Chicago  ACT! USER GROUP

Meeting Notes

Meeting Date: September 10, 1996

MEETING FEATURE: This month, our featured speaker was Symantec’s Ryan Rosenberg, Group Product Manager for ACT!. Ryan impressed a standing-room only crowd of over 100 attendees with an exciting demo of ACT! 3.0 (for Windows 95). There are literally over 100 improvements in ACT! 3.0 which is due out this fall. In deciding which features to include in version 3.0, Symantec reviewed user feedback and comments dating all the way back to ACT!’s early days - back when the program was first conceived and marketed by Contact Software International.

One of the first changes you’ll notice with version 3.0 is the new screen. Tabs at the bottom of the screen switch layouts. The "list view" (F8 key) is extremely flexible. You now have the option of displaying any fields in any order across your monitor.

Another big difference is that version 3.0 is highly customizable. Layouts can include an unlimited number of fields and can be displayed in different colors. Fields can be formatted to accept specific types of data (such as phone numbers). There’s much more flexibility in customizing reports. You can now include headers, footers, arithmetic totals, and section breaks (which allow one report to serve the purpose of several). Plus, it’s a snap to use Microsoft Word or Word Perfect (two of the most popular word processing programs) in conjunction with ACT!. Simply select either word processor (or ACT!’s own word processor) under "Preferences".

ACT! 3.0 is easier to use thanks to built in tool tips - which explain the functions of icons. An automatic typing feature saves time when fillling in any contact field that has a popup. Just type the first few characters and ACT! does the rest. ACT! 3.0 also includes "wizards" which take you step by step through complex procedures (such as the synchronization of two databases via Mobilink). Incidentally, Mobilink is built into version 3.0. You can synchronize your data via modem, e-mail, or LAN.

Finally, ACT! 3.0 is more adept at handling large databases. (Symantec has been testing version 3.0 with a 50,000 contact database.) You can find a partial list of version 3.0’s new features at Symantec’s Website, www.symantec.com.

OPEN FORUM:

Printing ACT! Contacts

Q How can I print out a list in "mailing list" (name and address) format?

A You can do this by printing your contact list using an address label report. One of ACT!’s standard reports, avry5160, will print names, company name, and addresses three across the page. (Another report, avry 5385, also prints phone and fax numbers.) After selecting your lookup, use the command REPORT, OTHER. Choose the appropriate report and click OK. You may modify this template (to add phone numbers, for example). The command is REPORT, EDIT TEMPLATE. Be sure and save the modified version under a new name otherwise you will overwrite the standard template.

ACT! 3.0 Questions

Q How much hard drive space should I allow for ACT! 3.0?

A ACT! 3.0 requires about the same amount of disk space as Microsoft Word.

Q I understand that Symantec will release ACT! 3.0 for Windows 3.1 about 60 days after it releases ACT! 3.0 for Windows 95. Will there be any significant differences between the two?

A No. The only difference worth mentioning is the number of characters permitted in a file name. This is really a function of the Windows operating system, not ACT!

Q I realize that ACT! 3.0 allows you to link documents, spreadsheets and any other file to contact records. Is it possible to link a Word document to 25 contacts in my database?

A Yes. Plus it is possible to record notes related to the document as well.

OUR NEXT MEETING . . .

of the ACT! User Group will be held on Tuesday November 12. We’ll discuss how to upgrade from ACT! 2.0 to ACT! 3.0 and answer any technical questions you might have. The ACT! User Group (a SIG of the C.C.S.) holds meetings on the second Tuesday of the month eight months out of the year. User Group meetings are free and open to all C.C.S. members. They are held at the Midway Motor Lodge in Elk Grove Village. Call E Tech Systems at 847-352-4770 or visit www.etechsys.com for details.

© Copyright 1996 by Alan M. Lee, all rights reserved. Other nonprofit computer user's groups may reprint this material providing credit is given the author and C.C.S. Future rights for publication reserved by Alan M. Lee. ACT! is a registered trademark of Symantec Corporation.

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