In August I got quite a response when asking about your experience with email integration and ACT:
Since then I’ve been testing a product designed to solve many issues ACT users have when it comes to email integration with Outlook. If you want better use of email and your ACT database, check out what some folks in Germany put together in a video I’ve prepared for you(press Play button [triangle] in lower left) .
[want to order...click this button]
**No time for a video? Here’s the skinny…
Problems with ACT and Email as is:
o ACT email is deemed ‘clunky’
o People want Outlook and ACT together, however
- No Merge Functionality
- No update for ACT contacts
- No ability to create ACT activities from Outlook emails
- Must disable “Word as editor” (for OL 2000/2002/2003)
3 Things I like about this addon:
o Extends functionality of Outlook for ACT users (‘Word’ as editor)
o Mail Merge is back, and well done
o Compatability. ACT 2005-2008, Outlook 2000/2002/2003/2007)…any combination. If you have Outlook 2007 and ACT 2005 or newer, this product works.
3 Things I don’t like…
o Must wait 1 business day to get the license after purchase
o Trial is poorly implemented (too many restrictions)
o No interface to modify preferences after install
Updated: The product now has a settings management screen.
Think you might benefit from this product? Go here.
Or…
As always comments on the blog are welcome.
-Travis
Hi, my name is Travis Campbell, I operate this site. A key to success in any business is to effectively manage your relationships. ACT! is a software product helping millions when it comes to doing just that. This Website is designed to assist both those considering ACT! software for their business, as well as to provide insight to ACT! users who want to effectively use it in their day to day operations. So login, post, browse and enjoy.
If I purchase one license for email connect pro,will I be able to put it on two different computers (once acts as desktop the other laptop)?
Yes this is allowed. If YOU are the same ACT user, you can do that.
In case you didn't know, Mark Boland is the developer of the product. Thanks for chiming in Mark!
Greg- Good question! I will ping the product creator and ask them to respond here.
I downloaded the email connect pro demo and installed it. The installation seemed OK but I don’t have the option of creating an activity when clicking on an email.
Is this because I am using the demo? The main reason I want the program is to be able to create activities in Act from emails in Outlook.
I am using ACT 2007 (9.0).
Please advise.
I'm not sure how they are limiting the demo currently, but that sounds right.
Greg-
I was just notified, that “yes” you can have a single license installed on both a desktop and a laptop.
If you have a 5 user database, and you want it on all 5 systems (1 for each user), then you need to purchase 5 licenses.
-Travis
Greg-
You should be able to right click on an email, and the last option is “Create Activity”.
As per their documentation on the trial limits…
-You can only attach emails beginning with a, e, i, o, u
-Can only create 5 letters per mail merge
-Only works the first 20 minutes after starting ACT! +
Perhaps if you aren’t getting that updated context menu, it might be because it doesn’t start with a vowel, or 20 minutes is up?
You might restart Outlook and ACT as well…
-Travis
I have restarted both outlook and act and still the option to “Create Activity” is not available.
I would buy the program now, but it does me no good if I can’t create an activity from an email.
I was thinking of uninstalling the demo program and reinstalling but I am having a hard time finding the program to uninstall (doesn’t show up in “Add/Remove Programs”).
If I buy the program and I can’t create activities, can I get a refund?
Greg-
Not sure where you got the download from, but perhaps you got the wrong product. It must be Email Connect Professional, I make it available to folks after purchase.
With your permission, might I have them get in touch with you to help you with this issue? One thing I’ve noticed is they do a great job with support.
-Travis
In your EmailConnect video you refer to a one day wait for the license registration key. I must say that I received an immediate response when I confirmed my subscription …could it be a time zone thing as SA & Germany are in the same time zone.
This tool integrates Act & Outlook perfectly and has certainly sorted out some major issues I encountered with the vanilla version of ACT.
Thanks,
Danny
South Africa
I left ACT after 2005 and decided to give 2008 version a try. Wow! it is much improved. We are having issues with SFDC.. primarily.. being untethered is still a challenge. Why didn’t these guys come out with this about two years ago! Is anyone having an issue with Calendar Sync on 2008. I am XP Outlook 2003 ACT 2008. ACT calendar and Outlook don’t seem to be synching at all.
Frank,
Glad you are enjoying a much improved experience. Calendar sync is another issue altogether. I encourage folks to test it to make sure it is working like you think.
One alternative, is using companionlink to just sync the ACT with Outlook on demand.
Hope that helps
[...] on the preference setting. ” -Performance and usability enhancements pertaining to ACT Outlook integration. -Inline editing of opportunity cost and price fields is back. -Pocket PC, “Vista OS and [...]
Email Connect is really a great product!! I sell it with all my installation because it is very reliable (more than the native Outlook Integration), very fast, very user-friendly and it has some interesting features as create an activity, or directly create a contact if there is no e-mail correspondance with your database.
Regarding the 3 things you don’t like with Email Connect, the only one I agree with you is the preference file that is a too old way to configure a soft.
An other thing I don’t like is the licensing system. It is time to have an online activation…
Otherwise I love this product and I recommend it to everybody!
Xavier Nyssen
ACC, Belgium
Xavier-
Thanks for your feedback. I think the most compelling feature is the mail merge feature. This saves me (and my customers) a lot of valuable time.
-Travis
What is the date of this article?
Hey Kelly-
I think it went up in February 2008.
-Travis
Has Sage addressed the issues that Email Contact deals with in ACT! Sage 2010?
Thanks.
-R.
Does email connect professional work with Act 2010 or is it even needed? 2010 seems to addres some of the mail issues but not to the extent this program describes.
It does work with 2010, and while Sage has done a good job to improve the integration, the strength of this addon is adding attachments to a document template. It also works with older versions of ACT! and Microsoft Office.
I am an Act consultant and just had one of my customers purchase Act Email Connect Professional. This was done to allow them to use MS Outlook 2002 with ACT 2007 Premium and Word as the e-mail editor. This does not appear to be working properly. Please provide me some guidance so I can get this functioning. Thanks.
Hey Mark-
Per our conversation today on the phone, you should be good to go. Let me know if there are any issues with your customer getting in touch with the developer for support.
-Travis