Symptom:
When I click a contact email address to create a new email message, I get the Error: “Object reference not set to an instance of an object”.

Product Details:
Product Family: Act!
Product: Act! Pro, Act! Premium
Version: 2005 and later

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Cause:
This can occur as a result of conflicting system permissions, if the Windows Dots Per Inch (DPI) settings are set to a value greater than 96, if the Normal.dot/Normal.dotm file is damaged, or if the redemption.dll file has become unregistered.

Solution:

Conflicting system permissions

This can occur if the Windows User Account Control (UAC) settings are turned on and Act! has been configured to Run As Administrator, but Microsoft Outlook has not. In this case, there are two options which may resolve this.

Note: Act! does not provide support for Microsoft Products. For more information about UAC and how to disable it, refer to the following Microsoft documentation:

What are User Account Control Settings?

Option 1 – Permanently run both Microsoft Outlook and Act! as Administrator 

1. Ensure Microsoft Outlook and Act! are closed
2. Right-click the Microsoft Outlook shortcut, then choose Properties
3. Click the Compatibility tab
4. Check the option to Run this program as an administrator, then click OK
5. Right-click the Act! shortcut, then choose Properties
6. Click the Compatibility tab
7. Check the option to Run this program as an administrator, then click OK
8. Launch Microsoft Outlook, then launch Act!
9. In Act!, test clicking the contact email address again

Option 2 – Disable UAC 

1. Disable UAC
2. Test clicking the contact email address again

Windows DPI settings are too high 

1. Reduce the Windows DPI settings. For more information, refer to the following knowledgebase article:

   Issues using Act! with large or custom size Dots Per Inch (DPI) Display Settings
   Answer ID Issues using Act! with large or custom size Dots Per Inch (DPI) Display Settings 

2. Once the DPI has been adjusted, rebuild your Act! Preferences File. For more information, refer to the following knowledgebase article:

   How To Rebuild the Act! Preferences File
   Answer ID How to rebuild the Act! Preferences file 

3. Test clicking the contact email address again

Normal.dot/Normal.dotm file is damaged 

1. Follow the steps in the following knowledgebase article:

   Error: “RPC Server not available.” When Attempting to Send an E-mail Using Microsoft® Outlook®
   Answer ID Error: “RPC Server not available.” When attempting to send an e-mail using Microsoft Outlook 

2. Test clicking the contact’s email address again

Redemption.dll has become unregistered (Microsoft Outlook users only) 

1. Close out of Act! and all Microsoft Office programs
2. Navigate to one of the following locations, depending on your operating system (OS) and version of Act!:

   64-bit OS

   • Act! Pro or Act! Premium: C:\Program Files (x86)\ACT\Act for Windows
   • Act! Premium (access via web): C:\Program Files (x86)\ACT\Act for Web

   32-bit OS

   • Act Pro or Act! Premium: C:\Program Files\ACT\Act for Windows
   • Act! Premium (access via web): C:\Program Files\ACT\Act for Web
3. Locate the following files:
   • Redemption.dll
   • regsvr32.exe
4. Drag and drop Redemption.dll on top of regsvr32.exe
5. When the prompt appears to let you know that it has registered successfully, click OK
6. Attempt to click a contact email address to test