Symptom:
When I try to view a Print Preview in Act!, I get the Error: “Object reference not set to an instance of an object”.
Product Details:
Product Family: Act!
Product: Act! Pro, Act! Premium
Version: 2011 and later
Cause:
This error can occur if the database Personal Files locations are set to a network directory rather than a local folder, if a duplicate contact exists in the lookup, or if a damaged contact record is in the lookup.
Solution:
Note: It is recommended that you create a backup of your database prior to following the steps in this article, as some of the steps alter or remove data in a way which cannot be undone without restoring from a backup. For information on creating backups of your database, 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
Database Personal Files locations set to a network location
Duplicate Contact in the Lookup
Damaged Contact Record
You can test for a damaged contact record in your lookup by creating a small lookup of contacts that does not include records from the original lookup, then attempting to view the Print Preview with this lookup.
If the error does not occur with a different lookup of contacts, you will need to attempt the print preview with portions of your original lookup to identify the damaged by using process of elimination.
When I try to view a Print Preview in Act!, I get the Error: “Object reference not set to an instance of an object”.
Product Details:
Product Family: Act!
Product: Act! Pro, Act! Premium
Version: 2011 and later
Cause:
This error can occur if the database Personal Files locations are set to a network directory rather than a local folder, if a duplicate contact exists in the lookup, or if a damaged contact record is in the lookup.
Solution:
Note: It is recommended that you create a backup of your database prior to following the steps in this article, as some of the steps alter or remove data in a way which cannot be undone without restoring from a backup. For information on creating backups of your database, 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
Database Personal Files locations set to a network location
- Launch Act!
- Click Tools > Preferences
- In the General tab, under Personal file locations, cycle through selecting each file type and ensure that the Location field for each file type is a path which is local to the computer you are logged into
- For any locations which are network paths, click Browse…, browse to and select a local folder or make a new folder, then click OK. If you wish to set each file type back to default settings, the file paths for each file type are as follows:
On Windows Vista and later- Databases: C:\Users\[Windows Username]\Documents\ACT\ACT Data\Databases
- Documents: C:\Users\[Windows Username]\Documents\ACT\ACT Data\Documents
- Internet Links: C:\Users\[Windows Username]\ Roaming\ACT\ACT Data\Netlinks
- Dictionaries: C:\Users\[Windows Username]\ Roaming\ACT\ACT Data\Spell
On Windows versions prior to Vista- Databases: C:\Documents and Settings\[Windows Username]\My Documents\ACT\Act Data\Databases
- Documents: C:\Documents and Settings\[Windows Username]\My Documents\ACT\Act Data\Documents
- Internet Links: C:\Documents and Settings\[Windows Username]\Application Data\ACT\Act Data\NetLinks
- Dictionaries: C:\Documents and Settings\[Windows Username]\Application Data\ACT\Act Data\Spell
- Attempt to open a Print Preview again to test
Duplicate Contact in the Lookup
- Perform a scan for duplicates on your database, matching only based off of the Contact field. For more information on scanning for duplicates, refer to the following knowledgebase article:
How To Manage Duplicate Records and Merge Contact Records
Answer ID How to manage duplicate records and merge contact records
- If found, merge any duplicates
- Attempt to open a Print Preview again to test
Damaged Contact Record
You can test for a damaged contact record in your lookup by creating a small lookup of contacts that does not include records from the original lookup, then attempting to view the Print Preview with this lookup.
If the error does not occur with a different lookup of contacts, you will need to attempt the print preview with portions of your original lookup to identify the damaged by using process of elimination.
- Once identified, recreate this contact and delete the damaged contact
- Test viewing the Print Preview again