FIRST IMPRESSIONS
`Act! for Windows 1.0 -- ACT! Gets Into Windows
`David Claiborne
`1,066 words
`1 July 1992
`Windows Magazine
`WNDW
`94
`Issue: 306
`English
`(Copyright 1992 CMP Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.)
`ACT! from Contact Software International is the contact management program that, in many respects, defined the
`category. A quick and powerful system designed to reduce keystrokes to a minimum, ACT! has been helping
`people track meetings, appointments and calls since 1987. Although ACT! has always been the best-seller in its
`field, updates have come at a slow pace. In its five-year history, there have only been three, versions 1.1, 2.0 and
`2.1. Now, after more than a year of development, ACT! for Windows has finally arrived. It has been worth the
`wait.
`
`Contact Software has done an excellent job at melding the feel of its original product with Windows. If you are a
`current ACT! user, you can readily transform your contact databases to the new program and begin using the
`Windows version immediately. Although the Windows version does not add a great deal of functionality over the
`DOS version, it makes the features much more accessible. The Windows operating paradigms of point, click,
`drag and WYSIWYG (What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get) have been implemented very well.
`
`ACT! for Windows installs easily using an automatic installation program. If you are converting from a DOS
`version, the first task is to convert your existing contact list to the new format. Contact Software has made a major
`product change and adopted dBASE standard file structures in its Windows version. This makes your ACT! files
`accessible to any of the multitude of programs that follow the .DBF format. The next DOS version of ACT! will
`also use the dBASE standard. Until then, ACT! for Windows has built-in utilities to import and export files in the
`original ACT! format. Following the Windows file filter paradigm, export is simple with the "File Save As..."
`command. Similarly, "File Open" can use .DBF files or files from ACT! 2.0 or 2.1.
`
`In my beta version, the initial file import and convert was tediously slow. The program processed a new name
`about every six seconds, so my 700-name database took more than an hour to convert (on a fast 486-33
`computer). Contact Software officials said that this performance should improve in the shipping product. Although
`slow, all my contact information, complete with histories, appointments, notes and letters, ported to the new file
`structure intact with no lost data items.
`
`As easy as the DOS version of ACT! was to operate, ACT! for Windows is even easier. The menu bar remains
`essentially the same, with only minor changes to conform to Windows conventions. The new program, however,
`uses a toolbar to make the most common commands operate with single clicks. My toolbar had 15 buttons, and
`you can expect two or three more in the final product. The toolbar in the final product should be customizable,
`allowing you to add your own icons for special macros that you design.
`
`In its Windows form, ACT! retains all the fields in its original contact-oriented database. Associated with each
`contact are the expected fields (name, company name, address, phone number, fax number, e-mail address,
`secretary name, etc.) plus 15 userdefinable fields. A notes field is also associated with each contact for inserting
`free form notes. In Windows, the notes field is a true window, popping up when you need it, going away when you
`don't. The display, no longer limited to 80 characters by 25 lines, is much more appealing; you can edit any
`displayed field by simply clicking on it and starting to type.
`
`You can schedule three types of activities with your contacts, phone calls, meetings or "To-Do's." You can assign
`specific times to your activities or just give them a date. When ACT! is running, it will signal you when you have a
`meeting or call time approaching. The program is also very good at detecting schedule conflicts as you set new
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`appointments. Scheduling activities really benefits from Windows in that a calendar window pops up when you
`begin to assign a time to an activity. The date can simply be selected with the mouse.
`
`The program offers several ways to move to your desired contact. Screen buttons page through the current
`group--a name or letter (A, B, C and so on) at a time. A rolodex icon button displays a scrolling list of all contacts
`along with their phone numbers. The Lookup function lets you jump to a contact or group of contacts based on
`matches in any of the standard data fields. My beta version was much slower than the current DOS version when
`performing searches and selecting contact groups. Although Contact Software expects this to improve, Windows'
`overhead may result in a somewhat slower feel in the Windows product.
`
`My favorite tool buttons are Day, Week and Month. Clicking on one of these displays an appointment calendar
`view of the requested period. It is very convenient to see all your appointments for the month on a single page.
`The calendar display includes buttons that let you page through the calendar for additional periods or print the
`current display. With the old version of ACT!, you could print your appointments for the month, but it was never
`this easy, nor was the result as neatly printed.
`
`The calendar view uses the Windows drag-and-drop ability to let you quickly and easily reschedule a call or
`meeting. When the client calls to reschedule your next appointment, you simply drag the meeting information to a
`new time slot on the calendar display and drop it; all related information moves instantly.
`
`The built-in report generator and word processor also derive substantial benefits from the conversion to Windows.
`Both are now true WYSIWYG in their screen and printed output and can use any font, type style or point size
`available in Windows. The built-in spell checker from Houghton-Mifflin is fast and easy to use.
`
`Contact Software plans to offer existing ACT! users a substantial discount on the new product, so if you are an
`ACT! and Windows user, this is one product I would convert to immediately.
`
`David Claiborne is the founder of The Claiborne Co., a computer systems integrator in Highland, Md. Reach him
`via MCI Mail as dclaiborne, 408-2415, or care of Editor at the address on page 10.
`
`Document wndw000020011108do7100099
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`Page 2 of 2 © 2016 Factiva, Inc. All rights reserved.
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