How to run and manage reports in Act!

1. Create a Lookup of Contact, Company or Group records that you wish to include on the report.
2. Click the Reports menu, and then click the report name that you wish to run. The Define Filters dialog box appears.
   
   Note: If the report you wish to run is not listed under the Reports menu, click Other Contact Reports or point to Group/Company Reports, and then click Other Group/Company Reports.
   
   
   
   
3. By default, the Send the report output to: field will display Preview. It is recommended that you do not change this option, unless you have already run or previewed this report as you are able to print from the preview window. Other Send the report output to: options include Rich-Text File, HTML File, PDF File, Text File, Printer andE-mail.
4. Ensure that the Create report for option is correct and if you do not want your personal information to be included in the report you may enable the Exclude 'My Record' option.
5. If your report includes, Activity, Note, History or Opportunity information, click the appropriate tab(s).
   
   
   
   
6. Disable any data types that you do not wish to include in the report, specify a Date range and enable the Selected users option to select one or more specific users (if desired). Click OK to generate the preview or other report output.
   Note: If you Send the report output to: Preview, you will need to enable the Zoom In Tool , and then use this tool to click into the report preview for a closer view of the report output.

1. Click the Reports menu, and then click Edit Template. An Open dialog box appears.
2. Click the report template (.rep file) that you wish to modify, and then click Open. The Report Designer appears with the template ready for editing.

At the report template you have the ability to add, remove, relocate fields and change field or background properties. You can also add, remove and relocate sections or create Subreports.

• – With the Pointer tool enabled, objects can be selected, moved, and resized. To move an object; simply click and drag.
• – Allows you to add fields to the report template that will retrieve and display data stored in that field. Data fields are normally only placed into the Detail section of a report.
• – Allows you to add Text to the report template. Most commonly used in Headers andFooters.
• – Allows you to create squares, rectangles, and graphic lines. Most commonly used in Headers andFooters.
• – Is used to insert pictures into the report. Most commonly used in Headers andFooters.
• – Allows you to add system fields to the report template. Examples of System fields are Page Number and Print Date. Most commonly used in Page Headers andFooters.
• – Allows the display of other data types within a section of your report. Most commonly added to the Detail section.

Note: Although the Picture Field tool is available in the Report Designer, this field type is not considered appropriate for Report templates. In most cases when this field type is attempted, the picture does not display or you will find the text System.drawing.bitmap displayed.

Adding a Contact, Group or Company Field to the Template:

1. Ensure the Field tool is enabled in the Toolbox.
2. Place your cursor near the left edge of the position that you wish to place the field, click your left mouse button, and then drag to the right to create the new field.
3. When you release the left mouse button, the Select Field dialog box appears.
   
   
   
   
4. Ensure that the Select a record type field displays the appropriate record type.
   
   Important Note: When you are adding a field or section to an Act! report, the list of Fields will differ for each record type. Each Report Type includes a different set of record types. If you have created a custom field, you may need to scroll through the Select a record type options to find it. This document was written using the Contact Report Type with the associated Contact record type. For a detailed list of the different record types associated with each report type, refer to the Report Record Types section at the end of this document.
   
5. Clear the Include a label check box (if desired), click the field you want to add to this report template, and then click Add. The field appears on the report template.
6. Once all fields have been added to the report template, click Close to exit the Select a Field dialog box.
   

1. Enable the Text tool from the Toolbox.
2. Place your cursor near the left edge of the position that you wish to place the text field, click your left mouse button, and then drag to the right to create the new text field.
3. After you release the left mouse button, you must click outside of the text field to deselect it, and then you may click into it and begin typing text into this field. You may format the text as you type.
   

1. To add a Rectangle to your report template:
   1. Enable the Rectangle tool from the Toolbox.
   2. Place your cursor near the left edge of the position that you wish to place the rectangle, click your left mouse button, and then drag to the right to create the shape.
      

1. Enable the Picture tool from the Toolbox.
2. Place your cursor near the left edge of the position that you wish to place the image, click your left mouse button, and then drag to the right to create the field for your image.
3. When you release the left mouse button, the Open Image dialog box appears.
4. Browse to (if necessary), and then Open the Image file (.BMP, .JPG or .GIF) that you would like to appear on the report template. The image appears on the template.
   

1. Enable the Subreport tool from the Toolbox.
2. Place your cursor near the left edge of the position that you wish to place the field, click your left mouse button, and then drag to the right to create the new field.
3. When you release the left mouse button, the Subreports dialog box appears.
   
   
   
   
4. Enter a Subreport name, click the field in the list that will link your main report to this subreport, and then click OK.
   
   For detailed information on creating subreports, refer to the following Answer.
   
   Title: How to Create and Use Subreports in Act!
   Answer ID: How to Create and Use Subreports in ACT!
   

Adding Summary Fields to your Report Template:
A summary field allows you to display information from one or more records. These fields are normally added to the Page Header section of a report.

Note: If you are using Subreports in your report template, then the Summary fields will need to added to the Header section of the subreport, instead of the Page Header section of the main report.

Five types of summary fields can be added from the Act! Report Designer:

• Count - Calculates the total number of records that contain data in a field.
• Total - Calculates a total of all values in a field.
• Average - Calculates the average of all values in a field.
• Minimum - Displays the lowest (or earliest) value in a field.
• Maximum - Displays the highest (or latest) value in a field.

Any field can be designated as a Count field, but only numeric fields can be used for Total, Average, Minimum or Maximum fields. Follow the steps below to add a Summary field to your Act! Report template:

1. From the Act! Report Designer, click the Field tool, and then click into the Page Header section of your report template and drag a new field into the desired location. The Select Field dialog box appears.
2. Ensure that the Select a Record Type field displays the desired option, click the field you wish to use as a summary field, clear the Add Label option (if desired) and then click Add. The new field is populated with the field name.
3. Right click this new field, and then click Properties from the shortcut menu. The Field Properties dialog box appears.
4. Under the Data tab, enable the Summary option from the Field Type section, and then enable the appropriate Summary Field Option.
5. Click Apply, and then click OK to complete the process.
   

1. Click the Reports menu, and then click Edit Template. An Open Act! Report dialog box appears.
2. Open the desired report template.
3. From the Report Designer, click the Edit menu, and then click Define Filters. The Define Filters dialog box appears.
4. Enable the desired filter options on all tabs (as illustrated above), and then click OK to close the Define Filters dialog box.
5. Click the File menu, and then click Save, to save the changes to your filter settings.
6. Close the Report Designer, and click Yes, if prompted to Save the changes. Your custom filter options will now be active each time you run this report.
   

1. When you are finished creating the template, click the File menu (in the Report Designer), and then click Save As. A Save As dialog box appears.
2. Ensure that the Save As Type field lists Act! report Files (*.rep). Type in a unique File Name, ensure the Save In field displays the Reports directory (or your custom directory), and then click Save. A progress indicator appears as your custom report is saved.
3. Your custom report will now appear in the Act! Reports directory.
4. To preview this report, click the File menu, and then click Print Preview. The Print Preview window appears.
   
   Note: You will need to activate the Zoom In Tool Hold this cursor over the Print Preview and then click the left mouse button to enlarge the preview. You may need to repeat these steps several times for a clear preview.

1. Click the Reports menu, and then click New Template. The Report Designer appears with the New Report dialog box.
   
   
   
   
2. In the Report Types section, click Contact Reports. In the Templates section, click the Empty Contact Report option, and then click OK. The Report Designer opens a blank report template named Report Template 1.rep..
   
   
   

• Report Header – This section appears only at the top of the first page of the report and is intended to be used for the report title.
• Page Header – This section appears at the top of every page in the report and is generally used for column headings, graphics, and company logos.
• Details – This section will contain most of the information in the report and is commonly used for Note, History, Activity, Opportunity or Subreport information.
• Page Footer – This section appears at the bottom of every page and is commonly used for page numbers, or dates.
• Report Footer – This section appears only at the bottom of the last page of the report and is generally used for summary information for the entire report.
  
  You cannot delete or change the order of the five default sections, but you can add a new section, hide or resize a section, add or remove fields in a section or indicate the page break behavior for a section.
  
  Note: Section titles do not appear in the report.
  
  Adding and Removing Sections:
  When you add a section to your Act! report template, you also add a section header and footer. You can then add fields, text to provide the information you wish to include in your report.
  
  New section header and footer:

• Section Header – Displays information at the top of each records section.
• Section Footer – Displays information at the bottom of each records section.

To add a section to a report template:

1. From the Report Designer, click the Edit menu, and then click Define Sections. The Define Sections dialog box appears.
   
   
   
   
2. Click the default section that you wish to add your new section to.
   Note: You will not be able to configure Section Behavior until after you have added your new section to the report template.
   
3. Click the Add button. The Select a Field to Group By dialog box appears.
   
   
   
   
4. Ensure that the Select a record type field displays the correct record type, click a field that you wish to sort the data by, and then click OK. The Define Sections dialog box reappears displaying your new section as Section 1 above.
   
   Important Note: When you are adding a field or section to an Act! report, the list of Fields will differ for each record type. Each Report Type includes a different set of record types. If you have created a custom field, you may need to scroll through the Select a record type options to find it. This document was written using the Contact Report Type with the associated Contact record type. For a detailed list of the different record types associated with each report type, refer to the Report Record Types section at the end of this document.
   
   
   Note: The field you click in this dialog box will determine the sort order of the information in the report. For example: If you click Contact, your report will sort alphabetically by last name.
   
   
   
   
5. Click your new Section 1 to change the Group Behavior sort order to Descending (if desired).
   
   
   
   
6. Click the new Section 1 - Header or Section 1 - Footer to customize Section Behavior. Section Behavior options include:
   • Page Break - Before: Starts a new page at the beginning of the section.
   • Page Break - After: Starts a new page at the end of the section.
   • Page Break - Before and After: Starts a new page at the beginning and at the end of the section.
   • Page Break - Page Before: Starts a new page one page before the beginning of the section.
   • Page Break - Page After. Starts a new page one page after the end of the section.
   • Collapse if blank: Hides this section for contact records that contain no data.
   • Allow section to break across multiple pages: Displays and prints all information in a section, even if it dies not fit on a single page. If you turn this option off, a page break is inserted before the section if the section will not fit on one page.
     
   
   
7. When your section behavior options have been configured, click OK. The Report Designer reappears with your new section in place.
   
   
   
   

1. From the Report Designer, click the Edit menu, and then click Define Sections. The Define Sections dialog box appears.
2. Click the section that is to be removed, and then click the Remove button. The Delete Section dialog box appears.
   
   
   
   
3. Click Yes to confirm that you wish to delete this section from your report template.

1. Ensure the Field tool is enabled in the Toolbox.
2. Place your cursor near the left edge of the position that you wish to place the field, click your left mouse button, and then drag to the right to create the new field.
3. When you release the left mouse button, the Select Field dialog box appears.
   
   
   
   
4. Ensure that the Select a record type field displays the appropriate record type.
   
   Important Note: When you are adding a field or section to an Act! report, the list of Fields will differ for each record type. Each Report Type includes a different set of record types. If you have created a custom field, you may need to scroll through the Select a record type options to find it. This document was written using the Contact Report Type with the associated Contact record type. For a detailed list of the different record types associated with each report type, refer to the Report Record Types section at the end of this document.
   
5. Clear the Include a label check box, click the field you want to add to this report template, and then click Add. The field appears on the report template.
6. Once all fields have been added to the report template, click Close to exit the Select a Field dialog box.
   

1. Enable the Text tool from the Toolbox.
2. Place your cursor near the left edge of the position that you wish to place the text field, click your left mouse button, and then drag to the right to create the new text field.
3. After you release the left mouse button, your text field appears.
4. You must click into an empty spot on your report template to deselect this text field before you can double-click it and begin typing text into the field. You may format the text as you type.
   

1. Adding a Rectangle to your Report Template:.
2. Enable the Rectangle tool from the Toolbox.
3. Place your cursor near the left edge of the position that you wish to place the rectangle, click your left mouse button, and then drag to the right to create the shape.
   

1. Enable the Picture tool from the Toolbox.
2. Place your cursor near the left edge of the position that you wish to place the image, click your left mouse button, and then drag to the right to create the field for your image.
3. When you release the left mouse button, the Open Image dialog box appears.
4. Browse to (if necessary), and then Open the Image file (.BMP, .JPG or .GIF) that you would like to appear on the report template. The image appears on the template.
   

1. Enable the Picture Field tool from the Toolbox.
2. Place your cursor near the left edge of the position that you wish to place the field, click your left mouse button, and then drag to the right to create the new field.
3. When you release the left mouse button, the Select Field dialog box appears.
4. Ensure that the Select a record type field displays the appropriate record type.
5. Clear the Include a label check box, click the field you want to add to this report template, and then click Add. The field appears on the report template.
6. Once all Picture Fields have been added to the report template, click Close to exit the Select a Field dialog box.
   

1. Enable the System Field tool in the Toolbox.
2. Place your cursor near the left edge of the position that you wish to place the field, click your left mouse button, and then drag to the right to create the new field.
3. When you release the left mouse button, the Select System Field dialog box appears.
   
   
   
   
4. Click the desired System Field, and then click Add.
5. Repeat for additional system fields.
   

1. Enable the Subreport tool from the Toolbox.
2. Place your cursor near the left edge of the position that you wish to place the field, click your left mouse button, and then drag to the right to create the new field.
3. When you release the left mouse button, the Subreports dialog box appears.
   
   
   
   
4. Enter a Subreport name, click the field in the list that will link your main report to this subreport, and then click OK.
   
   For detailed information on creating subreports, refer to the following Answer.
   
   
   Title: How to Create and Use Subreports in Act!
   Answer ID: How to Create and Use Subreports in ACT!
   

1. When you are finished creating the template, click the File menu (in the Report Designer), and then click Save As. A Save As dialog box appears.
2. Ensure that the Save As Type field lists Act! report Files (*.rep). Type in a unique File Name, ensure the Save In field displays the Reports directory (or your custom directory), and then click Save. A progress indicator appears as your custom report is saved.
3. Your custom report will now appear in the Act! Reports directory.
4. To preview this report, click the File menu, and then click Print Preview. The Print Preview window appears.
   
   Note: You will need to activate the Zoom In Tool Hold this cursor over the Print Preview and then click the left mouse button to enlarge the preview. You may need to repeat these steps several times for a clear preview.

Properties window.

Act! uses the same template editor to modify reports, labels, envelopes and layouts. Consequently, not all of the field properties are appropriate for all fields on your report template.

Click the View menu, and then click Properties Window. The Properties window appears on the right side of your report template. The Properties Window can be undocked (or docked) by double-clicking the Properties title bar.




The initial field displays the object that you are viewing properties for. Clicking different objects in the template will change the display to reflect the selected object.

By default, the Properties Window displays a categorized view by clicking the appropriate button below the listed object.

In addition to Subreports, there are six different field types that are appropriate for report templates: Data Field, Text Field, Rectangle,Picture, Picture Field andSystem Field. There are two ways to adjust field properties on an report template: Right-click the field, and then click Properties from the shortcut menu or click a field, click the View menu, and then click Properties Window

Contact
My Record
Secondary Contact
Contact Activity
Contact History
Contact Note
Contact Opportunity
Contact Opportunity Product

Company
Company Activity
Company History
Company Note
Company Opportunity
Company Opportunity Product
Contact, My Record
Secondary Contact
Contact Activity
Contact History
Contact Note
Contact Opportunity
Contact Opportunity Product

Group
Group Activity
Group History
Group Note
Group Opportunity
Group Opportunity Product
Contact
My Record
Secondary Contact
Contact Activity
Contact History
Contact Note
Contact Opportunity
Contact Opportunity Product

Product
Product Opportunity

Opportunity
Opportunity Product