 2009 Product of the Year Award winner. ACT! was cited for outstanding innovation based on new user navigation, social media integration and subscription-based E-marketing services introduced in 2009.

Customer Interaction Solutions magazine is a leading US publication covering call centers, CRM and teleservices. The editors selected companies to receive the Product of the Year Awards based on their vision, leadership and diligence. “Companies earning a Product of the Year Award represent the best in the industry".

See the full Sage press release here and the CIS magazine article here

► ACT! Deep Dive - 15 Whitepapers

Newly published on the ACT! Knowledgebase are the links to 15 Whitepapers.

Each is intended to go into some depth on a particular business, technical or performance issue.
I recommend them for those people wanting a greater understanding of how ACT! works and those wanting to optimise their ACT! environment.

Go to the ACT! Knowledge base article here or click the title below to be redirected to a summary and direct link for the Whitepaper:

• ACT! 2010 and Microsoft® Office Integration
• ACT! by Sage and Social CRM - Part 1
• ACT! by Sage and Social CRM - Part 2
• ACT! by Sage 2010: Delivering on Usability and Productivity
• ACT! Reporting and Data Access Methods
• Using ACT! by Sage Premium in Microsoft® Terminal Server or Citrix Presentation Server™ Environments
• Factors That Affect ACT! Performance for Individual Users
• Scalability Results for ACT! Premium Solutions
• ACT! Architecture, Customization, and Integration
• Keys to a Successful ACT! by Sage Deployment
• ACT! Security Model
• ACT! Synchronization Architecture
• Managing Customer Relationships: The Choice Between What's Cheap and What Works
• CRM: A Business Imperative for Companies During the Global Economic Downturn
• Automating Success: The Choice Between Contact Management and Customer Relationship Management

► A Successful Marketing Plan

Some e-marketing tips from Swiftpage..............

How to Map Out a Successful Marketing Plan
Tips For Your Business

When you plan on-the-go you need data and tools to keep you on track in order to monitor and implement change. Here are two Swiftpage tools to:

Qualify Your Leads

Know exactly who your most interested contacts are with Swiftpage's:

• Call Lists that rank your hottest leads based on their interactions with your emails.
• Assignment feature that allows you to assign all or portions of your Call List to individual sales reps.
• Reporting tools that provide detailed and graphical reporting for following up with and cleaning your contact lists.

Automate Your Business

Combine all of the Swiftpage tools to implement new plans and ideas automatically with:

• Drip Marketing that sends email, direct mail and call lists automatically over time.
• Drip Marketing autoloader that intelligently transfers contacts between your Drip Marketing campaigns.
• Autoresponder that sends emails instantly after survey participants have clicked Submit.

Utilizing your new marketing plan skills and these Swiftpage tools will help you stay on track with whatever your plans may be.

Interested in a 60-day free trial of Swiftpage Tools for ACT! ?
Available for almost all versions of ACT! Call me 0412 705 199



► Installing ACT! 2010

You want to install ACT! 2010 and you'd like to know the Best Practice for doing so.

Here is an outline you may find helpful.

Improvements have been made to simplify the installation process - ACT! by Sage 2010 can now be installed in four (4) mouse clicks.

1. Check that your existing hardware and software meets the System Requirements (Links:  ACT! 2010  ACT! Premium 2010 or ACT! Corporate Edition (Premium+Web) )

2. Back up your existing database(s).  If upgrading, take a note of all the Preference settings on the server & each PC (they could be different on each workstation and the old settings are removed by the installation process). Sync any remote databases.

3. Download any updates or hotfixes (if there are several versions, they are cumulative)

4. All computers pre-install preparation:

•  Make sure all patches applied for Windows and Office.

•  For new users, check for MSXML 6.0 SP2 Parser ( refer to KB Answer ID 24152 for complete details)

•  Re-boot machine.

•  Remove temp files.

5. Read and follow the relevant ACT! Knowledgebase articles

ACT! by Sage 2010 (KB Answer ID 25187)

ACT! by Sage Premium 2010 (KB Answer ID 25189)

ACT! by Sage Premium for Web 2010 (KB Answer ID 25206)

there are links to articles on Upgrading users and other relevant topics.

Note special procedures if you have & wish to use SQL Server 2008.

6. What is installed?

• Windows Installer 3.1 v2

•  .NET Framework 2.0

• SQL Express or SQL Standard (depending on your machine/OS/choice) with SP2 or SP3

• .ACT! 2010, EX Edition or ST Edition

7. Install/upgrade the server first, then the workstations. (Server and all workstations must be on the same version of ACT!). 

• Remember to apply any updates or hotfixes to ACT!.

• Register & activate ACT!

• On server: Create database folder for ACT! databases on data drive on server

• On Server: Restore & convert database.
• It is useful to allow the provided ACT12demo database to remain on each computer for diagnostic and/or training purposes.

8. Set preferences appropriately. Link to Outlook and Word as required.

9. If you synchronise with remote users: create new remote databases (you can now do up to 50 at one time). ACT! Premium users can install the Network Sync Service if required.  Setup sync & test sync with each remote PC.

10. Test workstations and remotes for correct operation with ACT!, Word and Outlook.

11. Set up  ACT! Scheluler tasks (Backup, Maintenance, Sync ) and check for correct operation.

This additional material from GL Computing could also be of value to you.

And Sage have provided an Installation Checklist too.

Alternatively. you may choose to save time and call on an ACT! Certified Consultant to do your installation or upgrade and setup, FrontRunner Systems offers fixed price plans.