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How to set preferences for Act! and Microsoft Outlook Synchronization in Act! versions v17 through v20.0

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Question:
How do I set preferences for Act! and Microsoft Outlook Synchronization in Act! versions v17

Product:
Product Family: Act!
Product: Act! Pro, Act! Premium, Act! Premium (access via web), Act! Premium Cloud
Version: v17 through v20.0





Answer:

WARNING: To avoid duplicate calendar and contact data in Act!, it is strongly recommended that you choose only one supported application (Microsoft Outlook or Google) to integrate with Act!.

Selecting a database to synchronize


For Act! Pro & Act! Premium:
  1. In Act!, click Tools > Preferences
  2. Click the E-mail & Outlook Sync tab, then click Outlook Synchronization Preferences…
  3. Click Change… at the top of the Outlook Synchronization Preferences window
  4. Under Change Act! Database, click Browse…, then browse to and select the database you wish to use
  5. Enter your User name and Password for the database, then click OK


Act! Premium (access via web)

Note: If you are configuring this for the first time in Act! Premium (access via web) or Act! Premium Cloud, you must download and install the Act! Outlook Integration software before you can configure the preferences. For more information, refer to the following knowledgebase article:

How do I set up Outlook Synchronization in Act! Premium (access via web)?
Answer ID How do I set up Microsoft Outlook Synchronization in Act! Premium (access via web)?

  1. In Act!, click Tools > Preferences
  2. Click Outlook Synchronization
  3. Click Change… at the top of the Outlook Synchronization Preferences window
  4. Enter the web address you use to access your database across the web in the Web Service address field
  5. Under the Database section, select the appropriate database
  6. Enter your User name and Password, then click OK



Configuring Calendar Synchronization preferences

Note: The steps in this section apply to Act! Pro, Act! Premium, Act! Premium (access via web), and Act! Premium Cloud
 
  1. On the Synchronize Calendar tab of the Outlook Synchronization Preferences window, choose one of the following options:
    • 1-way sync: Sync Act! to Outlook – Activities created within Act! are synchronized to Outlook, but activities created in Outlook are not synchronized back to Act!
    • 2-way: Sync Act! and Outlook with each other – Activities created within Act! are synchronized to Outlook, and activities created in Outlook are synchronized back to Act!

    Note: If you choose 1-way sync, skip to step 4 of this section.


  2. If the same activity has been updated in Act! and Outlook, choose whether to Keep the Act! activity or to Keep the Outlook activity
  3. When an activity is cleared in Act!, choose whether to Leave the activity on the Outlook calendar or to Delete the activity from the Outlook calendar.
  4. Click Advanced Preferences…
  5. Ensure that there is a checkmark next to each Act! Activity Type you wish to synchronize to Outlook
  6. Select the number of days in the past you wish to synchronize activities for
  7. Select the number of days in the future you wish to synchronize activities for
  8. Under Specify where activity alarms will ring, choose one of the following:
    • Ring activity alarms in Act! - alarms will only display in Act!
    • Ring activity alarms in Outlook - alarms will only display in Outlook
    • Ring Activity alarms in Act! and Outlook - alarms will display in both Act! and Outlook

  9. Click OK to complete Advanced Preferences
  10. If you wish to also synchronize Contacts and/or configure Automatic synchronization, proceed to the sections below, otherwise click OK.


Note: If you choose not to configure automatic synchronization preferences, you can synchronize the Calendar manually at any time by clicking Tools > Outlook Synchronization > Synchronize Calendar with Outlook



Configuring Contact Synchronization Preferences

Note: The steps in this section apply to Act! Pro, Act! Premium, Act! Premium (access via web), and Act! Premium Cloud.

  1. On the Synchronize Contacts tab of the Outlook Synchronization Preferences window, choose one of the following:
    • 1-way: Sync Act! to Outlook – Contacts created in Act! will synchronize to Outlook, but contacts created in Outlook are not synchronized back to Act!
    • 2-way: Sync Act! and Outlook with each other – Contacts created in Act! will synchronize to Outlook, and contacts created in Outlook are synchronized back to Act!
  2. Under Select the Act! contacts you wish to synchronize with Outlook, check the box next to the set of contacts you wish to synchronize

    Note: If you have an Administrator or Manager role in Act!, you can click the Define Sync Sets… button and create or manage Outlook Contact Sync Sets. For more information on managing Outlook Contact Sync Sets, refer to the following knowledgebase article:

    How to manage Outlook Sync Sets
    Answer ID How to manage Outlook contact sync sets in Act! 2011 through v20.0

  3. (For 2-way sync only) If the same contact has been updated in Act! and in Outlook, choose whether to Keep the Act! contact or to Keep the Outlook Contact
  4. If you wish to configure Automatic synchronization, proceed to the section below, otherwise click OK


Note: If you choose not to configure automatic synchronization, you can synchronize the Contacts manually at any time by clicking Tools > Outlook Synchronization > Synchronize Contacts with Outlook.



Configuring Automatic Synchronization

Note: The steps in this section apply to Act! Pro, Act! Premium, Act! Premium (access via web), and Act! Premium Cloud.

  1. From either tab in the Outlook Synchronization Preferences window, click Schedule Automatic Synchronization...
  2. Under Occurs, select one of the following options:
    • None
    • Hourly
    • Daily
    • Weekly
    • Monthly

  3. Depending on the option chosen in step 2 of this section, configure settings to determine the frequency of the synchronization
  4. Under Occurs At, select the date and time that automatic synchronization will begin occurring

Note: Even if automatic synchronization has been configured, you can still synchronize on demand by synchronizing Contacts and Calendar manually, by clicking Tools > Outlook Synchronization, then selecting either Synchronize Contacts or Synchronize Calendar with Outlook.

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