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ACT! CRM Courses
Each course/module lasts between 2 to 3 hours and is available in-house at a time convenient to the client and availability of the trainer.
User Level Courses (click on the course for more information)
4.02 Working with Groups and Companies
Administrator/Manager Level Courses (click on the course for more information)
5.01 Importing and Exporting Data
5.02 Setting Up Users and Teams
5.03 Creating and Managing Databases, Files & Data Storage
User Level Courses
4.01. Working with Contacts The central element of ACT! is the contact. A contact is a customer, business associate, friend, or anyone that you need to keep track of. All contact information name, address, phone number, employer, and so on makes up the contact record, which is stored in the ACT! database. Everything you do in ACT! relates to a contact.
You can enter all of the information you normally keep in files into ACT! so that you can easily access it. In addition to names, addresses, and phone numbers, you might want to add notes and sales data and attach documents to a contacts record.
Contact information is easily accessed by viewing the Contact Detail window, which shows details about one contact, or the Contact List, which lists all contacts.
In this module, you will become familiar with the Contact Detail window, and you will learn how to enter contact data, attach files to contact records, and quickly find contact information.
4.02. Working with Groups and Companies To simplify managing contacts with similar information, you can organise your contacts into groups and/or companies. A group is a collection of contacts with something in common, such as working on the same project. A company is a record type that allows you to easily track contacts within a company and that has special features.
In this module, you will learn how to:
use groups.
use the Group List.
create, duplicate, and delete groups and subgroups.
find groups and group information.
reorganize groups.
work with companies.
convert groups to companies.
find companies and company information.
link contacts to companies.
reorganize companies.
4.03. Scheduling Activities and Managing Your Calendar Activities include telephone calls, meetings, and to-do items. You can also create custom activities, such as an activity called "Business Trip." You can schedule an activity with contacts, and you can associate an activity with groups and companies. If you schedule activities using both Microsoft Outlook and ACT! - you can update and display those activities on either calendar.
You can view your calendar and the calendars of other users, and you can grant other users access to your calendar so they can schedule activities for you.
In this module, you will learn how to:
set up scheduling and calendar preferences.
view and print calendar information.
grant scheduling access to other users.
schedule activities.
respond to invitations.
create and schedule an activity series.
record completed activities.
work in the Task List.
customize activities.
manage resources.
integrate ACT! and Outlook calendars.
4.04. Managing Opportunities When you open an opportunity, you can select the process and stage, and you can also specify the status, such as open or inactive. Using the tabs in the Opportunity dialog box, you can select the products or services, include details, and generate a quote. To view an overall picture of your opportunities, you can generate a graph or pipeline.
4.05. Using E-mail with ACT! ACT!s e-mail feature lets you easily manage messages that you send to or receive from contacts. ACT! e-mail integrates with many e-mail systems, so you can continue using your existing e-mail system with ACT!. After you have selected an e-mail system to use with ACT!, you set the preferences to specify how your e-mail system will operate.
You can write and send an e-mail message to one or more contacts. Users with a Standard role and above can export a contact, group, or company record by attaching the record to an e-mail message. You can attach a scheduled activity, too.
You can select to use HTML to format your e-mail text, add background colours, or insert pictures or hyperlinks.
After you receive and read an e-mail message, you can attach the message to a contact, group, or company record; create a contact record from the sender; or create an activity from the message. Users with a Standard role and above can import, or merge, an attached contact, group, or company record from an e-mail message.
If you use Microsoft Outlook as your e-mail system, you can access your ACT! address books from Outlook. Whether you send a message from Outlook or from ACT!, you can record a history of the e-mail message. You can also work with e-mail when you are offline.
In this module, you will learn how to set up your e-mail system, open e-mail, write and send an e-mail message, receive and read e-mail messages, organize e-mail messages, and use Microsoft Outlook e-mail with ACT!.
4.06. Using Internet Services ACT!'s integrated Internet Services feature allows you to access an Internet browser through ACT! and provides direct links to ACT! products, service and support, and other information Web pages. To use Internet Services, you need an Internet account, an Internet Service Provider, and Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 or later.
You can create and manage links to your favourite Web sites and display those links within ACT!. These favourite links can be a special page from your company intranet or an Internet page. Whenever you click the link, ACT! displays the page assigned to it.
You can also access several reference and research sites such as MapQuest Driving Directions, MapQuest Maps, Yahoo! Weather, Yahoo! Stock Quote, Yahoo! Ticker Symbol Lookup, and others.
You can get a map or driving directions for a contact and attach a Web page to a contact record.
When you click the Web site address for a contact, ACT!s integrated Internet Services feature opens the site in Internet Explorer.
In this module, you will learn how to access ACT! products, service and support, and other information Web pages; create and manage favourite Internet links; access reference and research sites; and attach a Web page to a contact record.
4.07. Working with Documents Using either the ACT! Word Processor or Microsoft Word, you can compose letters and memos to print, fax, or e-mail to contacts, and you can print labels and envelopes to use with your letters.
If you frequently compose similar documents, you can use a template, which is a form or outline that contains formatting and/or standard text. Templates allow you to quickly compose documents for contacts by automatically adding contact information, such as the name and address, from the contact record. You can create a template from a blank document or use one of the templates included with ACT!.
Using the Documents tab, you can view and edit documents created in other programs, such as Microsoft Excel, and attach them to your contacts record.
In this module, you will learn how to set up fax software, select the word processor, use the ACT! Word Processor, and work with templates and the Documents tab.
4.08. Producing Reports When you run a report for contacts, groups, or companies, you can include data for any of the following:
The current contact, group, or company
The current lookup
All contacts, groups, or companies
For example, you can run a History Summary report for one contact or a Contact report listing all contacts in a state or region. The information that displays on the report depends on the type of report you run and the options you use to filter the data. Some filters are only available for reports that include sections for them. For example, you can run a Company Directory report and set the filter to display calls, but the report will not display calls because the template does not include calls.
4.09. Synchronising Databases With ACT!, users may share data by using a common, or main, database to maintain contact, group, and company information. Often, users in different locations share data. The process of allowing multiple copies of the same data to exist in different places at the same time is called synchronization.
Synchronization tracks changes to data in multiple places and transports the change from one database to another. A remote location uses a remote database of the contacts and their related
information contained in the main database. A remote database can have all the data, or a subset of the data, contained in the main database. You synchronize data between a main database and one or more remote databases.
In this module, you will learn about:
user role permissions for synchronization.
understanding synchronized data.
understanding the synchronization process.
synchronization models.
synchronizing for Administrators.
performing user tasks and synchronizing data.
verifying synchronization.
disabling synchronization.
You can send data, such as contact records, between your ACT! database and Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or Pocket PC. This is covered in another module.
Administrator/Manager Level Courses
5.01. Importing and Exporting Data You can import data into an open ACT! database from another ACT! database or from selected programs. For example, to consolidate all of your records, you may want to import records into your company ACT! database from your personal ACT! database and Microsoft Outlook. As another example, you can import data from Palm Desktop, which is the application that comes with Palm devices.
You can export data from one ACT! database to another or to a text-delimited file for use in another program. The Export Wizard helps you select the type of file to export to, the records to export, and other export options.
You can export data to Microsoft Excel from the Contact List, Group List, Company List, and Opportunity List. The Export to Excel tool creates an Excel spreadsheet with the columns of data that display in each list view.
In this module, you will learn about user role permissions for importing and exporting data, how to use the Import and Export Wizards, and how to export ACT! list views data to Microsoft Excel.
5.02. Setting Up Users and Teams Managing users and teams is a task assigned to an Administrator role. If you are a single user of a database, you need to understand the role of an Administrator, since the individual who creates a database is automatically given the Administrator role.
The database administrator can add users to the database or import contacts from another ACT! database or application, and then make those contacts users. As the Administrator adds users, he/she defines their roles.
In this module, you will learn how to set up a database for multiple users, how to assign the appropriate roles, and how to create users and Teams.
5.03. Creating and Managing Databases, Files and Data Storage In ACT!, you can create as many databases as you need. The person who creates a database is automatically the Administrator of that database and is responsible for maintaining it. The Administrator can check the system for duplicate records, perform database maintenance, and back up the database. Regular maintenance keeps your database running efficiently, and backing up your data ensures you can recover from unexpected system failures with minimal data loss.
In this module, you will learn how to create a database, protect your data, lock the database, back up your database, and perform database maintenance.
Data storage refers to the storage of all data in ACT!. This includes the database itself and any files stored outside of the database, such as layouts, reports, and templates.
This module describes data storage and explains how data is stored and accessed. It also explains what happens when you back up or synchronize database and personal supplemental files.
5.04. Customising ACT! for Efficiency You can customize ACT! to streamline the actions you perform most often and to display the tools and data you use most frequently.
In this module, you will learn how to customize columns in list views; make the start-up process more efficient; customize the navigation bar, menu bar, and toolbars; create and modify keyboard shortcuts; and create custom commands
5.05. Customising Fields and Layout Using the Define Fields feature and the Layout Designer, you can customize the entire ACT! database by modifying fields and layouts for contacts, groups, and companies. Fields represent individual data items such as contact name or telephone number. Layouts are the arrangement of the fields, tabs, and background. When you define fields and use them on layouts, you specify how data is presented on the screen.
You can add, edit, or delete fields and field attributes. You can modify existing layouts or create layouts that contain only those fields you need, in the order you need them. To define fields and modify layouts, you must have an Administrator or Manager role.
In this module, you will learn about field characteristics; how to customize fields, including the Opportunity Fields in opportunities; and how to customize layouts.
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