Exporting and Importing data in ACT! by Sage databases

1. GL Computing – www.GLComputing.com.au
Copyright (c) 2009

2. Connecting to ACT! By Sage
Reading • ACT! File Export
• ACT! Export to Excel
or • OLEDB
Exporting • ODBC - ActReader
ACT! Data • 3rd Party Export
Importing • ACT! File Import Options
or Writing • 3rd Party Import
• ACT! SDK
ACT! Data

3. ACT!’s File Export – to ACT! db
 Can export a lookup of one record type or All Contacts
if multiple record types selected -
Contacts, Groups, Companies
 Can export all Extended Data - Notes, Histories, Sales
Ops, Activities, Secondary Contacts, Attachments
 Can check for duplicates and merge records in target
database. But only entire records, not on a field basis
 Fields must be matching data types

4. ACT!’s File Export – to Text
 Can only export one record type in an export
(Contacts, Groups or Company)
 No keys to link Contacts to the other records
 Cannot export any extended data
 Supports Comma or Tab delimiter
 Can export field names (recommended)

5. ACT!’s Export to Excel
 Available from various list views: Contacts,
Companies, Groups, Tasks, Opportunities
 Opportunities also creates Pivot Chart and Table tabs
 Icon on bar or via menu - Tools | Export to Excel
 Filtered by what is shown on the List View
 Fields selected by Options | Customise Columns
 Only information shown in the list view is exported –
only one contact per item and no details with
Activities
 No keys to link exported data

6. OLEDB
 Object Linking and Embedding, Database
 Used for reporting via Excel, Crystal Reports, etc
 Views of most ACT! tables
 Started as per this ACT! Knowledge Base article:
http://kb.sagesoftwareonline.com/cgi-bin/sagesoftwareonline.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=14023
 Can be disabled for security or performance as per:
http://kb.sagesoftwareonline.com/cgi-bin/sagesoftwareonline.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=17575

7. ODBC – ActReader
 Open Database Connectivity
 Direct read-only access to all SQL tables
 Works with Premium versions of ACT! 2005 or later
 ActReader is included on ACT! Premium 2009 11.1 CD
or can be downloaded from this ACT! KB: 22989
 ACTDataDictionaryDocument.rtf in ACT! 11.1 folder
more documentation can be found at this KB: 22924
 A visual view of the links between the tables can be
created in Visio (free 60-day trial) as per this article:
http://blog.glcomputing.com.au/2009/04/getting-table-structure-and-links-from.html

8. 3rd Party Export
 itExport
 Easy to use tool to export data from ACT!
 Exports all ACT! records and extended data
Including Custom Tables and Linked Documents
 Includes Unique ID to re-link exported data externally
 Can filter export data based on a date range and types
 Can export in formatted (RTF) or unformatted
 Can run as a service with (optional) itService to enable
automated exports of data to integrate with another
system.

9. Importing in ACT! – ACT! Database
 File | Import | ACT! Database
 Must be same version of ACT!
 Entire set of selected records:
Contacts, Groups Companies
 Field mapping (data types must match)
 Record level duplicates and merging
 Extended data is included (attachments optional)
 Activities only if user names match in both databases

10. Importing in ACT! - Outlook
 File | Import | Outlook
 Contacts – with Activities and Notes
 Outlook or Exchange Contacts
 Appointments/Tasks can import to My Record or
selected Contact as Outlook doesn’t assign then to
specific contacts
 Field mapping and contact Record level duplicate
checking and merging

11. Importing in ACT! – dBase
 File | Import | dBase
 dBase III-IV dbf
 Import to ACT! Contacts only
 dBase memo field to ACT! Memo or notes
 Field mapping and contact Record level duplicate
checking and merging

12. Importing in ACT! – Palm Desktop
 File | Import | Palm Desktop
 Palm Desktop 4.0 and earlier only.
V4.1 and later only via txt
Must have Palm Desktop installed
 ACT! Contacts – some Notes and Activities

13. Importing in ACT! – Text Delimited
 File | Import | Text Delimited
 Comma (CSV) or Tab delimiters
 Contact Group or Company records
 No extended data – Notes, Histories, Activities, Ops
 Field mapping and Record level duplicate checking and
merging.
 No linking Contacts to Companies/Groups

14. 3rd Party Import
 itImport
 Editions include: Basic, Standard, Advanced, Pro
*Basic and Standard only ACT! 2007 (9.0) and later
 Sources from TXT, CSV, XLS, XLSX, MDB, SQL, ODBC
 Editions define Source and ACT! table options (see web for list)
 All ACT! Records – Contacts, Companies, Groups
 All Extended Data – Notes, Histories, Activities, Opportunities,
Secondary Contacts, Custom Tables (10.02 or later), Picture Fields
and Attachments.
 Record AND Field level merges to update new data
 Auto link Contacts to Groups/Companies (create if needed)
 Can run as a service with (optional) itService to enable automated
imports of data to integrate with another system
 Mail to ACT! allows automated import of email forms

15. 3rd Party Import
 MigrateAdmin – Goldmine
 Supports Goldmine versions 5.7-6.7
SQL versions of Goldmine are not supported
 Supports ACT! 2007 (9.0) and later
 Imports – Contacts, Companies, Groups, Custom Fields,
E-mails, Activities, Histories, Notes, Opportunities,
attachments and more

16. ACT! SDK - read, write, events
 Can read and write the ACT! Data
 Can access Events for live transactions
 Used in Customised solutions by Plugins
 Can be used to Sync ACT! data to other systems
 Requires programming in .Net

17. Contact information
 GL Computing:
www.GLComputing.com.au
blog.GLComputing.com.au
twitter.com/GLComputing
 LinkedIN ACT! Fanatics Group:
www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=49896