How do I set Contact Access controls for users in Act!?

Question: How do I set Contact Access controls for users in Act!?
 
Product Details: 
Product Family: Act!
Product: Act! Pro, Act! Premium, Act! Premium (access via web), Act! Premium Cloud
Version: 2005 and later
 
 

Answer: 
 
There are three levels of user access available for contact records in a shared Act! database:
 

• Public – Everyone can see the selected record. By default, all new records are public
• Private – Only the Record Manager of the selected record can see the record. This means even Administrators of the database cannot see Private records that they are not the Record manager for
• Limited Access (Act! Premium, Web, and Cloud only) - Allows you to select specific users and teams who will have access over the selected contact

 
 
Contact Access Controls can be configured for a single contact, or multiple contacts. For instructions on setting Contact Access, refer to the sections below:
 
Note: In order to set Contact Access for a record, you must be the Record Manager for that record. Additionally, you cannot set Contact Access for your My Record or other users in the database.

Setting the Access Level for New Contacts

By default whenever any user creates a new Contact those contacts will be Public, therefore all users will be able to see them and work with them. An administrator of the database can change this option for all new contacts that are created if he wishes.
To do so, follow the instructions below.

1. Click the Tools menu and choose Preferences.
2. Click Startup.

3. For new Contacts, Companies, Groups and Opportunities, use the dropdown lists to select whether new records should be Public, Private or Limited Access as discussed above.

 
 
Setting Existing Contacts to Public or Private
 
Single Contact

1. From the record’s Contact Detail View, click the Contact Access tab
2. Under Access Level, click Private or, if the contact is already private, click Public to allow others to see it
3. Read the warning that appears, then click OK

 
 
Multiple Contacts

Note: Setting Public or Private Contact Access controls for multiple contacts at one time is only available in Act! Pro and Act! Premium for Windows. If you are an Act! Premium Cloud user, you will need an offline client to make multiple contacts Public or Private. For more information, refer to the following knowledgebase article:

How do I set up my Act! Premium Cloud offline client?



To make multiple contacts Public or Private:

1. From a list of contacts, use Tag Mode or your Ctrl key to select multiple contacts
2. Once the desired contacts are selected, right click one of the highlighted contacts and go to Edit Contact Access > Make Contacts Private (Or Public if already private)
3. Read the warning that appears, then click Yes to complete the change

 
Note: This method will also work for a single contact if you only select one contact.
 
 

Setting Limited Access (Act! Premium, Web, and Cloud only)
 
Single Contact

1. From the record’s Contact Detail View, click the Contact Access tab
2. Under Access Level, click Limited Access, then click Select Users/Teams
3. In the Users tab, select Users from the left panel and click the greater than ( &gt ) button to add them to the list of users/teams who are allowed to access the contact record
4. In the Teams tab, select Teams from the left panel and click the greater than button to add them to the list of users/teams
5. Click OK

 
 
Multiple Contacts
 
Note: Setting Limited Contact Access controls for multiple contacts at one time is only available in Act! Premium for Windows. If you are an Act! Premium Cloud user, you will need an offline client to make multiple contacts Public or Private. For more information, refer to the following knowledgebase article:

How do I set up my Act! Premium Cloud offline client?



Adding access permissions

1. From a list of contacts, use Tag Mode or your Ctrl key to select multiple contacts
2. Once the desired contacts are selected, right click one of the highlighted contacts and go to Edit Contact Access > Edit Access List...
   
   Note: If any of the contacts you have selected are currently set to private, "Edit Access List…" will not be available. You will need to click Edit Contact Access > Create New Access List…
   
   
3. In the Users tab, select Users from the left panel and click the greater than ( > ) button to add them to the list of users/teams who are allowed to access the contact records
4. In the Teams tab, select Teams from the left panel and click the greater than button to add them to the list of users/teams
5. Click OK

 
Note: This method will also work for a single contact if you only select one contact.


Removing access permissions

1. From a list of contacts, use Tag Mode or your Ctrl key to select multiple contacts
2. Once the desired contacts are selected, right click one of the highlighted contacts and go to Edit Contact Access > Remove Users/Teams
3. In the Users tab, tick the Users who you wish to remove from accessing the Contact, Click OK