After a three month hiatus, our ACT! Tips and Tricks e-Newsletter is back. Here are some tips and tricks we would like to share with you!
What can I do to keep my database running smoothly?
ACT! has a maintenance function built into the program.
There are different types of database maintenance functions you can perform on your ACT! database.
Warning: Depending on the health of your database when you perform these procedures, data loss may occur. Before performing these steps, we recommend that you back up your database. For help making a backup of your database, see the next section.
Checking for Duplicate Records
Display the Contact or Group window, depending on the type of duplicate records you want to check for.
Click the Tools menu, click Scan For Duplicates.
A lookup of duplicate records is generated. You can decide whether to delete records, copy information between records, and so on. You cannot automatically merge duplicate records to make a composite record without the ACT! DeDuplication software. However, you can copy and paste data between fields in different records. It can be useful to use the Contact List view when deciding how to manage your duplicate records.
Compress and Reindexing
A) Database Maintenance
First, make sure that all users are logged out of the database. If use you Symantec Winfax, close it too.
Click the File menu, point to Administration, and click Database Maintenance. The Database Maintenance dialog box opens. Under the Periodic Maintenance tab, be sure that Compress Database is enabled.
Note: Compressing large databases can take time. You may want to reindex your database without compressing it, then compress it when you have more time. Compressing a database frees up disk space that was occupied by records you previously deleted.
If you want to display a reminder to perform database maintenance, Enable the Remind me again in checkbox, then select the number of days between reminders. It is recommended that database maintenance be performed at least once per week. Click Reindex.
B) Deleting Obsolete Data
1. Click the File menu, point to Administration, then click Database Maintenance. The Database Maintenance dialog box appears.
2. Under the Data Clean-up tab, enable the type of data and then specify the age of that data (in days) that you want to remove from the database.
3. Click Remove Selected Items.
I want to backup my ACT! database. What is the easiest way to do this?
ACT! includes a free backup utility that will compress all of the database and associated files into one .ZIP file format.
1.Launch ACT!, then open the database you wish to backup.
NOTE: You will need to log into the database as a database administrator and all users must be logged out of the database before you can perform a back-up.
2. Click the File menu, Then click Backup. The Backup dialog appears:.
The General tab.
The dialog box displays the name of the Current database. In the Back up to box it assigns a default name and location for the database backup. By default, ACT! chooses to store the backup on your computer's A: drive, names the backup with the same file name as the current database, but adds a .zip extension. The database backup is a compressed file.
We recommend that you set the back up location to your C:\ drive and then burn the .ZIP file to CD or copy to an external hard drive or Iomega Zip/Jazz Drive.
If you have previously backed up a database, you can click another name and location from the drop-down list. The four most recent backup paths are displayed in the drop-down list.
(Optional) If you want to back up the database to a different location, click Browse, navigate to the desired location, and modify the File name. Click Save when satisfied with the new backup file name and location.
Under the Options tab (illustrated below) , you may decide which additional file types to include in the backup. Clear any options you do not wish include in the backup. Note: There is no need to backup items such as Reports, Layouts, Envelopes or Labels unless you have created custom items for these file types.
If you want ACT! to remind you to back up your data, select the Remind me to backup every x days option. Enter the desired number of days in the provided box.
You may also click the Up or Down buttons to adjust the number of days. Selecting this option will generate a reminder when you open your database once the specified number of days have elapsed since your last backup.
Click Start to begin the backup process. A progress indicator will appear to indicate the status of the backup process.
If you are backing up your database over an existing backup file, ACT! displays a message confirming you want to overwrite the existing file.
You will receive a 'Finished' message when the back up is completed.
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