Chicago  ACT! USER GROUP

Meeting Date: January 1998

NEWS YOU CAN USE:

ACT! 3.0.8 is now available via Symantec's Live Update feature (accessible through ACT!'s Help menu). Version 3.0.8 includes fixes for synchronization and ACT!'s report generator. Update 3.0.8 makes specific changes in two ACT! program files in the current ACT! directory: CB.DAL and RPTSYS.DLL. These files affect synchronization and ACT!'s report generator, respectively. It goes without saying that if you do much synching or frequently create reports you'll want to update your copy of ACT! 3.0.

The complete patch may also be downloaded from Symantec's FTP site (as soon as it is posted). Alternatively, a complete set of patch discs may be purchased at ACT! User Group meetings or ordered from E Tech Systems for $10 (including shipping and handling). Contact E Tech via phone at 847-352-4770 or via e-mail to sales@etechsys.com.

Meanwhile, rumors of the imminent release of ACT! 4 continue to circulate in the press. Expect to hear more about ACT! 4 before the summer. We will provide updated information at User Group meetings. Stay tuned!

MEETING FEATURE: ACT! REPORTS

Nancy Stronczek, ACT! Certified Consultant, led a discussion of ACT! reports. Reports are one of ACT!’s most powerful features. Reports summarize information of interest for a specific group of contacts in standard or custom formats. Reports can be as simple as a list of names and phone numbers for all contacts in Texas or as sophisticated as a custom sales activity report for the past quarter.

Once the format (template) for a report has been created, it may be saved and run at any time. ACT! comes with several standard report templates. They include the Contact Report – a comprehensive listing of information in all 75 standard ACT! fields, the Contact Directory Report – name, address, and phone numbers for each contact, and the Task List Report – a list of all undone phone calls, meetings and to dos. Other standard reports such as Contact Status and Source of Referral are particularly useful for tracking the sales cycle or advertising and promotional efforts.

The first step in creating a report (using one of ACT!’s standard report templates) is to select (lookup) the contacts of interest. Step two is to simply run the report by clicking on the report drop-down menu to select a report from the menu.

Custom Reports

While custom reports can be created from scratch, many find it easier to begin with one of ACT!’s standard reports. To get started, execute the command REPORTS, EDIT REPORT TEMPLATE. Then choose a report from the menu which most closely matches the way you’d like the report to look. Use the cursor to highlight and select sections of the report template. Add or subtract fields and alter fonts or background colors to customize the template. There is a handy tool palette which can be accessed using the command VIEW, SHOW TOOL PALETTE. Don’t forget to execute the SAVE AS command to avoid overwriting the original report template!

ACT! 3 reports can have multiple sections with data sorted by more than one parameter (i.e. sorted by state and within state, by city) however this requires running the report across the whole database—a time-consuming proposition for those with larger databases and slower systems. In the end though, the time invested in setting up and running reports is well worth it. Reports remain one of the best ways to gauge business activity in a single "snapshot".

OPEN FORUM:

Q: Can I get ACT! to print out a report s sideways (so I can squeeze more fields across the page)?

A: Sure. What you need to do is to execute the command FILE, PRINTER SETUP. Select "landscape" instead of "portrait" orientation. If MS Word is your default word processor, the commands are: FILE, PAGE SETUP. Click on the Paper Size tab, then select "landscape" under Orientation.

Q: When I print a Contact Report, part of the text and notes gets cut off. How can I get the Contact Report to print correctly?

A: Print out a copy of the report for reference. Then use the ACT! command EDIT, REPORT TEMPLATE to open the Contact Report template. Edit the template as necessary so that the fields in question fit within the margins of the page. Save this revised version of the Contact Report using a different name (SAVE AS command). You may wish to add the name of this report template to the Reports pull down menu.

OUR NEXT MEETING

will be Tuesday March 10, 1998. We will discuss the ins and outs of faxing with ACT! and show how this can be done with a laptop PC and cellular phone for a truly portable office. The meeting will be held at the Schaumburg Prairie Center for the Arts Lecture Hall located at 201 Schaumburg Court (just off Schaumburg Road, between Plum Grove and Roselle Roads).

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. 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 1998 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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