Issue 15 • ACT! 2005/2006 Edition

Dear FIRSTNAME,

ACT! can be configured to work as a stand-alone email client. It can also be set to work with many popular email programs, such as Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, and Lotus Notes.

After you've configured ACT!'s email functionality, you can check and send your email directly from within ACT!. You can also write template-based emails and send mass emails to your contacts.

This issue of our tips & tricks newsletter will answer some of the most frequently asked e-mail related questions we've seen. 

Click these links to learn more detailed information about the the tips outlined in this issue:

As always, if you have any questions about ACT!, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me at 800-322-1049.

Best regards,

The staff at

Innovative Solutions
 

  

Brought to you by:

Innovative Solutions
ACT! Certified Consultants
4423 Lehigh Road
Suite 404
College Park, MD 20740
800-322-1049
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L A T E S T   N E W S

This section removed for the newsletter archive.
 

We recommend that you purchase:

Managing Contacts
with ACT! 2006
$24.99   $22.49

Click here to order.
 
 
Configuring Your E-mail Signature
Relevant for ACT! 2005 & ACT! 2006 Users

When you send an email from the ACT! email client, you might want a standard string of text, commonly referred to as an email signature, inserted at the end of each message. In the email preferences, you can manage your signatures.

If you have ACT! set to work with Outlook as its backend email client, then you'll still need to specify a separate email address in ACT!. ACT! will not pick up your Outlook signature when sending messages to ACT! contacts in the ACT! email interface.  

To configure your e-mail signature in ACT!:

  1. Click Edit | Preferences.
  2. Click the E-mail tab.
  3. Click the Composing Options button.
  4. Click the Signatures button.
  5. Click Add to add a new signature. Give the signature a name and edit the text of the signature in the bottom text area.
  6. Click OK three times to return to the main ACT! interface.
 
Setting the Default History Option
Relevant for ACT! 2005 & ACT! 2006 Users

When you send an e-mail message in ACT!, a history can be created for the recipient contact.  You have a few options for how you'd like the history to look.  These options are:

  • None. No history will be created for outgoing emails to your ACT! contacts.
  • Subject Only. A history will be created that shows the subject line of your outgoing messages.
  • Subject + Message. A history will be created that shows the subject and the entire message body. Only the text will appear. (Graphics and text formatting will not appear in the history.)
  • Attach to Contact(s). ACT! will save a copy of your outgoing message as a file in the Attachments folder in the database supplemental files folder for the currently-opened database.

You can set the type of history that is created for each individual message that is sent in the ACT! e-mail interface; however, you might want to set a default option to save a few clicks when sending e-mails.

To set the default history option for new outgoing messages:

  1. Click Edit | Preferences.
  2. Click the E-mail tab.
  3. Click the Composing Options button.
  4. On the left side of the Composing Options dialog box, specify the default history creation option.
 
Composing an E-mail for a Contact
Relevant for ACT! 2005 & ACT! 2006 Users

You can create a message to any ACT! contact from within the ACT! email interface. When you create a message to a contact, ACT! can automatically create a history of the outgoing message in the contact's History tab.

In the Contacts view, you can also click the blue underlined text in the E-mail Address field to instantly create a new blank email for the contact.

To compose an e-mail message for a contact in your database:

  1. Go to the ACT! email interface by clicking the E-mail button on the left navigation bar.
  2. Click the New button to create a new message.
  3. When the new message appears, click the To button to select the message recipients.
  4. Highlight a contact from the list on the left and click the To button to add the contact to your recipient list. Repeat this step until all of your recipients have been selected.
  5. Click OK.
  6. In the Create History drop-down, select the type of history you'd like to create for this email.
  7. Give your email message a subject and body and click the Send button.

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© 2006 Thomson Course Technology.  Text adapted from Managing Contacts with ACT! 2006. Reprinted with permission.