E  Tech  Systems

Chicago  ACT! USER GROUP

Meeting Notes

Meeting Date: June 1997

NEWS YOU CAN USE: ACT! 3.0 users, the latest release of ACT! for Windows 95 is version 3.0.6. The 3.0.6 patch discs will update versions 3.0 through 3.0.5. (Use the command HELP, ABOUT ACT! to check which version you have.) If you don't have the latest update, you can download it from Symantec's Web site (or use ACT!'s LiveUpdate feature). Please note, the next meeting of the ACT! User Group will be on September 9. Mark your calendars now and join us for our Fall kickoff meeting. In lieu of our usual meeting summary, here is some information on the latest ACT! update.

GENERAL NOTES

If you are sharing an ACT! database with other users on a network, you will get the best performance and reliability if all users have upgraded to the same ACT! version. To verify the version number, choose About ACT! from the ACT! Help menu.

There is a known problem with sharing an ACT! database on a Microsoft Windows network if any user is running Microsoft Windows 95B. You can verify your version of Microsoft Windows by clicking the Start button, choosing Settings > Control Panel, then double-clicking System. If you have Windows 95B, you will need to get VREDIR.VXD from the Microsoft web page at: http://www.microsoft.com/kb/softlib/

mslfiles/VREDRUPD.EXE

Note: There are at least four versions of this file in existance. Only one version works properly. The others may result in system lockups. Use the update program to get version  4.00.1116 installed correctly

ACT! VERSION 3.0.6 INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING CHANGES AND IMPROVEMENTS:

  • You can now use WordPerfect version 7.0 as your default word processor. In the General tab of the Preferences dialog box, choose WordPerfect 6.x-7.0 from the Word Processor drop-down list.
  • Note: If you experience problems using WordPerfect 7.0 as your default word processor, you should reinstall WordPerfect 7.0 (using either a Minimum or a Typical installation). If you perform a Custom installation, please be sure to include the converters and filters by selecting the PerfectFit Conversion option.
  • As of ACT! 3.0.5, MicroSoft Word 8.0 (Office 97) is supported.
  • The speed and accuracy of data exchange with Newton MessagePad devices have been improved.
  • You can now perform double-sided (duplex) printing of address books without problems.
  • You can now save a generated report in either .RTF or .TXT format. In the Run Report dialog box, choose File - Editable Text as the output option, then choose Rich Text Format (*.rtf) or Text Only (*.txt) from the Save As Type drop-down list in the Save As dialog box.
  • The Activities/Time Spent report now includes the duration for each activity in the report.
  • The Show Cleared Activities setting in the Filter Activities and the Filter Calendar dialog boxes now remains in effect until you change it again.
  • The Since Last Link option has been added to the Send group box in the Link Setup Wizard. This option allows you to send only contacts that you have added or modified since the last time you linked with the PDA database.
  • You can now add an unlimited number of name prefixes and suffixes using the Names tab in the Preferences dialog box.
  • When you select an activity in the Task List window, you can now call the contact with whom the selected activity is scheduled by choosing Phone Contact from the Contact menu. When you complete the phone call, the Clear Activity dialog box appears; from this dialog box, you can clear the activity and record a history.
  • You can now paste text from the Clipboard into the ACT! word processor, even if the Clipboard text was created in another application.
  • When you choose the Create Lookup command from the shortcut menu in the Calendar or Task List, the contacts in the lookup are sorted in the same order as the activities.
  • You can now drag and drop a contact from the Contacts tab of the Groups window to any of the calendars, to the Task List, or to the Activities tab of the Contact window. When you "drop" the contact, the Schedule Activity dialog box appears. You can also add a contact to a group by dropping it onto a group in the Group Name list on the left side of the Groups window.
  • When you double-click a row in the Groups tab of the Contact window, the Groups window appears with the corresponding group selected.
  • When you select the Send E-mail Reminder option in the Schedule Activity dialog box, only the core contact fields are sent with the attached activity in the e-mail reminder. The core contact fields are Company, Contact, Title, Department, Phone, Extension, Fax, Salutation, ID/Status, Address 1 - 3, City, State, Zip, Country, and E-mail Address.

OUR NEXT MEETING . . .

of the ACT! User Group will be on September 9, 1997. 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 to get meeting notices or e-mail us via www.etechsys.com.

E Tech Systems is an ACT! Certified Consulting firm and Symantec Authorized Training Center. E Tech has installed, configured, and customized ACT! for dozens of companies and trained hundreds of ACT! users. Alan Lee can be reached at E Tech at 847-352-4770 or via e-mail to alee@etechsys.com.

© Copyright 1997 by Symantec Corporation. All rights reserved. Portions copyrighted by Alan M. Lee. 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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