An update to the popular add-on for ACT! 2007 - 2009 (versions 9 - 11), the new vCard Utility not only sends contact information by automatically attaching a vCard to Outlook, it now Saves to File… vCard information, and Imports a vCard into ACT!, creating a new contact record.
More information can be found at http://www.rbrdatasolutions.com/products.htm
Thanks!
26 October 2009
06 October 2009
Time Zone and Scheduling Activities
Often ACT! users either share, or synchronize information with other users across different time zones. How do you schedule a conference call with 5 people in 3 different zones? What happens when you send an activity email, or calendar invitation to another user?
Luckily, this is something ACT! takes care of automatically, and you don't need to worry too much about it. ACT! stores times in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), or GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). Basically, ACT! will store the GMT time, and the localization preferences on your computer will determine the time zone (TZ) offset. In short, based on your computer settings, the ACT! program takes the data (date & time in the database), converts and displays it correctly for you, and any other users to see.
How does this work in action? Let say I have a conference call Friday, October 7th at 11:00am. I put that on my ACT! calendar at *my* time, not converting or adding time zones of the other users. However, if you open the hood and look into the database, you will see the time stored as 2009-10-07 18:00:00 So, if I synchronize with a user/server in another time zone, that date is *still* stored as 2009-10-07 18:00:00 ACT's back-end database (SQL Server) does not care what TZ the computer is in, it's up to the ACT! program itself to convert and display the date correctly. Now, when the user accesses that data on their computer, ACT! automatically converts it to their local time. If they are in Boston (go Sox!), they will have a conference call scheduled at 2:00p, on October 7th.
Sending an Activity eMail, or a calendar file invitation works the same way. Although I can't help if someone in Boston schedules an 8:00am (EST) conf call for colleagues in California (5:00am PST), I do hope this helps you use ACT! more efficiently.
Note: There is one caveat to this system. If you are in one time zone (e.g. CST) scheduling *for* someone in another (e.g. EST), you *will* have to take that into account. i.e. If someone in Pennsylvania specifically says "schedule a meeting for 9:00am", you will need to add it on your computer at 8:00am if you're in CST, 6:00am if you're PST, and so on. When ACT! syncs, they will now have an appointment for 9:00am.
Luckily, this is something ACT! takes care of automatically, and you don't need to worry too much about it. ACT! stores times in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), or GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). Basically, ACT! will store the GMT time, and the localization preferences on your computer will determine the time zone (TZ) offset. In short, based on your computer settings, the ACT! program takes the data (date & time in the database), converts and displays it correctly for you, and any other users to see.
How does this work in action? Let say I have a conference call Friday, October 7th at 11:00am. I put that on my ACT! calendar at *my* time, not converting or adding time zones of the other users. However, if you open the hood and look into the database, you will see the time stored as 2009-10-07 18:00:00 So, if I synchronize with a user/server in another time zone, that date is *still* stored as 2009-10-07 18:00:00 ACT's back-end database (SQL Server) does not care what TZ the computer is in, it's up to the ACT! program itself to convert and display the date correctly. Now, when the user accesses that data on their computer, ACT! automatically converts it to their local time. If they are in Boston (go Sox!), they will have a conference call scheduled at 2:00p, on October 7th.
Sending an Activity eMail, or a calendar file invitation works the same way. Although I can't help if someone in Boston schedules an 8:00am (EST) conf call for colleagues in California (5:00am PST), I do hope this helps you use ACT! more efficiently.
Note: There is one caveat to this system. If you are in one time zone (e.g. CST) scheduling *for* someone in another (e.g. EST), you *will* have to take that into account. i.e. If someone in Pennsylvania specifically says "schedule a meeting for 9:00am", you will need to add it on your computer at 8:00am if you're in CST, 6:00am if you're PST, and so on. When ACT! syncs, they will now have an appointment for 9:00am.
22 August 2009
Send contact information as vCard from ACT!
Have you ever wanted to send either your contact information (the “My Record”), or another contact’s information to someone else? I have had a few inquiries asking how to do this, and unfortunately using Outlook and ACT! it is not possible. So, I have created an ACT! plugin that:
http://www.rbrdatasolutions.com/products.htm
This is the first version, written based on the feedback from current clients. If you’d like something added, please feel free to send me a message @ rbrDataSolutions@gmail.com
Thanks!
- gathers a contact’s main information,
- formats it according to vCard standards,
- creates a new email message, and
- attachs the vCard to that message.
http://www.rbrdatasolutions.com/products.htm
This is the first version, written based on the feedback from current clients. If you’d like something added, please feel free to send me a message @ rbrDataSolutions@gmail.com
Thanks!
06 August 2009
Automate Scheduling with Activity Series
An activity series allows you to schedule a pre-defined series of activities with one or more contacts, as well as select an "anchor" date for all activities in the series. Then, by scheduling the anchor event, *all* other events (activities) are automatically scheduled.
Before jumping in to using the function, it is helpful to ensure all the activities related to you, and your business, are defined. The Activity Series only uses the activities currently in the database (i.e. call, meeting, to-do), so if you have something unique to your business process (i.e. Conference Setup, Follow-Up email, Send Quote, etc), define those first.
So, for starters, go to:
Schedule>Manage>Activity Types
The current set of activities will show up, click Add... to customize to your business processes. You can add what you want, but often it's helpful to prefix the activity with the business process as well. E.g. if you have a follow-up email that goes out, and the email is different depending on where the contact came from, you could have a "Conf - eMail", and a "Cold call - eMail" activity. This way, you can define Activity Series for all business processes, not just a generic "eMail" task.
Now, after defining a set of activities, go to:
Schedule>Manage>Activity Series Templates
Follow the series wizard, adding activities as needed. Note that you can also schedule any one, or more, of the activities "for" any other person in your organization (this is the bottom 1/3 of the Activity Information window). A call could be scheduled for you, a letter for the secretary to send, and so on. When you are finished, that series is now available to be scheduled.
Go to: Schedule>Activity Series, chose the series (template) you would like to schedule, the anchor date, and if desired, click on any of the activities, and change the "Scheduled With" (middle of the window). [Or, highlight all of the lines, and change them all at once.] Basically, when scheduling an Activity Series, all activities in that series default to "Schedule With" the contact you are currently viewing. Being able to change the "Schedule With" allows you to choose another contact - e.g. the email task might go to the person you met at the conference (Bob @ XYZ, Inc.), the media packet mailing might go to the president (Frank @ XYZ, Inc.), and so on.
Hope this helps. Again, if you find yourself repeating the same task over and over, or you think "ACT! should do this automatically", you are probably correct. ACT! has many built-in capabilities - let ACT! make life easier.
Before jumping in to using the function, it is helpful to ensure all the activities related to you, and your business, are defined. The Activity Series only uses the activities currently in the database (i.e. call, meeting, to-do), so if you have something unique to your business process (i.e. Conference Setup, Follow-Up email, Send Quote, etc), define those first.
So, for starters, go to:
Schedule>Manage>Activity Types
The current set of activities will show up, click Add... to customize to your business processes. You can add what you want, but often it's helpful to prefix the activity with the business process as well. E.g. if you have a follow-up email that goes out, and the email is different depending on where the contact came from, you could have a "Conf - eMail", and a "Cold call - eMail" activity. This way, you can define Activity Series for all business processes, not just a generic "eMail" task.
Now, after defining a set of activities, go to:
Schedule>Manage>Activity Series Templates
Follow the series wizard, adding activities as needed. Note that you can also schedule any one, or more, of the activities "for" any other person in your organization (this is the bottom 1/3 of the Activity Information window). A call could be scheduled for you, a letter for the secretary to send, and so on. When you are finished, that series is now available to be scheduled.
Go to: Schedule>Activity Series, chose the series (template) you would like to schedule, the anchor date, and if desired, click on any of the activities, and change the "Scheduled With" (middle of the window). [Or, highlight all of the lines, and change them all at once.] Basically, when scheduling an Activity Series, all activities in that series default to "Schedule With" the contact you are currently viewing. Being able to change the "Schedule With" allows you to choose another contact - e.g. the email task might go to the person you met at the conference (Bob @ XYZ, Inc.), the media packet mailing might go to the president (Frank @ XYZ, Inc.), and so on.
Hope this helps. Again, if you find yourself repeating the same task over and over, or you think "ACT! should do this automatically", you are probably correct. ACT! has many built-in capabilities - let ACT! make life easier.
20 July 2009
Inexpensive or Free Communication Methods
Normally this blog is about ACT!, but since most of my clients are individual users, small companies, or “smaller” divisions of companies - all of who are constantly looking for more ways to operate more efficiently and stretch their budgets - I thought this might help open up a few new ways to use technology to your advantage.
Over the last few weeks, I have come across a number of people - business and personal - that have needed to communicate either long-distance, or overseas, but did not want to break the bank doing so. Personally, I have an unlimited cell phone plan, so calling domestic is not an issue, however, overseas is another story. I’ve travelled extensively in Europe, and know what cell phone charges can be when calling back to the states. So, how does one do this frugally, while being able to utilize a professional connection. If you don’t have unlimited cell phone minutes, or just don’t like using the cell for every call, this might be for you.
There are three tools that I’ve used, and all are excellent, and free - Skype, Google Talk, and Yahoo! Messenger.
Skype - This is (or could be with all the options) a full telephone package - send/receive calls, video calls, SMS, call domestic and international “regular” numbers (small fee), and Skype-to-Skype calls. You can even get a phone number for a minimal charge, eliminating the need for a land line. I use this program for long distance if I just don’t want to use the cell phone, or for domestic/international Skype-to-Skype calls, which are free.
Yahoo! Messenger and Google Talk- basically the same program with similar functionality, just different vendors. I have both, and use both, and performance seems very equal. You might know of these programs as just for IM-ing, or instant messaging. However, with either, you can “call” another computer, video call another computer, and of course send IMs. In Google Talk, calling another computer will actually “ring” that computer, and when the other person picks up, you have a voice connection. Very cool, below is GTalk’s buttons on an IM window:
I have used Yahoo’s talk feature while working in Mexico to talk with engineers in Germany - all at no charge.
In addition to these free programs, there are two other services I use or recommend that will help keep costs down - VoIP and GoToMeeting.
VoIP is phone service over your high-speed internet connection. Being an IP connection, there are a few options available on these types of phones that are not on typical phone systems (or at least not available at the same price point). There are interfaces available where you can view the status of all users, call and IM/SMS those users, transfer calls or dial extensions to remote users as if they are within the same building, and so on. Additionally, there are cost savings vs a regular phone line, or lines. A bit more than I want to cover here, just FYI for you to look into.
GoToMeeting is a monthly subscription to a PC-PC sharing service. I use this constantly for support & training, installation, general help, and other activities that would normally have required an onsite visit to a client, or worse - an hour phone call to describe how to fix an issue. No business person want to sit on the phone for an hour clicking away when it could be done (by someone else) in 5 mins. With GoToMeeting, I can connect remotely, see the other user’s desktop, and take care of the issue promptly. Additionally, GoToMeeting is very useful for training or demonstrations to multiple users.
Hope this info helps…
Over the last few weeks, I have come across a number of people - business and personal - that have needed to communicate either long-distance, or overseas, but did not want to break the bank doing so. Personally, I have an unlimited cell phone plan, so calling domestic is not an issue, however, overseas is another story. I’ve travelled extensively in Europe, and know what cell phone charges can be when calling back to the states. So, how does one do this frugally, while being able to utilize a professional connection. If you don’t have unlimited cell phone minutes, or just don’t like using the cell for every call, this might be for you.
There are three tools that I’ve used, and all are excellent, and free - Skype, Google Talk, and Yahoo! Messenger.
Skype - This is (or could be with all the options) a full telephone package - send/receive calls, video calls, SMS, call domestic and international “regular” numbers (small fee), and Skype-to-Skype calls. You can even get a phone number for a minimal charge, eliminating the need for a land line. I use this program for long distance if I just don’t want to use the cell phone, or for domestic/international Skype-to-Skype calls, which are free.
Yahoo! Messenger and Google Talk- basically the same program with similar functionality, just different vendors. I have both, and use both, and performance seems very equal. You might know of these programs as just for IM-ing, or instant messaging. However, with either, you can “call” another computer, video call another computer, and of course send IMs. In Google Talk, calling another computer will actually “ring” that computer, and when the other person picks up, you have a voice connection. Very cool, below is GTalk’s buttons on an IM window:
I have used Yahoo’s talk feature while working in Mexico to talk with engineers in Germany - all at no charge.
In addition to these free programs, there are two other services I use or recommend that will help keep costs down - VoIP and GoToMeeting.
VoIP is phone service over your high-speed internet connection. Being an IP connection, there are a few options available on these types of phones that are not on typical phone systems (or at least not available at the same price point). There are interfaces available where you can view the status of all users, call and IM/SMS those users, transfer calls or dial extensions to remote users as if they are within the same building, and so on. Additionally, there are cost savings vs a regular phone line, or lines. A bit more than I want to cover here, just FYI for you to look into.
GoToMeeting is a monthly subscription to a PC-PC sharing service. I use this constantly for support & training, installation, general help, and other activities that would normally have required an onsite visit to a client, or worse - an hour phone call to describe how to fix an issue. No business person want to sit on the phone for an hour clicking away when it could be done (by someone else) in 5 mins. With GoToMeeting, I can connect remotely, see the other user’s desktop, and take care of the issue promptly. Additionally, GoToMeeting is very useful for training or demonstrations to multiple users.
Hope this info helps…
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