Act! 20.1 Update 6 is a great release! #ActCRM

Today, Swiftpage has released Update 6 for Act! 20.1 and it has some significant improvements. Enough to be a service pack rather than just an update.

Twenty-two new or enhanced features and 90 closed defects!

Yes, you read that right! The developers and QA guys at Swiftpage have been putting in some serious effort to get this done – and yes, for those who don’t know, I have been contracted to help with QA as their Certified Act! Expert (the only one in the world) for the past year.

And here is the list:

Outlook integration improvements

1. When sending an email to a someone whose email address isn’t in the database, you now have the option to create a new contact or to attach the email to another contact.
   
   
2. You can now enter ID/Status when creating a new contact from Outlook.
   
   
3. A preference setting to auto-attach histories to contacts and NOT to your My Record.
   
   

User Interface Improvements

1. A Documents Tab option to save the selected file locally
   
   
2. Contact column should display by default on Group and Company history tab
3. Display preferences tabs on two rows
   
   
4. Enable 'Look for' field in list views by default
5. Move Lookup > Favorites further down the menu
6. Remove inactive paging controls under the calendar task view
7. Allow 'Create Lookup' from multiple selected companies (Windows client only)
   
   

Act! Premium for Web Improvements

1. Left align the big button menu
2. Managing opportunity processes to use the same terminology as windows
3. Reduce Act! icon file size to improve performance
4. Version numbers displayed should match windows client

Improvements to the Update

1. Update Act! Notification link to point at the “What's Fixed” KB article
2. Includes new Custom Tables package

SDK Improvements for custom add-on developers

1. Add event where a contact, group or company is added to an opportunity
2. Add events where opportunity total is modified or recalculated
3. Add events where a relationship is added to a contact
4. Add open and close events for the layout editor
5. Provide consistent event for LayoutLoaded
6. Record Created events are inconsistent or missing

Defects Closed

1. FR- APFW - Task list view/ Activity Tab - Edit and Delete links are truncated
2. FR- APFW - History list / Tab - Edit and Delete links are truncated
3. FR- APFW - Notes Tab - Edit and Delete links are truncated
4. TS - FR - Text Overlaps Button Edges When Deleting Contacts.
5. TS - When creating a History item and selecting the Type as Other, the follow up button on the local install is greyed out, however it remains active on APFW.
6. TS - Rescheduling a recurring activity with attachment does not create a rescheduled activity.
7. Windows - Companies - Update linked fields messaging was not updated for "update linked fields" button
8. LC - DE– Browse button is truncated on Save Copy As dialog
9. LC - CF - Truncation in emarketing profile
10. LC-FR-“Post” should be “Code postal” on Contact Detail View.
11. LC–FR-On the Copy/Move Contact Data page, the text can’t be showed fully.
12. LC–FR-On the “Reset Menus and Toolbars” truncation
13. LC-DE- The selection box of “Opportunity (select one)” is misaligned in Act! Emarketing--Webpage dialog.
14. Two same hotkeys “Alt + S” appear in the “Schedule Activity” box.
15. Chrome-User Log out automatically with an error message occurred after using “Attach File…”.
16. LC-FR-APFW: Truncation display on the Activity part on contact detail view
17. Chrome – Dashboard – The activity cannot be deleted when we select “delete all activities in the linked series”.
18. LC-FR-APFW: There should be more space between these buttons and the dialog frame
19. TS - Relate Contact Window cannot be resized.
20. LC-FR: Truncation in Email System Setup Outlook Address Books page
21. TS - Act! Network Sync Service Update refers to Act! Update
22. Lock/Unlock filter slider text needs to be centered as it's topmost currently
23. TS - APFW - DE - Spelling error in Emarketing Opt Out menu.
24. Space needed for easier reading Monthly contact limit
25. Unable to connect to sync server error is incorrect
26. APFW - The “Send At” field displays blank in the “Next Scheduled Email Campaign” section
27. TS - APFW - Defunct 6 month survey appears
28. TS - APFW - Error in Application when trying to change password when 'User cannot change password' is enabled.
29. White icons of ‘Product Reports’ & ‘Opportunity Reports’ appear in New Report dialog.
30. The ‘Favorite’ icon was changed from icon to text after resetting the Columns in the contacts List View.
31. TS - APFW - Deleted Activities in IE do not disappear from list without refreshing page
32. APFW - Calculated fields allow blank if set before choosing "calculated" as field type
33. APFW - Activities - Schedule for dialog displays current user instead of "created by"
34. LC - DE/FR/CF - Pro Welcome Page isn't directed to the correct regional page.
35. Act! Update package (20.0 u5) references ACT2000
36. TS - APFW - Unable to filter task list by keyword in IE.
37. No scrollbar when creating calculated field with long formula
38. TS - APFW - The advanced query open window doesn't always close in IE11.
39. TS - Unable to delete a complete activity series in IE.
40. TS - APFW - When using the 'replace' option when importing into APFW, information that is not being imported is removed from the record.
41. TS - APFW - Company activities tab showing all activities after lookup in IE.
42. TS - APFW - Standard Users unable to create secondary contacts if 'Delete Records' permission removed.
43. TS - APFW - Able to create a remote database from another remote database via Web.
44. LC-DE- Truncation issue occurred on Emarkting Overview.
45. TS - APFW - Attempting to delete an in use opportunity stage gives misleading error.
46. DE - Act! Notification message contains truncated text
47. TS - APFW - Removing a field from a database when included in a 'customised columns' selection causes a logout
48. LC-DE/CF/FR: The help descriptions of all charts are not translated into German or French.
49. TS - APFW - Logged out of web or error message after adding a document to a new contact
50. TS - APFW - Alarms window not appearing after a session times out
51. TS - Old databases open in 20 without needing to update
52. LC - CF/FR –Truncation issue occurred in Select Contacts dialog.
53. LC_FR/DE/CF Truncation issue occurred in Act! Update Details dialog.
54. LC – CF/FR Truncation issue occurred in Contact Merge Options dialog when import database.
55. APFW - IE - Selecting "delete all occurrences" of recurring activities still only deletes one
56. LC-DE Truncation issue occurred on the ‘Create, edit, or delete drop-down lists’ dialog.
57. LC – CF/FR Truncation issue occurred in Opportunity Graph Options dialog.
58. LC – DE/CF/FR APFW - Truncation issue occurred in Opportunity Pipeline Options dialog.
59. TS - ISPA.exe runs at 100% CPU on TS environments.
60. LC – CF ‘Share’ button is not translated to French on Open/Share database dialog.
61. LC-FR/CF/DE – Translation issue occur during the creation of custom tables.
62. LC – FR/CF/DE ‘Delete local preferences’ prompt box is not translated to French/Germany.
63. LC – FR/CF/DE Some contents are not translated to French/Germany in Map Entity Fields page for Custom Tables.
64. LC – FR/CF/DE Translation issue occur in Customize Columns dialog for Custom Tables.
65. TS - APFW - History Result incorrect when sending an aem campaign via Web.
66. TS - Email address from Outlook contact is used instead of email address in Act!.
67. LC – FR/CF/DE The prompt box name – ‘Custom Tables’ is not translated to French/German.
68. LC-FR/CF/DE – The contents of all prompt boxes are not translated to French and German when edit a record in the custom table.
69. LC – FR/CF/DE - Truncation issue occurs in Mail Merge Wizard (7 of 7) dialog when mail merge by E-mail.
70. TS - Upgrading Pro Databases to Premium 20.1 does not always update the Product Tier correctly.
71. LC-DE Truncation issue occurred for ‘This contact is dynamically included in the groups listed below’ on the ‘Dynamic Groups Membership’ dialog.
72. LC – DE/CF/FR The ‘company field’ is overlapped by the field selection box in Define Fields dialog.
73. LC – DE ‘Browse…’ button is wrapped in Import List Items dialog.
74. TS - History has no line break after the Regarding field in preview pane
75. TS - APFW - Unable to schedule an activity series in Chrome when one of the activities is in the past.
76. APFW-Custom Tables-Create a 2 Number fields and a Calculated Numeric field, using the Number fields, in Custom table via APFW gives errors
77. APFW - Custom Tables - Creating a Field in Custom Tables before creating a custom table logs user out of APFW
78. APFW - Custom Tables - Editing a custom table calculated field gives an error.
79. APFW - Custom Tables - Cannot edit custom table field name.
80. APFW-Custom tables-Clicking on Picture field in Custom table Layout Designer for Web gives error
81. APFW-Custom Tables-Create 2 Picture fields in Custom table and add an Image in each of the fields via APFW, last Image added, overrides both fields
82. APFW - Custom Tables - Industry Template Library option is unresponsive
83. Custom Tables-Creating a Calculated field, based on Numerics, does not validate formula.
84. TS - Web Info tab - Open Browser link uses IE and not default browser
85. LC-FR : Missing translation for “Address” in Contact detail view.
86. Pressing keyboard shortcut Ctrl+F5 when viewing AEM in Act! causes an error: Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
87. Custom Tables - Calculated fields on Custom tables, break Schema export
88. Deleting Series causes popup for delete recurring activity
89. (Chrome) Warning in activity series doesn't let you continue
90. Groups tree doesn't stick when navigating away

What you need to know about Act! 20.1 #ActCRM

How will the latest Act! update benefit your business?

Custom Tables: Increased Efficiency for Sales Automation

Act! has supported the ability for third-party add-ons to add and work with custom tables since version 10.02. Now, with the newly released 20.1, this functionality can be added by a simple upgrade to Premium Plus.

As an individual salesperson, Act!’s custom tables help you to improve your efficiency and track detailed information on the contacts and companies you deal with or even on the Opportunities and Groups you manage.

In the screenshot below, we have a custom table showing vehicles. If you run a car dealership, this is a helpful table to track. For example, you might get in touch with the buyer of the 2006 and 2013 cars to see if they are interested in a trade-in.

Clicking on any of the line items brings up a detailed dialogue (Click to see full size):

Act 20.1 ships with some custom industry templates including:

● Mortgage brokers. Detailed documentation matters in mortgages so keeping detailed files in Act will help you satisfy the compliance department.

● Wealth management. The information you gather at this stage will help you to satisfy the regulatory requirements imposed on financial companies.

● Residential real estate. Most people buy several properties over their lives, so there is a significant benefit to staying in touch with past customers over time.

● As well as templates for Event Planning, Consulting, Project Management, and Product Inventories.

Are you worried that your industry or need is not covered by a template? You can use the custom tables capability to create your design. I recommend getting an Act! consultant to help you with this if you have not done it before.

How Does Custom Tables Benefit Sales Managers?

Let’s start with the obvious benefit. Your front line sales staff will have an easier time at work. They will be able to walk through each part of the sales process with ease. If you regularly hire new sales staff, this guidance will support your sales training program.

● Sales Training Resource: Act is a powerful resource to enhance your sales training. For more insight, read my past article How To Use Act! for Your Sales Training.

Adding custom tables to Act also helps sales managers better understand the performance of their sales staff. In addition to tracking primary activity metrics like the number of calls and emails sent, you can monitor higher-value aspects of the sales process.

Here are some ideas:

● Presentation. In contrast to basic sales metrics like call levels, you can track higher value measures. One option is to follow the number of presentations made to prospects especially if you have customised service offerings.

● Relationship Depth. In complex B2B sales, a single point of contact is not going to be enough to close a deal. You also need to line up internal champions. Imagine you are selling an extensive business insurance policy. Aside from senior management, who else needs to be involved in winning the business? You may need legal to support the purchase. If you are selling to a bank, you might also want support from compliance and risk management. With custom tables, it is easier to track and understand these complex sales relationships.

Tip: Act becomes the most useful when users fill it with comprehensive data. As a manager, you can create custom views to make sure staff are covering the basics like phone numbers, email addresses, and discounts.

Streamlined Integration with Outlook

As I have previously posted, Swiftpage announced, last Dec, that it was completely re-writing the Office integration. See the detailed letter, here: Letter from Lorcan Malone, Dec 2017

If you are concerned about how different systems integrate, it is tough to trust them. You never know if the information you are looking at is up to date. Picture what how this problem would like in sales:

You use a third-party tool to pass data back and forth between Act! and Outlook. Unfortunately, the third party connection breaks down for a week when a new version of Act comes out. While you wait for updates, you regularly have to switch back and forth to get all of your sales data. If you are moderately busy, you are probably going to forget to track and log your emails and meetings.

Likewise, the same problem could occur in account management. If customer requests are not tracked accurately, you might risk the business relationship.

Whew! Who needs that kind of anxiety worrying about out of date records? Fortunately, the improved Act! integration with Outlook eliminates this concern. Specifically, Act! now has robust two-way synchronisation with Outlook. You no longer have to worry about third-party software breaking down. All of your emails to customers are automatically added to Act!’s history.

There is also a new synchronisation module to sync contacts and activities. Not just to Outlook, but optionally directly to your MS-Exchange or Outlook365 server.

The Next Step To Bringing Act 20.1 To Your Business

How does Act 20.1 help your company improve its operation? Finding your way around these new features may be tough. That is why I would like to invite you to contact me for a free assessment to see how you can boost productivity with custom tables.