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.

Saving memory when running #ActCRM on servers

I was recently asked about how to remove some of the Act! items that load for each user from a machine used for Terminal Services, where only a few of the users needed Act!.
The following ideas are also worth doing on any system/server where Act!’s Outlook/Google Integration isn’t required. This also applies to Web Servers with Act! Premium for Web as the integration is done from the client end.
There are two basic areas where you can remove these components.

Startup Folder Shortcut

The All Users Windows Startup Folder can be found at:

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp

These programs start up for all users. To open this folder, bring up the Run box (Windows Key + R), type shell:common startup and hit Enter.

From there, you can remove:

• Act! Integration – this shortcut is only needed to set the Preferences for the ISPA (Integration Services Patch for Act!) that provides the synchronisation of Contacts/Activities with Outlook and/or Google.

If you want to make this available to specific users, you can place the shortcut in their individual Startup folders, located at:

C:\Users\[Username]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

These programs start up for the current logged in user only. To directly access this folder for the current user, open Run (Windows key + R), type shell:startup and hit Enter.

Windows Registry Run Keys

Bring up the Run box (Windows Key + R), then type regedit and hit enter

Warning: We strongly recommend that you back up the system registry before making any changes. Incorrect changes to the registry could result in permanent data loss or corrupted files. Please make sure you modify only the keys specified. For detailed information on backing up the Windows Registry, click the link below:

How to back up and restore the registry in Windows

Check each of the following locations:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

From there, you can remove any of the following keys if you like:

• Act! Preloader – This loads parts of Act! to make it faster when opening and using the program
• Act.Outlook.Service – Needed to load the Act! address book in Outlook and for recording history
• Act.Outlook64.Service – Needed to load the Act! address book in Outlook and for recording history
• ACTSchedulerUI – Used for changing the Scheduler settings. Likely only needed for the admin
• ISPA - Integration Services Patch for Act!. Provides the synchronisation of Contacts/Activities between Act! and Outlook, Exchange, Office365 or Google.

Memory Saving

In my testing, removing all of these saves about 50MB Private memory and 200MB Commit memory per user for those not needing Outlook/Google integration with Act!.
Let me know, in the comments, if your results differ.

Fix: Issues when installing .Net Framework 3.5

One error that sometimes occurs when installing/upgrading Act!, and many other products, is during the install/upgrade of MS SQL Server.

For Act! installs/upgrades, the typical error you might receive is as per this knowledgebase article: "Act! pre-requisite has encountered a problem and needs to close." When Installing Act!

This error is not an Act! issue, but an issue installing MS-SQL on Windows operating systems from Windows 8 onwards, when the .Net Framework v3.5 isn’t enabled or has a problem with its setup.

You can also get similar issues updating SQL Server 2014 or adding Roles when the .Net 3.5 install lacks the right service pack.

The first step is to try enabling the Framework manually via the Control Panel.

Installing .Net 3.5 via Control Panel

As per this Microsoft article, you can enable the .NET Framework 3.5 through the Windows Control Panel. This option requires an Internet connection.

1. Press the Windows key Windows on your keyboard, type "Windows Features", and press Enter. The Turn Windows features on or off dialogue box appears.

2. Select the .NET Framework 3.5 (includes .NET 2.0 and 3.0) check box, select OK, and reboot your computer if prompted.

You don't need to select the child items for Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) HTTP Activation and Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) Non-HTTP Activation unless you're a developer or server administrator who requires this functionality.

Troubleshooting .Net 3.5 Installation Failure

During installation, you may encounter one of these errors 0x800f0906, 0x800f0907, 0x800f081f, or 0x800F0922.

Or you might get the error “The following feature couldn’t be installed, The source files could not be found”.

Or, on Server 2012, you might get “Do you want to specify an alternate source path? One or more installation selections are missing source files on the destination server”

Microsoft covers some of the basics in this article. However, as it misses fixes for some of the errors and is, in my opinion, incomplete, I thought I would document my preferred solutions.

Check the System and Security Action Centre

1. Hold the Windows Key and press R
2. In the Run dialogue, type: wscui.cpl
3. If you see any warnings, you should resolve them.

Using DISM and an SFC/DISM Scan

Try installing via DISM to enable the .Net 3.5 Framework:

1. Open a Command or PowerShell Prompt as an Administrator – Press Windows Key + X to open Win + X menu and choose Command Prompt (Admin) or PowerShell (Admin) from the menu.
2. When the Command Prompt starts, changing “X” for the drive of your Windows ISO.
   DISM /Online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:NetFx3 /All /LimitAccess /Source:X:\sources\sxs
3. The operation will now start. Keep in mind that it can take a while to finish, so don’t interrupt it.

If that fails, perform an SFC scan, by doing the following:

1. From an Administrator Command Prompt
2. sfc /scannow and press Enter.
   
3. SFC scan will now start. Keep in mind that SFC scan can take about 15 minutes to finish, so don’t interrupt it.

Once the SFC scan is finished, try to install .NET Framework 3.5 again.

If it doesn’t work, you might have to perform DISM scan as well.

To do that, just follow these steps:

1. Open Command Prompt as administrator.
2. Now run each of the following commends:
1. DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
2. DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
3. DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

The scans can take more than 15 minutes to complete, so be sure not to interrupt them

Once you complete the DISM scan, reboot and try to install .NET Framework 3.5 again.

Installing from a Clean ISO

Sometimes, the Windows files you have can be damaged. In that case, you need to follow these steps

Download the Windows Media Creation Tool

1. For Windows 10 users, download the Windows Media Creation Tool, which is a tool that helps you create a Windows 10 ISO. If running Windows 8.1, download the Windows 8.1 Installer.
2. Use the Windows Media Creation Tool to create a Windows ISO image locally.
3. When the download is complete, mount the ISO by double-clicking on it.

For Windows Server 2012 R2, you can download the appropriate Evaluation ISO

Copy the SXS folder

1. Open the mounted ISO, and go into the Sources folder.
2. There should be a folder named sxs.
3. Copy the folder to another location on your computer.
4. Right click on the copied folder, and choose Properties from the drop-down menu.
5. When the Properties window opens, click on the Security tab.
6. Select your username from the Group or user names box; check if there is a checkmark next to Read and Write in the Permissions for [Your Username] box. You could also add “Everyone” or “Domain Users” if wanting to store and run from a network share.
   
7. If you do not find the check marks, you should click on the Edit button, select your username, and check both the Read and the Write box.

Edit the Group Policy

Press Windows Key + R and enter gpedit.msc. Now press Enter or click OK. Keep in mind that this tool is available only on Pro versions of Windows 10, but there’s a way to run Group Policy Editor on the Home version of Windows.

1. When Group Policy Editor starts, in the left pane go to:
   Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System.
2. In the right pane, double-click on
   Specify settings for optional component installation and component repair.
3. A new window opens.
4. Select Enabled.
5. In the Alternate source file path, enter the address of the sxs.
6. Then click on Apply and OK.
   
   Optional: Check Download repair content and optional features directly from Windows Update instead of Windows Server Update Services.
7. After making these changes, you just need to start Command Prompt as administrator and run gpupdate /force command to apply the changes.

Finally

Now it should install from an Admin Command Prompt with the command:
DISM /Online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:NetFx3 /All /LimitAccess /Source:X:\sources\sxs
Remember to change “X:\sources\sxs” to the correct location of the sxs folder.

It’s also advisable to backup your system and, if you’ve had issues like this, you might also consider:
Repairing your Windows Image

Please post to the comments if these worked for you, or if you’ve encountered this problem and these solutions didn’t help.

Backup Act! CRM Data to the Cloud with @Dropbox as a Service

A couple of years ago, in an article called Taking your ACT! on Holiday, I discussed the use of Dropbox to help with off-site backups. One of the issues with this is that Dropbox only uploads the files when you’re logged into the system and that means it’s not a great option for backing up the database on your server.

A little research and some testing later, and I have the solution for you –

Run Dropbox as a Windows service

What this means is that, when Windows is running, Dropbox will also be running without you needing to be logged in to the server. The benefit of this is that Dropbox will be able to keep uploading backups created by the Act! Scheduler to the cloud.

So, how do we go about this? Well, we need to install Dropbox and set it up as a service.

Setting up

1. Log into your Windows Server as a local administrator
2. Download the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit, which you can download from:
   https://www.microsoft.com/en-au/download/details.aspx?id=17657 
   Note: There isn’t a later version of the Resource Kit. Don’t worry about that if on 2008
   You just need the files INSTSRV.EXE and SRVANY.EXE from this kit
3. Install the Server Resource Kit or just copy the two files (INSTSRV and SRVANY) to:
   C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Resource Kits\Tools
   Note: You only need the two files mentioned. They can be in any folder – I’ve used the location from the default install. If you change the location, you’ll need to adjust those paths in a few spots.
4. Download Dropbox from: https://db.tt/82ZOShy 

Install and setup Dropbox

1. Install Dropbox as per normal
2. Select a folder for Dropbox to use – I prefer not to use the user folder for this, so create C:\Dropbox or add a Dropbox folder to your Data folder on the local system.
   You’ll set the Act! Scheduler to save the backups into this folder (or a sub-folder)
   
   
   
3. Open the Dropbox Preferences, by clicking on the icon in the SysTray, and turn off
   • Show desktop notifications
   • Start Dropbox on system startup
   
   
   
4. Exit Dropbox from the SysTray
   
   
   

Setting up the Service

1. There are two options here, depending on which Operating System you’re using:
   • If Windows 2003 or 2008,
     Open a command prompt, change directory to
     C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit\
     and type:
     instsrv Dropbox "c:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Resource Kits\Tools\srvany.exe"
     If it worked, you should get: The service was successfully added! .
   • If Windows 2008 R2, open an elevated command prompt (Run As Administrator) and type:
sc create Dropbox binPath= "C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit\srvany.exe" DisplayName= "Dropbox Service"
If all ok, you’ll get: [SC] CreateService SUCCESS.
2. Next open the Services applet – Start > Run > services.msc
3. Scroll to the Dropbox item in the list. Right-click and select Properties
4. Switch to the “Log On” tab
5. Click “This account”, and enter an Admin account with Full Access to the Dropbox folder. Set the appropriate password for that account.
6. Click Apply
7. Switch back to the “General” tab
8. Change “Startup type” to Automatic
9. Click Apply and OK
10. If this is the first time you have done this procedure for the administrator user, you may get an notification saying that the “Administrator user has been granted log on as service rights”.
    DO NOT START THE SERVICE AT THIS TIME.
    
    
11. Next is to set up some registry settings for the service. Open the registry editor
    Start > Run > regedit
12. Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Dropbox
13. Create a new key “Parameters”
14. Add a new string value “Application”, (type REG_SZ). Set the value to the path to the dropbox.exe binary.
    Find the location by right clicking the Dropbox icon on the desktop. Select Properties and copy the Target.
    .
    
15. Close the Registry Editor
16. Start the service either from Services.msc or by:
    Run > Net start Dropbox
17. If you check your Task Manager, you will find both Dropbox and srvany running
    Files saved by you or the Act! Scheduler to this folder should be automatically uploaded.

Important Notes and References

• If you want to make changes to the Dropbox preferences:
  You MUST stop the service first, make the changes, exit Dropbox and then restart the service
• These methods should also work with the desktop operating systems if you want to do this on XP, Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8.
• Reference from Microsoft on INSTSRV and SRVANY: How to Create a User-Defined Service
• Reference from Microsoft on: How to Create a Windows Service by Using SC.exe
• There are also some third-party tools that can be more stable in a production system. I haven’t tested them, but here are three I’ve found:
  • NSSM - http://nssm.cc/
  • SRVStart - http://rozanski.org.uk/software
  • AlwaysUp - http://www.coretechnologies.com/products/AlwaysUp/srvany.html
• You should regularly check the backups as I mentioned in my original article:
  Taking your Act! on Holiday

Please post in the comments if you have any questions.

 

Technorati Tags: Act!,Act! CRM,Backup,Dropbox,SaaS,Cloud,Service,Server

Looking ahead with #SageACT! 2013

Welcome to the new year, I hope you all had a wonderful time over the festive season are are looking forward to making the most of your contacts in the new year.

I am feeling more positive for the direction of Sage ACT! at this time than I have been for a few years. Those of you who have seen some of my posts in the LinkedIN ACT! Fanatics Group will know that I have had some issues over the past 5 years with the way that Sage management has been developing the product and especially with their head-in-the-sand approach in avoiding any communication with the users.

ACT! is still one of the best and most loved products in its class. Its millions of users worldwide depend on its operation and ease-of-use to run and grow their businesses by maintaining and tracking the relationships we have with our contacts.

Well, last year, there was a change at the top and Dan Wilzoch took over as General Manager for the product. My conversations with him have so far been quite positive. The best sign that this is a positive change, is that, while there has been a loss of a number of staff who really knew the product and the needs of it’s users … this time they have promoted one of the ACT! stars, Benjamin Lederer, to the position of Product Manager.

For those who don’t know Ben, he’s been with Sage since 2005 (and Symantec before that) in a variety of technical, development and product management roles. I have spoken to him many times and I can tell you he knows the product. He talks to those that deal with the users and he understands how to make the technology work. I have had situations where I had explained a bug to a number of Sage staff and nothing was done. A 10 minute call from Ben for me to explain the cause I had identified and he had it fixed quickly in a patch.

His first responsibility as Product Manager will be ACT! 2013 Service Pack 1 – due January 8th.

The best thing about the management change, so far, has been that Ben has already been communicating the intended road map publicly …

For Service Pack 1, Ben has stated the following:

• Microsoft Windows 8 and IE10 certification.
  Note: IE10 works in 2 modes, Regular and Metro.In Metro (the full-screen app), Microsoft has not included ActiveX controls, so ACT! won’t have word processing or reports in that mode
• Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2011 and Windows Server Server 2012
  This includes improving the APFW installer to work in SBS environments. This will have a positive effect on any deployment that has existing 64 bit web services (SharePoint, Exchange) and reduce the setup problems after ACT! is installed
• Microsoft Office version 15 (2013)
  Note: This will be unofficial support at first. They have removed the code that would prevent you from using this product. It will still require Office to be installed in 32bit as Microsoft still hasn’t added the ActiveX controls to the 64bit version. But, this really doesn’t make a difference unless needing spreadsheets larger than 3GB and Microsoft recommends the 32bit install as I posted in a comment to this blog article
  Microsoft has added a new feature in Outlook that will create some problems. Now you can reply to emails within the preview pane. Actions performed in the preview pane do not trigger any add-ons. The Microsoft third party developer groups are looking for ways around this, but as of now no workarounds are available. If you use Outlook the way you always have, we suspect there will be no problems. If you use the preview pane to reply to messages history will not be recorded.
• Other Enhancements
  • All record type checkboxes are now checked by default in the Copy/Move Data wizard
  • Database Startup view preference can now be any relevant view
• Significant changes to the social media integration – see the Screencast demo Ben posted here
• Over 25 customer reported bug fixes

This is a big improvement on the previous management who didn’t add Office 2010 support till the next paid upgrade rather than patching it in the current build.

There are still a number of issues with international data (phone numbers, dates and currency) both in the core product and in Premium Web. I have suggested to Ben that he calls me so I can properly explain these. Hopefully he’ll take me up on the offer as soon as he has time.

I will be posting some articles soon on mobility and social media for ACT! users as well as data security and a look at how hosted or SaaS. I think these are areas that are becoming more important to all of us.

Please add a comment to this article if there’s any topic you’d like me to address in a future article or if there are specific areas you think Sage needs to improve in the product. But remember that not all feature requests can be added as I explain in the article: How Are Product Management Decisions Made?

Well, that’s all for now … I hope you all have a successful 2013 and that Sage ACT! continues to help grow your business.

 

Technorati Tags: Sage,Sage ACT!,Sage ACT! 2013,Windows 8,Office 2013