How to rebuild the Act! Preferences file

Question:  How do I rebuild my Act! Preferences file?
 
Product Details: 
Product Family:  Act!
Product: Act! Pro, Act! Premium
Version: 2012 (v14) and later
 
 

---

Answer:

IMPORTANT: Steps to take before rebuilding the preferences file

To prevent data loss, review the notes below before proceeding with the steps for rebuilding your preferences

• Prior to proceeding with these steps, it is recommended that you create a backup of your database (or databases if you have more than one) prior to rebuilding your preferences. For information on creating database backups, refer to the following knowledgebase article:
  
  
  How to back up and restore an Act! database
  Answer ID How to back up and restore an Act! database
  
  
  
• If you are using Internet Mail, Microsoft Outlook Express (Act! versions 2012 and 2013 only), Eudora (Sage ACT! 2012 only), or Local Act! folders for E-mail, rebuilding the preferences file may result in your e-mail messages no longer being accessible in Act! If you have configured Act! to use Internet Mail, refer to the following knowledgebase article for steps on backing up your Act! E-mail database (does not apply to Microsoft Outlook users):
  
  
  How to back up and restore your Act! E-mail database
  Answer ID How to Back Up and Restore Your ACT! E-mail Database
  
  
  
• If you are using Act! versions 2012 through v17.0 and you have custom Web Info tab links, rebuilding the Act! Preferences will remove any custom links created. This does not affect Act! v17.1 or later. If you are using an older version of Act!, refer to the following knowledgebase article for steps on retaining your custom Web Info tab links prior to rebuilding your preferences:
  
  
  How to retain custom Web Info tab links when deleting Act! Preferences
  Answer ID How can I retain my custom Web Info Tab links when rebuilding Act! preferences?
  
  
  
  
• If you have customized menus and/or toolbars in Act!, rebuilding your Act! preferences will remove these customizations. You can create a backup of your personal files, choosing to include Menus and Toolbars, then restore them after you’ve reset your preferences. For information, refer to the following knowledgebase article:
  
  
  How to Backup and Restore Personal Files in ACT!
  Answer ID How to Backup and Restore Personal Files in ACT!
  

---

Rebuilding the preferences file

Rebuilding the Act! Preferences can resolve a number of issues. There are two methods to rebuild your preferences file - using the Act! Diagnostics utility and manually rebuilding them. Since the manual method removes more files which may not be necessary to remove, it is recommended that before attempting to manually rebuild the preferences that you first attempt to rebuild them using the Act! Diagnostics method.



Rebuilding the Preferences via Act! Diagnostics

1. Ensure Act! is closed
2. On your keyboard, press the Windows key + R to bring up the Run dialog
3. In the Run dialog, type actdiag, then press Enter
4. In the Act! Diagnostics utility, click Tools > Delete Preferences Files
5. When prompted whether you are sure you wish to continue, click Yes
6. Once the confirmation window appears, click OK

Manually Rebuilding the Preferences

If you find that rebuilding the preferences using Act! Diagnostics was not sufficient for resolving an issue, you may need to manually rebuild the preferences. Follow the steps below:

1. Ensure Act!, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft Excel are closed
2. Open the Windows Task Manager
3. Under the Processes tab, locate the following processes (if running), and individually select them and click End Process:
   
   • Act!.exe (ActSage.exe for Sage ACT! 2013 and earlier)
   • Act.Outlook.Service.exe
   • Act.Scheduler.exe
   • Act!.Integration.exe (Sage.ACT.Integration.exe for Sage ACT! 2013 and earlier)
   
   
4. Close the Task Manager
5. On your keyboard, press the Windows Key + R to bring up the Run dialog
6. In the Run dialog, type %appdata% then press Enter
7. In the window that appears Open the ACT folder
8. Rename the ACT Data folder to ACT DataOLD
   
   NOTE: Click here if you synchronize Act! v20.0 or earlier with Microsoft Outlook or Google before proceeding to step 9
   
   
   Manually rebuilding the preferences will remove the Outlook Sync and Google Sync metadata files, which can lead to duplication when they synchronize again. If you're using Google Sync or Outlook Sync, follow these steps before proceeding to Step 9:
   

   1. Open Act! to recreate the Act Data Folder
   2. Verify that the Act Data folder has been recreated, then close Act!
   3. Go into the Act Data OLD folder, hold the Ctrl key on your keyboard, select the Outlook Sync and Google Sync folders, and copy them
   4. Go back to the previous folder, then go into the new Act Data folder
   5. Paste the Outlook Sync and Google Sync folders into the new Act Data folder
   
   
9. Close Windows Explorer
10. Reboot your computer to ensure that the services you stopped in step 3 properly restart
11. Launch Act!

Note: After rebuilding your preferences, it will be necessary to reconfigure any preferences you may have configured prior to rebuilding the preferences.