Emailing from #ActCRM via Gmail and SMTP on other ports.

One of the long standing issues in Act! has been the inability for the email clients (Windows Internet Mail and Act! Premium for Web email merges) to use alternate ports. You can record History from email sent via Gmail and you can sync the contacts and activities between act! and Gmail, but you can’t use it directly as your email server as stated in this Act! knowledge base article: What email systems are compatible with Act!?

Recently an Act! Consultant came to me to help find a workaround for an Act! Premium for Web (APFW) User who needed to do emails with Templates. They are using Google’s G-Suit as their corporate mail server.

The user did have Outlook on their users’ machines, but the APFW email merge only works from the server, direct to an SMTP server.

Always up for a challenge, I looked into a few options (both free and paid) and came up with the idea of setting up a simple IIS SMTP server on their server and having it route the emails via the Google servers.

As I thought this might be useful to many of you, I thought I’d describe the process.

Please note: These instructions are of a technical nature and should only be done by those with the appropriate skills and understanding. Should you need assistance with this, please contact your Act! Consultant or send me a message via the GL Computing Contact Form

Google Setup

Note: This section is only necessary for those wanting to email via Google.

First, you need to determine which Google system you’re using and what authentication is necessary to allow the SMTP traffic. There are three supported options to do this:

• G-Suite SMTP relay (recommended) – Only for G-Suite customers
• Gmail SMTP server
• Restricted Gmail SMTP server – Only allows emails to other Gmail or G-Suite users, so probably not suitable for our use and won’t be covered.

G-Suite SMTP relay (recommended)	Gmail SMTP server
Sending Limits
A registered G Suite user can't relay messages to more than 10,000 recipients per day. For full SMTP relay limits, see Sending limits for the SMTP relay service.	2,000 Messages per day. See Gmail sending limits.
Anti-spam filters
Suspicious emails may be filtered or rejected
Fully qualified domain name of SMTP service
smtp-relay.gmail.com	smtp.gmail.com
Configuration options
Options: Port 25, 465, or 587 Secure Socket Layer (SSL)/Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols. Dynamic IPs are allowed, but a static IP might be required due to authentication requirements.	Port 465 (SSL required) Port 587 (TLS required) Dynamic IPs allowed
Authentication requirements
Either a static IP address or a valid G Suite user login	Your full Gmail or G Suite email address is required for authentication.

Please Note: I recommend selecting TLS and port 587 for security

Please Note: If selecting Gmail SMTP server or not using a reasonably stable IP, you can only authenticate with a single user account at Gmail and emails will go from that account. However, it is possible to assign multiple IP addresses to your server and configure each account to use a separate one.

Once you’ve decided on your preferred option, you need to enable that function.

• For G-Suite SMTP relay, you need to add the IP address (or address range) for the machine(s) you’ll be setting up with SMTP server. To do that, follow the instructions at:
• Step 1: Route outbound mail using the SMTP relay service
• Use the external IP address of the SMTP server for #7/8
• Note: We’ll do step two when we’ve set-up the IIS SMTP server
  
• To use the Gmail SMTP server, you need to allow less secure apps access.
  The method you need to use will depend on if you are using a G-Suit account or a plain Gmail one. See the appropriate link::
• G-Suite - Allow or disallow less secure apps to access accounts
• Gmail - Allow less secure apps to access your account
  Note: If using two-step authentication, you’ll need to create an app password, as per
  Sign in using App Passwords

Setting up your SMTP server

To workaround the problem with sending to SMTP on different ports, we’re going to setup our own private SMTP server which will then relay the emails to your ISP or Corporate server.

While there are many free or inexpensive SMTP server options available, I’m going to just cover the IIS one as every Act! user would have access to it.

While this can be setup on a Windows Desktop system, I wouldn’t advise doing this because of a number of limitations and reliability factors.

So, I’m going to include instructions for Windows 2008 R2 and Windows 2012.

Install Internet Information Services (IIS)

If you already have IIS installed (eg on your APFW server), you might be able to skip this section and go to “Install SMTP”.

1. In Server Manager, select Add Roles
2. On the Before you begin page in the Add Roles Wizard, select Next.
3. For Windows Server 2008 R2:
1. On the Select Server Roles page, select Web Server (IIS) and select Install.
2. Select Next until you get to the Select Role Services page.
3. In addition to what is already selected, make sure that ODBC Logging, IIS Metabase Compatibility, and IIS 6 Management Console are selected and then select Next.
4. When you’re prompted to install IIS, select Install. You may need to restart the server after the installation is finished.
4. For Windows Server 2012
1. On the Select Installation Type page, select Role-based or Feature-based installation.
2. On the Select destination server page, choose Select a server from the server pool, and select the server that will be running SMTP services. Select Next.
3. On the Select Server Roles page, select Web Server (IIS), and then select Next. If a page that requests additional features is displayed, select Add Features and then select Next.
4. On the Select Role Services page, make sure that Basic Authentication under Security is selected, and then select Next.
5. On the Confirm Installation Steps page, select Install.

Install SMTP

1. Open Server Manager and select Add Roles and Features. On Windows Server 2012, you might also need to select the correct server.
2. On the Select Features screen, choose SMTP Server. You may be prompted to install additional components. If that’s the case, select Add Required Features and select Next.
3. Select Install. After the installation is finished, you may have to start the SMTP service by using the Services snap-in for the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) – Windows Key + R > Services.msc

Setup SMTP

SMTP is an IIS6 feature, so the above steps will have installed that version and we’ll use it for setting up

1. Start IIS 6 Manager – Start > Run > inetmgr6
2. Expand the current server, right-click the SMTP Virtual Server, and then select Properties.
3. We only need to worry about the Access and Delivery Tabs
4. On the Access Tab:
1. Select Authentication and make sure only “Anonymous” is checked. Click OK
   
2. Select Relay. Select “Only the list below” then use the “Add” button to add the IP addresses (or ranges) of all your machines that are allowed to send emails. Click OK.
   
5. Go to the Delivery Tab:
1. Select Outbound Security.
• If using G-Suite SMTP Relay with IP authentication, select Anonymous access and check TLS encryption. Click OK.
• If using G-Suit SMTP with SMTP Authentication, or if using the Gmail SMTP, then select Basic authentication and check TLS encryption. Click OK.
  
2. Select “Outbound connections” and set the port to 587. Click OK.
   
3. Select “Advanced” and enter:
• Fully-qualified domain name – The correct DNS entry to identify the public IP you’re server is on
• Smart host
• If using G-Suite SMTP Relay - smtp-relay.gmail.com
• If using Gmail SMTP Server – smtp.gmail.com
6. Close the dialog box and the Properties.
7. Right Click on the SMTP Server in IIS6 and select “Start”

Test your setup

You can do a simple test from the command prompt. Windows Key + R > cmd.

1. telnet
2. set localecho
3. o <your smtp server IP or FQDN> 25
4. EHLO <your email domain>
5. MAIL FROM:<sender@gmail.com>
6. RCPT TO:<recipient@gmail.com>
7. DATA
8. <Type some text>
9. Enter, type a period (.) and then Enter again
10. If the server is working properly, you should get a response like this indicating that the message is queued for delivery:
    250 2.6.0 <INET-IMC-01UWr81nn9000fbad8@mail1.glcomputing.com.au.

Finally

Please Note: Make sure you correctly adjust your SPF records if using custom domains. This is essential if you don’t want your messages treated as spam.

Now you’re ready to set up your applications like Act! Internet Mail, Act! Premium for Web Email Merge, and Premium Mobile.

As always, you can let me know if you have any trouble with this or would like to book me to help you.

SaaS/Cloud software and Regional Internet access

Regional road trips. No doubt you’ve, “been there, done that before” and experienced what a nightmare it can be to get any internet coverage. No matter what the reasons for our travels out of town may be, one thing is certain: We still need our connection to the big, busy world via our trusty iPhones or Blackberries – or in my case, both!

A short time ago, I had the pleasure of attending a friend’s birthday party on the Gold Coast of Queensland and spent 10 days there to catch up with some old friends.

I was based in Ormeau. For those who don’t know where this is, it is about 1 hour’s drive south of Brisbane (Australia’s third largest city) and is in Australian’s largest growing region.

I had a great time catching up with friends in Brisbane, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast (North of Brisbane).

And of course, being me, I needed to have constant and regular access to my ACT! contacts, to email, and to various other office and on-line services and forums.

I was carrying an iPhone4 and a Blackberry Pearl (both with Handheld Contact) to give me the remote access I needed and hoped to find Wi-Fi connections where convenient to sync and to access my other information.

I suffered serious regional culture shock

Now don’t get me wrong. Like most people, I love getting out of town and escaping the hustle and bustle, but coming from Sydney, I’m used to the comforts of being connected at anytime of the day or night. I’m used to having a 30Mbit connection and 3G/4G network coverage. That’s not the reality though for my regional friends as I discovered while on my road trip. Here’s what I discovered on my travels:

• Mobile access was shocking: I had to wander from street to street, just to get a measly 1-2 bars on either the iPhone4 or Blackberry. As a customer of Telstra - this country’s largest telecommunications provider - it felt way short of my reasonable expectations for adequate coverage. It could have been worse – I could have had no coverage like any other poor person with the other carriers!
• Not all regional areas have ADSL coverage: Telstra has only put in enough lines for about half the properties in this new estate so the place where I was staying only got access after a neighbour moved out – the new resident in their neighbour’s place would be out of luck.

As frustrating as it was for me venturing out into this regional area...

...These frustrations are also being experienced in metropolitan areas of Australia!

There is “business park” in Brisbane itself (Australia’s third-largest capital city), that has virtually no broadband access at all …

Read that again if you need to, because the mind boggles. Even in a city like Brisbane, a business park doesn’t necessarily have broadband internet access. You can check out: Brisbane's NBN 'will transform people's lives' to get the lowdown on that story

For now though you might be wondering how this is relevant to this blog dedicated to Sage ACT!, CRM and IT?

Well, much in CRM is about mobility… and recently a lot of the press have jumped on the “trendy” technologies of cloud based computing – both for phone/tablet access and for general access.

For those of us who have been in the computing industry for long enough, we remember that the PC was originally viewed (by IBM) as little more than a slightly more intelligent “dumb terminal” to main-frame applications. Later, as the power of PCs increased, more of the data was stored locally and out of IT control. This lead to a gradual pull-back of control via networking, and then via various remote solutions.

These remote solutions are collectively referred to as “cloud computing”:

• ASP – Application Service Provider
• On-demand software
• SaaS – Software as a Service

To be honest, I’m not sure how to really define the differences of those … other than that they are buzz-words from different decades.

They are usually accessed via one or more of these methods:

• Remote Desktop Protocol Connection (Terminal Services or Citrix)
• Virtual Desktop (VMware, etc)
• Virtual Private Network
• Browser based applications

 

Cloud-based technologies do have some benefits:

• The data is live to the remote users
• Software integration issues are largely eliminated from the client side
• It can be platform independent – although, this can depend on browsers / versions that are supported
• Key software systems are kept up to date, available, and managed for performance by experts
• Improved reliability, availability, scalability and security of internal IT systems
• A provider's service level agreement should guarantee a certain level of service
• Access to product and technology experts dedicated to available products
• Reduction of internal IT costs to a predictable monthly fee
• Redeploying IT staff and tools to focus on strategic technology projects that impact the enterprise's bottom line

But there are also some serious disadvantages:

• The client must generally accept the application as provided since vendors only fully customize solutions for the largest clients
• The client may rely on the provider to provide a critical business function, thus limiting their control of that function and instead relying on the provider
• Changes in the market may result in changes in the type or level of service available to clients
• Integration with the client's non-hosted systems may be problematic
• Accessing data to convert to another system later maybe costly or not-available
• Loss of control of corporate data
• Loss of control of corporate image
• Insufficient vendor security to counter risks
• Lack of internet access (even temporarily) prevents users’ access to their data
• What happens when the provider suffers problems? Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, Salesforce and many others have been in the press during the past year for being down for periods of time. Or some, like Google for losing data.

So where does that leave potential CRM users looking for remote access via the cloud?

I wrote an article a year ago on “Supporting Remote Users with ACT! by Sage”. In selecting the best method for a specific site, there are two questions you need to ask:

1. Will the master and remote users always have reliable connection when they need access? If not (especially in the case of regional access as per the beginning of this article), then you should look at a sync-solution. The users work off-line and sync the changes with the master
   This is especially important for smartphone and tablet users who may want to do work in areas not covered by their phone carrier or Wi-Fi (eg on a plane, some buildings and areas)
2. Do you have the necessary reliable bandwidth and access to IT skills to self host or do you get it hosted by a third-party for an on-going fee? This is a bit more complex and can depend on:
   • How good is your internet connection (for host and remote)?
   • How responsive are your support options (in-house or out-sourced) if the server has issues?
   • For hosted solutions:
     • How reliable are they?
     • How good is their tech support? Do they provide a service guarantee?
     • How financial are they?
     • What happens to your connection and data if their business or service fails?
   • If the third-party host is down for a day, how much will the loss of access cost you? Will it be less if the remote users are using sync to local copies?
   • How secure is the connection? At a minimum, must use one or more of SSL, VPN, RDP
   • If you want to change application, will the hosted provider allow you to access ALL of the data in a format suitable for importing into other systems?
   • How customisable is the application? Can you integrate it with your legacy systems or add functionality that you might require?

In Conclusion:

While SaaS/cloud offering will be suitable for many users, there are some questions that you need to ask to determine if it’s the best solution for you.

I feel certain that SaaS offerings will become more viable as time goes by, but right now I’m reminded of the line that for those on the bleeding edge of technology, that “a pioneer is frequently the guy with an arrow in his back!”

Technorati Tags: ACT,Sage,Sage ACT!,SaaS,Cloud,Remote,Smartphones,CRM,SageACT!

Quick tip to improve speed on ACT! Premium for Web

A user recently pointed out to me that the favicon.ico file used by ACT! Premium for Web is about 300KB.

For those who don’t know, the favicon.ico is an optional file that can be included on a web site and shows as a logo in web browsers next to the URL, the Browser tab and in bookmarks.

For more information, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Favicon

This file loads with every page, increasing the bandwidth. Consequently, these should be kept as small as possible.

The file on an APFW server is /APFW/images/favicon.ico

If you are using ACT! Premium for Web, you might find an improvement by using an ICO editor to reduce the file size… this is especially important if supporting clients on slower connections or if you have a lot of users.

If you don’t have an ICO editor, feel free to download a small ACT! favicon I created:

www.glcomputing.com.au/ACT-favicon.zip

Extract the favicon.ico to the folder I mentioned above on your server. It’s not too pretty, but as it’s under 4KB will save nearly 300KB per page

It’s not a huge improvement, but every bit helps, right?

Technorati Tags: ACT!,ACT! by Sage,CRM,Web,favicon

Supporting Remote Users with ACT! by Sage

With users like the Professional Sales Road Warriors that made up much of ACT!'s early user base to field service technicians, trades-people, telecommuters who work from home, remote offices and others who need access to their data while out of the office, ACT! has needed to make use of every changing technology so that the data can be provided to the users as they need it.
From it's creation in 1987, ACT! has been at the forefront of remote and mobile users. From the ability to merge

Technorati Tags: iPhone,iPad,Android,Blackberry Vs iPhone

databases with ACT! for DOS 2.0 in 1990 (where users would need to bring their databases into the office to sync) then through the HP95LX PDA version in 1992 and ACT! Mobile Link for laptop users in 1995, ACT! users have been able to access ACT! while remote from their office.
Over time advances in internet speeds, more scalable databases, browser technologies and other technological improvements have made it easier for organisations to implement and administer remote access solutions for their staff.
Currently, there are a range of options available to provide this remote access but users are often not sure how to determine the solution most suitable for them. So I thought I'd provide a selection of the most common options available... but remember, that for many sites, a combination of these should be implemented.
For some users, it may be better to have the database hosted externally, then using one or more of the options to provide access. One host providing this at very good rates is Conetix

Direct Access of the database via VPN

• Infrastructure
  • Requires the technical skills to setup and maintain VPN server
  • Needs higher than normal internet bandwidth as the VPN protocols use up a significant amount
  • Users lose access to the data if their internet connection goes down
• Installation
  • Sharing a database over a VPN is no different than sharing the database over a LAN. Each remote user must obtain a copy of the .PAD file for the shared database and have read/write access to the database folder and the Supplemental Files folders.
  • See - http://blog.glcomputing.com.au/2009/02/sharing-act-network-or-sync.html
  • Firewall exceptions on server should be same as for LAN
• Administration
  • Administration and Maintenance of the VPN needs to be done well. Many VPNs tend to drop out WINs and then ACT! won't be able to find the server
  • It is usually more reliable to use the IP address of the server in the PAD file rather than the machine name. But for most VPN implementations, using Sync is the best solution.
  • All users need to be using the same version and build of ACT! - so upgrades and patches need to be carefully planned
• Speed
  • Speed is dependant on both the bandwidth of the main server and the bandwidth that the users connect to the internet
  • Remember that most consumer internet connections don't have as fast an upload speed as they do download - if the server is also on a consumer grade connection, the actual speed will be the slower of both the user and server.
  • Due to the overhead of the VPN protocol most internet connections won't be adequate and users may be better using sync
• Security
  • If the VPN is set up correctly, this type of access is very secure.
  • User access to records can be determined by Limited Access in the Premium editions
  • Other security may need to be implemented if you wish to prevent users from exporting or reporting data that they have access to locally

ACT! Synchronisation Services

• Infrastructure
  • Remote users only need direct connection to the master database when they need to sync
  • ACT! by Sage does require ACT! to be open and logged into the Publisher database to sync but Premium editions can use Network or Internet sync servers to allow sync as a Windows service
  • Sync for remote users doesn't require Internet Sync server (which uses IIS). It can also be done with Network Sync server and port forwarding or VPN using a VPN server or Hamachi
• Installation
  • ACT! is set up normally, but then Remote Data Base files are created for each remote.
  • For more info, see:
    http://blog.glcomputing.com.au/2009/01/sharing-act-network-or-sync-part-1.html
• Administration
  • All users need to be using the same version and build of ACT! - so upgrades and patches need to be carefully planned. If using sync server, these should also be updated when patching ACT!
  • Note: If you update the local users, the remote users still access their local data and can sync when you update them.
  • If syncing a database larger than 4GB and wanting all data to sync, needs SQL standard at each point the database will be located
  • Sync can be automated with ACT! Scheduler - better if using Premium
  • The Administrative Dashboard can be used to determined when users sync
  • If using sync via VPN, administration and maintenance of the VPN needs to be done well. Many VPNs tend to drop out WINs and then ACT! won't be able to find the server
• Speed
  • Speed for each user is dependant on their local hardware (RAM and HDD speed)
  • Speed for the sync is dependant on the bandwidth between the user and server. If using VPN, speed is reduced due to the protocol overhead.
  • Sync speed depends on volume of changes and bandwidth of connection - especially if syncing a large number of attachments
  • As only the delta (changes) are sent, this uses less bandwidth than a direct connection
• Security
  • Users only have access to the records in their defined sync set and, if using the Premium editions, that they have access to
  • The sync process itself is reasonably secure as data is encrypted during the sync process (I have not heard of a breach)
  • Additional layers or security can be achieved by:
    • Using a different port for the sync process
    • Sync via VPN - this is a very secure protocol and removes the need for port forwarding from the internet to the database server
    • If using Premium Editions, putting the Sync server in a DMZ

ACT! Premium for Web

• Infrastructure
  • Requires a Windows server running Internet Information Services (IIS) - can be hosted by a third-party if the user lacks infrastructure or skills. If hosted, it is better to select a host who specialises in ACT! for Web hosting and knows how to maintain it
  • Remote users only need a supported web browser and internet connection
  • ACT! for Web is also the only solution for allowing access to MAC users (internal or remote) via the Safari browser support (currently Safari 3.0)
• Installation
  • Installed once on IIS server. Easiest and fastest install for IT with suitable skills
  • IIS must be set to 32bit if on a 64bit OS – can cause issues with other apps
• Administration
  • Easy to administer and maintain as everything can be on a single server. It's a bit more complex if using multiple servers
  • IT doesn't need to worry about remote users OS or hardware
  • Sharing of user preferences makes admin and backup a bit easier. while not the default, is done as per this ACT! Knowledge Base article
• Speed
  • Speed is dependant on the server speed, configuration and bandwidth
  • For large volumes of users, implementing one or more web servers separate from the database server allows better allocation of resources
• Security
  • As this is a Premium edition, users only have access to records according to ACT!'s Limited Access and Teams
  • Additional layers or security can be achieved by:
  • Using a different port for the web server
  • Putting the IIS server in a DMZ
  • Using HTTPS/SSL
  • Requiring Windows Authentication to the Virtual Folder before getting access to the ACT! for Web interface
  • Access Web via VPN
  • It is important to add additional security (preferably VPN) is users might connect via any public WiFi connection

Remote Desktop (Terminal Services, Citrix)

• Infrastructure
  • Requires Windows Terminal Server, Remote Desktop Services in Windows 2008 or Citrix - can be hosted if user lacks infrastructure or skills
  • Remote users only RDP client and internet connection
• Installation
  • Installed once on server.
  • Here are the steps to install on Windows 2008 Remote Desktop Services
  • Fully server based … emails sent from local Outlook not recorded in ACT! unless you also have ACT! for Web setup
  • Requires some additional work for Outlook integration. See: this ACT! Knowledge base article
• Administration
  • Relatively easy to administer and maintain as everything on a single server
• Speed
  • Speed is dependant on the server speed, configuration and bandwidth
  • For large volumes of users, implementing one or more client servers separate from the database server allows better allocation of resources
• Security
  • If using a Premium edition, users only have access to records according to ACT!'s Limited Access and Teams
  • RDP on TS and Citrix provide a range an additional security options

Included ACT!Link for PDA/Smartphones – no-longer available

• Infrastructure
  • Currently supports Palm OS and Windows Mobile devices (no Palm OS support for Windows 7, so no ACT! Link support)
  • Uses direct USB connection to full ACT! client - no support for Web or Remote Desktop (Terminal Services/Citrix)
  • Only supports fields and functions in PDA PIMs
• Installation
  • Installed on each user PC
  • Care needs to be taken for supported Phone OS and driver versions, depending on version of ACT!
• Administration
  • Can be complex to maintain with issues if user updates their phone OS or driver
  • Admin can only set if the users can sync via Manage Users
  • Administrator has no control over what is sync'd and connection issues are known to cause duplication in the ACT! database
  • No access to Custom Activity types
  • No support for Activities, Notes, Histories that link to multiple contacts
  • Calls, SMS, Emails sent from phone not recorded in ACT!
• Speed
  • Speed is dependant on the phone type and amount of data sent
• Security
  • If using a Premium edition, users only have access to records according to ACT!'s Limited Access and Teams
  • User can select to sync any records they have access to
  • Data on lost phones can't be wiped

Handheld Contact Sync to PDA/Smartphones

• Infrastructure
• Currently supports Blackberry OS, iOS (iPhone and iPad), Android 
• Uses a console with wireless sync - fully supports Web and Remote Desktop (Terminal Services/Citrix)
• Professional Edition adds support for up to 76 fields and many additional functions
• Field formatting and pull-downs maintain data integrity
• Can support very large numbers of mobile users from one console.
• Installation
  • Installed on ACT! server, it's own server or on user's PC
  • Easiest PDA solution to remotely configure and install remotely for one or more devices
• Administration
  • Very easy to roll out and maintain
  • Administrator controls what data is sync'd and how often.
  • Administrator can set contacts sync'd with each user based on Groups an Activities
  • No known issues with duplication or loss of ACT! data
  • HHC Professional supports ACT! Custom Activity types for activities and history
  • HHC Professional supports Activities, Notes, Histories and Email that link to multiple contacts
  • Calls, SMS, Emails sent from phone recorded in ACT! if instigated from HHC Professional
• Speed
  • Speed is dependant on the phone type and amount of data sent – typically faster than other link options.
  • As HHC can send items based on Groups or Activities, users can reduce the number of records they keep on the phone
• Security
  • Administrator has full control over what is sync’d to each user
  • Data on lost phones can be erased remotely by Admin, providing phone in radio range and turned on
  • Data is sent securely in small packets via https and encrypted

Technorati Tags: ACT!,ACT,ACT! by Sage,CRM,Remote,Web,IIS,Synchronization,VPN,SaaS,PDA,phone

How to Download and Apply the ACT! by Sage 2010 Hot Fix 4

NOTE: This document has now been superseded by - ACT! 2010 Service Pack 1 is available!

This documentation describes Hot Fix 4 for ACT! 2010 for the following versions:

• ACT! by Sage 2010
• ACT! by Sage Premium 2010
• ACT! by Sage Premium for Web 2010

Do not apply this hot fix to any other versions or products.

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Note: To determine the version of the product you are using, see the version number in the Help > About box. After the hot fix has been installed, the version number will read "12.0.409.0, Hotfix 4" depending on the version you originally had installed.

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This hot fix applies to all international English locales.
Note: This hotfix (including any software and related documentation) is provided "AS IS." Sage Software disclaims all express or implied warranties of any kind with respect to the utility, including but not limited to, any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose

Who Should Install This Hot Fix?

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Note: Apply this hot fix to all machines that are involved in database synchronization to avoid issues surrounding renaming layouts, queries, and reports. This includes all machines that contain the Main Synchronization Database, Main Remote Database, and machines that have the ACT! Network or ACT! Internet Sync Services applied.

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ACT! hot fixes are cumulative, so hot fix 4 also resolves issues fixed in hot fixes 1, 2 and 3. If you have already installed hot fix 1, 2 or 3, you can safely install hot fix 4.

Hot Fix 4 for ACT! version 2010 may resolve your issues if:

• You are an ACT! Premium for Web user and are unable to print from the address book.
• You cannot replace the contents of the Record Manager using Edit > Replace.
• You are using a Microsoft® Outlook® rule to automatically attach incoming e-mail to ACT! contacts and see Microsoft Outlook stop responding when you received e-mail.
• Your installation has advanced queries or dynamic group/company membership that is based on contact access (contact is private) and have problems after upgrading your database from ACT! by Sage 2008 (10.0) or ACT! by Sage 2009 (11.0) to ACT! 2010.
• You see slow performance when switching views or looking up records.
• You are an ACT! Premium customer whose installation includes customized databases, have upgraded from ACT! by Sage Premium 2008 (10.0) or ACT! by Sage Premium 2009 (11.0), and are now seeing generic application crash errors when viewing Group, Company, or Opportunity views in ACT! by Sage 2010
• You are an ACT! Premium customer whose installation contains fields set to “No Access” that reside in the Contact Spillover Table (spillover tables are created with customized databases). Since upgrading your database to ACT! Premium 2010, the schema update fails and corrupts the upgraded database.
• You are an ACT! Premium customer whose installation contains fields set to “No Access” that reside in the Contact Spillover Table (spillover tables are created with customized databases). Since upgrading your database to ACT! Premium 2010, you are unable to build a remote database.
• You are using a certified add-on application with faxing capabilities and have problems when doing a Mail Merge direct to Fax when your word processor is Microsoft Word.

The following tables list the area affected by the hot fix, the description, and the effect of the hot fix for each known issue.

 New in Hot Fix 4

Area	Description	What the Fix Does
Address Books	ACT! Premium for Web users are unable to print from an address book.	Enables the user to print from the address book.

Fixed in Hot Fix 3

ACT! hot fixes are cumulative, so hot fix 4 also contains the following fixes distributed in hot fix 3.

Area	Description	What the Fix Does
Contacts	Record Manager is unavailable as an option in the Edit > Replace field function.	Enables the Edit >Replace field function for Record Manager.
Outlook Integration	Users see slow response time when opening a database or performing a lookup on a database that contains a large number of fields.	Repairs memory issue so performance does not suffer during this operation.
Database Upgrade	Customers who have sync sets built on Opportunity and who upgrade to ACT! 2010 see ProductException error messages.	Updates the SQL statement to correct the syntax which can cause the update not complete successfully.
Database Upgrade	Upgrade users who have queries or dynamic membership based on contact access receive error message when attempting to access Contacts, Groups, or Companies.	Modifies the schema to find and correct any syncset, group, or company queries where Contact Access is part of the criteria.

New in Hot Fix 2

Area	Description	What the Fix Does
Performance	Users see slow response time when opening a database or performing a lookup on a database that contains a large number of fields.	Enables layouts to refresh more quickly.

Fixed in Hot Fix 1

ACT! hot fixes are cumulative, so hot fix 2 also contains the following fixes distributed in hot fix 1.

Area	Description	What the Fix Does
Groups/Company/Opportunities	This issue impacts ACT! Premium 2008 or ACT! Premium 2009 installations where fields residing in the Contact Spillover Table (spillover tables are created with customized databases) are set to “No Access”. Upon upgrading the database to ACT! Premium 2010, the schema update fails and corrupts the upgraded database. The user experiences generic application crash errors when viewing Group, Company, Opportunity views in ACT! Premium 2010. ACT! Premium 2010 users who have spillover tables and set fields to “No Access” will not be able to create and restore remote databases.	Enables metadata to be created for the upgrade scripts.
Faxing	Users will not be able to mail merge directly to fax.	Enables the SDK method call to trigger a response from ACT!

Applying Hot Fix 2 for ACT! 2010

This hot fix is for version 2010. Do not apply this hot fix to any other version of ACT! To determine the version of the product you are using, see the version number in the Help About box. After the hot fix has been installed, the version number will read "12.0.409.0, Hotfix 2".
Apply this hot fix to all machines that are involved in database synchronization to avoid issues surrounding renaming layouts, queries, and reports. This includes all machines that contain the Main Synchronization Database, Main Remote Database, and machines that have the ACT! Network or ACT! Internet Sync Services applied.
Applying the Hot Fix

1. Log onto to your computer as an Administrator.
2. Stop the Network Sync Service.
3. Please click on the link below to download Hot Fix 2, depending on the version of ACT! 2010 you have installed and your locale.
   ACT! by Sage 2010 Standard Tier (All Locales)
   • ACT! by Sage 2010 Standard Hot Fix 2
   
   ACT! by Sage Premium 2010 Tier (Locale Specific)
   • ACT! by Sage 2010 Premium Hot Fix 2 - (US) United States
   • ACT! by Sage 2010 Premium Hot Fix 2 - (AU) Australia
   • ACT! by Sage 2010 Premium Hot Fix 2 - (CA) Canada
   • ACT! by Sage 2010 Premium Hot Fix 2 - (EU) Europe
   • ACT! by Sage 2010 Premium Hot Fix 2 - (LA) Latin America
   • ACT! by Sage 2010 Premium Hot Fix 2 - (UK) United Kingdom
4. Close ACT!.
5. When the download dialog box comes up, choose Save and save to your Desktop.
6. After the download completes, close ACT!, Internet Explorer® and all Microsoft Office applications.
7. Locate the ACT12HotFix.exe that you downloaded to your desktop and double-click it to begin the installation.
8. The Unpacking ACT! progress indicator briefly appears followed by the Disclaimer dialog box.
   
9. Review the disclaimer, and then click Apply.
10. The installer verifies your Windows® rights and ensures that no open programs will conflict with the hot fix installation. If any of these conditions exist, the appropriate message will appear. Please follow the on screen instructions.
11. The ACT! - Applying Updates window appears while the hot fix is being installed.
12. When finished the ACT! dialog box appears.
    
13. Click Ok to complete the installation.
14. For all Windows Vista® users with UAC enabled, you will see a Program Compatibility Assistant dialog box. Click This program installed correctly to complete the installation.
15. Restart the Network Sync Service.
16. If you are using the Internet Sync Service, you must reset IIS:
    1. Click Start.
    2. In the Run box, type IISReset.
    3. Click OK.
17. Start ACT!
18. From the Help menu, select About. The version number will "12.0.409.0, Hotfix 2".
    

Changes To Your Installation

Installing the hot fix applies the following files:

• ActFramework.MailMerge.dll
• Act.UI.Wordprocessor.dll
• Act.DataCreation.dll

Technorati Tags: ACT,ACT!,ACT! by Sage

ACT! by Sage 2009 (11.1) Hot Fix 1 – available now

From ACT! Knowledge Base Article 24343

This Hot fix now replaced by ACT! by Sage 2009 (11.1) Hot Fix 2

This documentation describes Hot Fix 1 (11.1.) for the following versions.

• ACT! by Sage 2009 (11.1)
• ACT! by Sage Premium 2009 (11.1)
• ACT! by Sage Premium for Web 2009 (11.1)
• ACT! by Sage for Real Estate 11.1
• ACT! by Sage Premium for Real Estate 11.1
• ACT! by Sage for Financial Professionals 11.1
• ACT! by Sage Premium for Financial Professionals 11.1
• ACT! by Sage Network Sync 11.1
• ACT! by Sage Internet Sync 11.1

Do not apply this hot fix to any other versions or products. This hot fix applies to all international English locales.

---

NOTE: To determine the version of the product you are using, see the version number in the Help About box. After the hot fix has been installed, the version number will read "11.1.183.0 Hot Fix 1".

---

Verify Your Version of ACT!:
Use the following steps to determine your installed version of ACT!:

1. Launch ACT!
2. Click the Help menu, and then click About ACT!.
3. The About ACT! dialog box appears. The version number appears near the top of this box.

Who Should Install This Hot Fix
Hot Fix 1 for ACT! version 11.1 may resolve your issues if:

• You are experiencing compatibility issues with eGrabber or other 3rd party products.
• You are seeing date/time on template names after a database synchronization when there isn't any file conflict.
• You are an ACT! for Windows® or ACT! for Web user seeing a "No records found" message after sorting on a custom filed in the Contact, Group, or Company List view.
• You are upgrading from any of the following versions of ACT!: 3.x, 4.x, 5.x (2000) or 6.x (2004) to an International English version of 11.1, and have not yet converted your database.
• You are an ACT! Premium for Web user and all of your activities do not appear in the task list.
• You are an ACT! Premium for Web user and have problems loading list views.

If you are using version 11.0 and have recently performed an ACT! Update, check your Help About box. You may already have this hot fix installed.
If you are already using ACT! 11.1, AFRE 11, or AFFP 11, you must manually install this hot fix by following the steps in this document.
The following table list the areas affected by the hot fix, description, and the effect of the hot fix for each known issue.

Area	Description	What the Fix Does
Contact Records	In databases upgraded from version 3.x, 4.x, 5.x (2000) or 6.x (2004), the create date on Contact records changes to the current date instead of retaining the original create date.	Prevents the create date from being changed if the hot fix is applied before the database is converted
Column and spillover tables	Error Message "No records found" displays when the user sorts on a field.	When the user sorts on a field, the sort displays the correct data.
Synchronization	File synchronization is adding a date/time stamp to file names, even when there is no conflict.	Layouts, queries, and reports will not be renamed after synchronizing.
ACT! for Web list views	If the user has more than 10 activities, all may not appear in the task list. Also, the loading icon remains on the screen	Allows the correct number of records to be shown in the list views.
SDK	SDK 11.1exceptions resulted in third party programs encountering errors	Ensures compatibility with eGrabber and other 3rd party products.

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Applying the Hot Fix 1 for 11.1
This hot fix requires version 11.1. Do not apply this hot fix to any other version of ACT!. To determine the version of the product you are using, see the version number in the Help About box. After the hot fix has been installed, the version number will read "11/1.183.0 Hot Fix 1".
Apply this hot fix to all machines that share a database to avoid issues surrounding renaming layouts, queries, and reports. This is especially important if your environment includes synchronization.

---

Caution: If you are upgrading from any of the following versions of ACT! : 3.x, 4.x, 5.x (2000) or 6.x (2004), you must apply this hot fix before converting your database.

---

1. Log onto to your computer as an Administrator.
2. Copy the hot fix to your computer.
3. Close ACT! and all Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, and/or Outlook).
4. Click the ACT1110HotFix.exe file. The Unpacking ACT! progress indicator briefly appears followed by the Disclaimer dialog box.
   
5. Review the disclaimer, and then click Apply.
6. The installer verifies your Windows rights and ensures that no open programs will conflict with the hot fix installation. If any of these conditions exist, the appropriate message will appear. Please follow the on screen instructions.
7. The ACT! - Applying Updates window appears while the hot fix is being installed.
8. When finished the ACT! dialog box appears.
   
9. Click Ok to complete the installation.
10. For all Windows Vista® users with UAC enabled, you will see a Program Compatibility Assistant dialog box. Click This program installed correctly to complete the installation.

Verify the Hot Fix Has Been Applied Correctly:
Use the following steps to verify that the ACT1110HotFix.exe was applied correctly:

1. Launch ACT!
2. Click the Help menu, and then click About ACT!.
3. The About ACT! dialog box appears. The version number at the top of the dialog box should read "11.1.183.0 Hot Fix 1".
   

Changes To Your Installation
    Installing hot fix 1 applies to the following files.

Network Sync Server
The following assemblies are updated:
• Act.Data.Resources
• Act.Framework.dll
• Act.Framework.Synchronization.Service.UI

3.x, 4.x, 5.x (2000), 6.x (2004) Conversion
The following assembly is updated:
• Act.UI.Designer.Conversion.dll

Internet Sync Server
The following assemblies are updated:
• Act.Data.Resources.dll
• Act.Framework.dll

AFFP and AFRE
The following assembly is updated:
• Vertical.Framework.dll

ACT! for Web
The following assemblies are updated:
• Act.Web.Framework.dll
• Act.Web.dll
• Act.Web.Controls.dll

Why ACT! Premium for Web isn’t supported on Microsoft SBS 2008

I did know that ACT! isn’t supported on SBS 2008 as per the System Requirements, but didn’t know exactly why it can’t be till I saw this post about a Microsoft bug: http://forums.iis.net/p/1151288/1877461.aspx.

ACT! Premium for Web 2009 uses IIS6 compatibility features and on 64bit, this requires the 32bit functionality enabled which is broken in SBS 2008 as per the post above.

In addition, I’ve been told not to remove RPC/HTTP as suggested in the article as this appears to cause a cascading failure. RPC/HTTP will not function even when re-installed.

The current word from Sage is “ACT! Premium for Web 2009 was / is not supported on this operating system as it wasn't released until November 2008 whereas APFW2009 came out in August.  There are no current plans to support this.” Although, based on past experience, if MS fix their bug, it’s likely Sage will QA test this and hopefully certify it for ACT! 2010 (12).

I have heard of users with ACT! Premium 2009 (non web) who have run without issues on SBS 2008. So, if you need to, you might try it… but remember, it’s not officially supported and any issues may be difficult or impossible to resolve.

On a more general note, I typically find SBS to be a problem. Running a Domain Controller, Exchange Server and web server on the same server is a security and resource disaster waiting to happen and should be avoided if at all possible.

Technorati Tags: ACT! 2009,ACT! Premium for Web,SBS 2008,IIS

Sharing ACT! – Network or Sync (Part 2)

Synchronisation is done when users need remote access to the database. This means they will operate on a local copy and have the ability to send/receive any changes made with their copy to a master copy. They may have access to all the data, or maybe just a subset of the data that they need.

Typically, the the times when you need to implement sync will be for uses like these:

• Users who operate from remote offices or from home
• Laptop users who need to work on the road
• Hosting the main database with an external provider (possibly use Premium for Web) and syncing to a copy for better control of imports/exports and mail merges.
• PDA or smart phone users with devices such as Blackberry, Pocket PC or iPhone

It is important to note that these instructions will try to explain the different options to make it easier for you to make your selection. But while it is certainly possible for a user with enough time to set this up, you’ll nearly always get a better implementation set up in less time if you involve an ACT! Certified Consultant. See How to pick the right CRM consultant?

PDA or Smart Phone users should use Handheld Contact as it is the most reliable solution. For some of it’s advantages, see: Why Handheld Contact for ACT! and PDAs

For the other uses, ACT! has a built in sync. For this to be successful, you must make sure that every user is on the same exact build of ACT! (check the full build in Help | About) and, if using a sync server, that this is also of the same build. When a new update, patch or hot fix is released, you need to be sure to apply to all systems and sync server

To set up sync, first you need to have set up the shared database on the LAN as per the previous Sharing ACT! – Network or Sync (Part 1)

Then you determine what data is to be in each Subscriber (remote) database. You do this by creating sync sets as per ACT! KB 14072. You could use the same sync set for each remote user, or have different ones so each remote site only has the data it needs.

Note all users’ My Records will always be sent to all the remote databases – and all their extended data (notes, histories, embedded or attached emails, sales ops, etc). If you need the extended data in My Records to be hidden from other users, please contact GL Computing for a security plug-in we developed to secure this data

Next, you create the Remote databases (you need a separate database for each remote). This is done as per ACT! KB 14116

Then you need to determine the way the remotes will connect to the master. There are three options:

Application Sync

• This is the only option available if you do not have a Premium version of ACT!
• Synchronisation this way requires that ACT! on the system hosting the Publisher database is open and logged into the database in order to sync.
• Set up is fairly easy as per: ACT! KB 15192
• For remote database that don’t come in and connect on a LAN, have a look at the VPN link below
• To sync without having the Publisher open and logged in, you will need to use ACT! Premium and one of the options below

Network Sync

• Uses a Network Sync server that runs as a service
• Sync service means that you don’t need ACT! open and running on the Publisher database in order for Subscriber databases to sync with it.
• Basic set up is the same as for Application Sync, but you use the Network Sync service, which you setup as per ACT! KB 22977
• Normally, this is used for users who come into the office to sync, or who connect to the office LAN via VPN
• It can also be configured to connect over the internet as per ACT! KB 17536 – if security is a major issue, this Sync server can be in a DMZ if your firewall has that ability.

Internet Sync

• Uses a sync services that provides access via an IIS web server
• This option has similar advantages to using the Network Sync service, but can be a bit more complex to set up. To do this, the instructions are as per ACT! KB 22978

VPN

• Sometimes, with Application or Network sync, you may want to set up a VPN for added security or to make it easier to get past a firewall. If you don’t have a VPN system, you can use Hamachi® VPN as per ACT! KB 23333

There is much more to sync when it comes to troubleshooting, understanding the sync panel and the sync logs. But the information in this post should hopefully give you the basics. Please add a comment if you think there’s anything extra that you’d like added.

Technorati Tags: ACT,ACT!,ACT! by Sage,Sync,synchronization

IIS Installation and Lockdown with Networking Basics

From Networking and Server Basics through to Installing and Locking Down Microsoft Internet Information Server.

When ACT! first released a web version (for ACT! 6.0), most of the consultants at the time had no experience with IIS. Many had little real networking skills as these weren't really required for most ACT! implementations.

As one of the few with these skills (I was a CNE), I was asked to train ACT! Certified Consultants in IIS installation and Lockdown. In order to do this properly, I produced this document covering:

• Networking terms and other basics
• IIS definitions and installation
• What you need to protect your server from
• How to configure and secure IIS
  

The document was so well received that it became used as a training guide for technical support staff at organisations such as Symantec and Sage.

While the examples are specific to IIS 5 on Windows 2000, the general ideas are also applicable to the recent releases and so I thought I would post it publicly here for others to use as an educational guide.

If I get the time and there is any demand, I may update it for the current versions of IIS.

If you download this document and have any thoughts on it or find it useful, please add a comment to this post.