Contact List Plus Part 5: Split View
This is one of the most amazing parts of Contact List Plus: the Split View. If you have a large monitor with lots of space, this is a great tool. Please watch my video to learn more:
Handheld Contact and Act: Talking to my iPhone and Sending Email via Handheld Contact
Sometimes I have days when I don’t feel like working. But I have to. We all have these kind of days on occasion. I think. Here is a quick act tip to help you to be more productive when you just need to get out of the office.
I use a tool called Handheld Contact which puts my act database on my iPhone. Act in the cloud offers the same ability, but I prefer to work with Handheld Contact on my iPhone. Why? Handheld Contact has simplified the way we view and work with act on a small device such as my iPhone. This is not a knock on act software, but simply kudos for the folks at Handheld Contact for making act look better on a small device that needs to have mobile-ready access to software such as act.
This past summer I was having one of those afternoons when I really wanted to be outside because it was a beautiful summer’s day. Here in New England, greater Boston, we have to take advantage of all those days when they are here. But I was feeling sort of guilty because I knew I needed to be productive.
The iPhone’s voice dictation capabilities amaze me. So I sat in my backyard and dictated follow-up emails to my clients using my iPhone and Handheld Contact. Handheld Contact is a subscription service for approximately $80 per year. It is an app that you download to your iPhone and it synchronizes your act data into Handheld Contact. The best way I can describe Handheld Contact is to think of it as act lite for your mobile device.
So there I was, sitting in the backyard of my humble abode sending emails to my clients. This is how it works:
- open up Handheld Contact on your device
- look up a contact
- click on the contacts email address
- click on the microphone key on the keyboard
- dictate your message
- proof your message to make sure it’s accurate
- press the send icon in the upper right corner and press send to send the email
- done
The great thing about this method is that I find I can dictate my thoughts a lot faster than taking the time to type and send them via Microsoft Outlook. For the record, in my iPhone signature, I make note of the fact that the email was dictated. Sometimes dictation can create some unusual spelling errors.
Last but not least, the email is recorded in act’s history and the last email field is updated in act. The next time Handheld Contact synchronizes with act all of that information will be transferred.
My experience has been that sometimes spending a little bit of money on technology can increase your efficiency and profitability. If nothing else, Handheld Contact gave you an opportunity to get outside on a beautiful summer’s day.
My experience has been that sometimes spending a little bit of money on technology can increase your efficiency and profitability. If nothing else, Handheld Contact gave you an opportunity to get outside on a beautiful summer’s day.For more information visit www.HandheldContact.com
Act! Add-ons: SnapInTools for Act!
SnapInTools for Act!
While Act! is a great product, you may find that it is missing functionalities that are important to your business operations. At ADS Programming Services, we have developed premium Act! add-ons to provide you with several important functionalities that are missing.Some of the add-ons currently offered are listed below. Click on the product name to download a trial version when available. Most of these add-ons aren’t currently available for trial, but if you are interested in one of the add-ons listed please get in touch with us.
Visit Source to Learn More: SnapInTools for Act!
Add-ons |
Description |
Price |
|
| AccessChanger | Changes record access from private to public or from public to private. | $99 | |
| AccountNumberGenerator | Populate field with unique ID numbers using field values, date components, user information, and/or a sequence number. | $59 | |
| ActivityDeleter | Delete activities in a date range. | $149 | |
| ActivityScheduler | Schedules activities based on contact fields and checkboxes. | $299 (site license) | |
| AgeToday | Calculates the elapsed time (or AGE) based on the Birth Date (or other date field) and displays it in the specified field in an ACT! record. | $39 | |
| AttachmentLinksUpdater | Updates links when the target of the link has moved to a new Windows server. | ||
| AutoFillFields | Automatically load any number of ACT! fields with values determined by the contents of some other field. | $59 | |
| BatchFieldCreatorPro | Define any number of Contact, Group, or Company fields and/or Drop-down lists using an Excel spreadsheet holding your desired field definitions. Will also define Opportunity fields in ACT!2010. | $129 | |
| ClearActivityAlarms | Clears the alarm from activities in the specified date range. | $49 | |
| CompanyInfoToContacts | Copies fields chosen by the user on the current company record to the contacts who are members of the company even if they are not linked. | $99 | |
| CompanyLookupFromContactLookup | Creates a lookup of companies from the current Contact lookup. | $99 | |
| CompanyMaker | CompanyMaker places a link on the Tools menu that will create companies from the current contact lookup in Act! and link the contacts to the companies. If the company already exists CompanyMaker will just link the contact to the company. The trial version will only run on the first 5 records in the lookup. | $99 | |
| CompanyMakerPro | CompanyMakerPro adds the ability to copy other fields from the contact record to the company record than the standard address fields, provided that the fields are named the same in the contact record and the company record. | $199 | |
| CompanyNotesToContactHistory | Copies Company Notes to the History tab of the Contacts that are members of the company. | $99 | |
| CountHistoryNotes | Counts the notes on the history tab. | $99 | |
| CopyFieldsContents | Copies the contents of any set of Contact, Group or Company fields into another set of fields on the same record. | $89 | |
| CopyNotesToHistoryPlugin | Copies Notes from the Note tab to the History tab on the Contact record. | $299 | |
| CopyOpportunitytoLookup | Copy a selected Opportunity to all Contact records in the current lookup. | $49 | |
| CopySystemField | Copy those inaccessible “system” fields on your ACT! Contact, Group, Company or Opportunity records into specified fields. | $49 | |
| DeleteCompanyLookup | Delete all the Companies (and associated Divisions, if desired) in the current lookup of an ACT! database. | $99 | |
| DeleteDuplicateNotesHistory | Deletes the second note or history if two notes or histories have duplicate date, time and regarding fields. | $199 | |
| DeleteGroupLookup | Delete all the Groups (and associated Subgroups, if desired) in the current lookup of an ACT! database. | $99 | |
| DeleteHistoriesByType | Deletes histories based on the type of the history, the date range and optionally contents of the regarding fields. | $99 | |
| DeleteHistoryNotes | Deletes the notes created by CopyNotesToHistoryPlugin if you want them removed. | $49 | |
| DeleteTeams | Deletes teams that can’t be deleted manually. | $99 | |
| DrivingDirections | Puts a button on the toolbar that launches the driving directions menu item. | $99 | |
| EditAppendField | Add or remove text to or from a multi-select dropdown field on every record in a lookup. | $69 | |
| FieldCalculator | A full-feature “calculator” that uses numeric constants and the contents of fields from ACT! records to perform simple or complex calculations, and save the results into the specified ACT! field. | $59 | |
| FieldRenamer | User creates a three column tab delimited text file and the program renames the fields in the Act! database to reflect the field names in the columns, so Contact, Company, Group and Opportunity fields can be renamed. | $99 | |
| FileLinker | Create “clickable” links to one or many files in a history or note entry. Create these links for one or many contacts simultaneously. | $39 | |
| FixPhoneMasks | Applies the default phone mask to all phone fields on all contacts in the current lookup. | $79 | |
| FixPrefixSuffix | Fixes the First Name, Middle Name, Last Name problems associated with doing a conversion or an import with a missing suffix or prefix. You add the suffix and the prefix to the list and then run the program and it fixes the names. | $99 | |
| GroupContacts | Reads a two column text file with one column of group names and one column of contact names and statically adds the contact to the group. The file must be a tab delimited text file with the group name in the first column and the contact name in the second column. | $99 | |
| GroupCreator | Creates groups based on the values in a tab delimited text file. Column 1 is the Group name. If there is a 2nd column it creates a subgroup to the group in Column 1. If there is a 3rd column it creates a subgroup to the subgroup in Column 2. This allows you to create groups that you can later import data into. | $99 | |
| GroupMaker | GroupMaker will create groups automatically and populate them with contacts based on the contents of the fields in your Act! database. | $49 | |
| HelpLink | Creates a menu entry at the bottom of the Help menu with your company name (or whatever you want) and a hyperlink to your website (or wherever you want). | $199 (site license) | |
| HistoryArchive | HistoryArchive writes history types selected by you from your Act! database within a date range you also select to a Microsoft Word document, and then saves each document as an attachment to the contact record. | $399 | |
| ImportContacts | Imports Contacts from an Excel file into Act! using an Excel file for a map. The program can be run by the Windows Scheduler. | $99 | |
| ImportSecondaries | Imports Secondary Contacts from an Excel spreadsheet matching on the Contact field. The Excel file must be in the format of the Secondaries.xls file. | $99 | |
| ImportSecondariesByUser1 | Imports Secondary Contacts from an Excel spreadsheet matching on the Contact field. The Excel file must be in the format of the Secondaries.xls file. This one matches on the User 1 field. | $99 | |
| ImportUsers | Imports Users from an Excel spreadsheet, create them in Act!, set up various parameters and add them to teams. | $99 | |
| JointSalutation | Automatically create a “joint” Salutation for couples, partners, agents, or any pair of fields using the values from two user-selected fields, connected by a user-specified string (e.g. and). | $39 | |
| LimitedAccessByGroups | Sets limited access of all contacts in the current lookup to a team called Admin. This effectively resets access to administrators and the record manager to remove users whose access have changed. | $99 | |
| LimitedAccessManagerPro | Define the Access List for all the Contact, Company, or Group records in the current lookup. | $129 | |
| LookupBadEmails | Creates a lookup of contacts with email addresses with problems. | $199 (site license) | |
| LookupContactsInCompanies | Create a lookup of all the Contacts that belong to any of the Companies in the current company lookup, or any of the Groups in the current Group lookup. | $29 | |
| LookupMenus | Lets the user add their own menus to the lookup menu bar. | $199 (site license) | |
| LookupMissingContacts | Compares two databases and finds contacts missing in the current database that are in the second database. | $199 | |
| MapAct! | Provides a basic interface between Act! and MapPoint. | $99 | |
| MiddlePane | Adds a middle pane to Act! (Written by Act! – source code on Devnet). | Free | |
| NetLinksForAct! | NetLinksForAct! adds Internet links to the Online menu in Act! | Free | |
| OpportunitiesAbound | Create an opportunity for each of the contacts in the current lookup based on the currently active opportunity or one of any number of templates you define. | $49 | |
| OutlookSendReceive | Puts a button on the toolbar that makes Outlook do a send/receive. | $9 | |
| PromoteAllSecondaryContacts | Promotes all of the secondary contacts in the database to primary contacts. | $99 | |
| Proximity for Act! | Proximity for Act! creates a lookup of Contacts within a specified distance of the current contact or a zip code. | $99 | |
| RefreshContact | Resolves the date problem by refreshing the view when switching contacts. | Free | |
| RemoveFromGroup | Remove the static membership oz all the contacts in the Current Lookup from any selected Group in an ACT! database. | $89 | |
| Select-A-Quote | Select which previously designed and saved quote template to use as the “default” template for the next “Create Quote” operation. | $29 | |
| Scripting for Act! | Adds event based scripting back into Act! | $79 per user | |
| ShoppingFromAct! | ShoppingFromAct! installs a menu item on the online menu, a toolbar button and optionally a quick launch button and a shopping tab in Act! to link to a shopping site on the web. | Free | |
| SortAttachmentsByDate | When the dll file is placed in the plugins folder, if a user logs into Act! and goes to the Contact List View and back to the Contact Detail View, they can now sort attachments on the Documents tab by date. | $99 | |
| StartupLayout | Sets the default layout for the Contact Detail, Group Detail and Company Detail views. | $199 (site license) | |
| StartupViews | Plugins to make Act! start up in the Company view, Group view, etc. | $199 (site license) | |
| StringReplace | Replaces characters in a field, appends and changes case. | $79 | |
| TerritoryManager | Changes the record manager on the various types of records in Act!. | $199 | |
| Today | Today will put today’s date in the field of your choosing. You can use Today as a trigger by using the following format: today /field=50 | Free | |
| UpdateLinkedContacts | Places an icon on the Company List toolbar that will update all of the linked contacts of all of the companies in the current company lookup. | $199 (site license) |
Carbonite: Back Up ACT and Everything Else on Your Computer
Carbonite is a great backup solution for act users.
Last week I received a call from an act user whose computer had crashed. When the computer crashed they took their computer to one of those big box stores and ask for technical help. It appears, that that big box store messed up their act database. Because I am late to this story and was contacted after the mess up, it is hard to diagnose this case properly. Having stated that, my gut instinct tells me that this person might have lost all their act data.
This was completely avoidable. Your act data is incredibly valuable and you should treat it like gold!
Carbonite is an inexpensive backup solution that is incredibly easy to use and I highly recommend that you partake in a free trial. Act users should be making regular automated backups of their act data. When you do this, act will create a zip file of all of your data. That singular zip file will be constantly backed up by Carbonite. If my new client had been using Carbonite we would’ve been able to locate the last backup that was made and simply restore it within act.
Carbonite is a simple inexpensive solution for act users.
If I lost my ACT data I would be in big trouble. If I lost the pictures of my kids I’d be devastated. Carbonite is an inexpensive back up service that I’ve used for years and I’d highly recommend them. It is approximately $59.00 a year for unlimited storage and it is an absolute necessity for all computer owners.
Contact List Plus Part 4: Navagation Bar and Filter Panels
In this tutorial we will look at the Contact List Plus layout. Specifically, the navigation bar and filter panels. Contact List Plus offers many options and these are examples of just a few of them.
Exponenciel: Great Act Add-ons
Exponenciel: Great Act Add-ons
From: www.Exponenciel.com
For many years I have been recommending the Act add-on products produced by Exponenciel because they solve common everyday problems of Act users. He has a free add-on that is called Email Address Lookup which I’ve been using for years.
Sometimes it is hard for me to predict what you might find useful because you and I are different. Different methodologies and different ways that we use Act. Therefore, I think it’s just easier to throw these all out there for you to review. Enjoy.
Add-ons for Act! v19/20 from Exponenciel
Act! v19/20 is a great product but you may find that it is missing functionalities that are important to you. At Exponenciel, we have developed the following add-ons to provide you with these important missing functionalities:
New Add-on
History Button
The History Button is designed to help you quickly create new history records. It can be set to prefill various fields of the history window (activity type, result, duration and regarding) so that you only type the minimum of information OR it can be set to create the history record directly, without opening the New History window.
New Add-on
Advanced Activity ColorCoding
By default, Act! colorcodes your activities by priority. What if you’d rather colorcode by user or activity type? With Advanced Activity ColorCoding you can. You can easily colorcode existing activities. The add-on also takes control of the Schedule Activity window so that all your activities are colorcoded at time of creation.
More on Advanced Activity ColorCoding
New Add-on
Color code your list views
Our new add-on ColorCoded List Views for Act! allows you to create color-coded rules and filters as well as create coloring schemes for your list views, so that they are easier to read and the information that matters to you easier to find.
More on ColorCoded List Views for Act!
New Add-on
Export your Act! data to PDF forms in a snap
With Act! to PDF Forms allows you to merge contact, company, opportunity, group data into existing PDF Forms. No need to retype anything!
More on Act! to PDF Forms
Web Forms and Act!, finally an efficient solution!
Online form results can now be imported directly into ACT!. No need to copy & paste from e-mails anymore. You don’t even need to have a Web site! Check how Automatic Web Forms revolutionizes working with Online Forms. Ideal for newsletter subscriptions forms, training courses, online applications, surveys, etc.
More on Automatic Web Forms for ACT
Finally a way to connect Act! and Evernote
Use Evernote with Act!
Our Evernote Plugin for Act! allows you to take advantage of your favorite note taking app and to leverage its mobile-friendliness. With this plugin, not only can you export contact, company, group, opportunity and activity data to Evernote but once you added new content in Evernote, you can easily import it into Act! and add it to the original record.
More on the Evernote Plugin for ACT!
Complete revamp of our best-selling add-on for ACT!
Excel Quote-Invoice Maker II is out
Excel Quote-invoice Maker II is a significant rewrite of our best-selling Excel Quote-Invoice Maker. It is a lot faster, includes a number of new features including PDF output and is compatible with Excel 2013…
See what’s new.
New Add-on for ACT!
Interactive Advanced Queries for ACT!
Interactive Advanced Queries for ACT! opens up a new world of possibilities giving a new dimension to Advanced Queries. If you’re using ACT! Advanced Queries, you already know how powerful they can be. The biggest challenge with Advanced Queries though is that they do not accept parameters. You have to use specific searched values when creating the query. This lack of flexibility is now history with Interactive Advanced Queries.
More on Interactive Advanced Queries for ACT!
New Add-on for ACT!
Favorites for ACT!
Finally a way to create a list of favorites in ACT!. You can now quickly access your favorite records (contact, company, group or opportunity records), save lookups whether static or dynamic, quickly move from one view to another without having to always redo the same lookups. Check it out: it is a real time saver!
More on Favorites for ACT!
E-mail Marketing
MailChimp plugin II for ACT!
Using MailChimp, one of the leaders of the Email Marketing and Email List Manager market? You can now import data from MailChimp into ACT! and export contacts from ACT! to MailChimp!.
More on the MailChimp Plugin II for ACT!
Display any field you want in your calendar
Advanced Activity Window for ACT!
You want your activities to display any field you want in your Calendar or in your smartphone agenda? Advanced Activity Window takes care of this for you by automatically populating the Location and Details fields of your activities with data from the contacts the activity is scheduled with.
Our contribution to the ACT! community
Free ACT! add-ons
Our free ACT! add-ons can make ACT! work better for you. Make sure you take advantage of them!
Our latest addition: Default Lookup Field allows you to set the field of your choice as default for the lookup feature of ACT! navigation bar.
