Product Details:
Product Family: Act!
Product: Act! Pro, Act! Premium, Act! Premium (access via web), Act! Premium Cloud
Version: 2005 and later
Answer:
Note: Layout design in Act! Premium (access via web) is only available in Act! v16 and later.
To access the Act! Layout Designer; click the Tools menu, point to Design Layouts and then click the appropriate layout type: Contact, Group, Company or Opportunity. The Layout Designer appears.
Note: The images shown may differ from the images you see on your screen when going through these actions.

The first part of this document summarizes the major changes in the layout designer. Specific layout designer tools and properties are described in detail in the latter part of the document. This Answer contains the following sections. (You may view your choice by clicking the link below.):
Design Features
Design Tools
Custom
Drawing
Field
Properties
Font Color and Background Color Options
Field Properties
Appearance
Behavior
Data
Layout
Panel (background) Properties:
Rectangle and Ellipse Field Properties:
Text Field Properties:
Appearance
Behavior
Layout
Tab Properties:
Appearance
Behavior
Misc
'Tab Name' (Tab) properties
Misc
Design Features
- You can now add new fields to your list of defined fields without leaving the layout designer. When you add a new field to your Act! layout, the following dialog box appears:
Click the New Field button to launch the Define Fields wizard and begin the process of defining your new field. For detailed information on defining fields in your Act! database, refer to the following Knowledge Base Answer:
- You can now directly view and adjust field or background properties. From Layout Designer, click the View menu and then click Properties Window. The Properties window appears on the right side of the Layout Designer. A detailed description of the Properties window can be found near the end of this document.
- Tab and enter stops no longer appear in the layout designer. To view the Tab Stops
click the View menu and click on the desired option. When you view either Tab Stops or Enter Stops, you will not be able to view the Toolbox or the Properties windows until you click the View menu again and click on the enabled option.
To remove or change the order of Tab or Enter Stops, click the field (not the tab stopindicator) to remove the indicator. Clicking another field will then add that Stop number to the new field. To add a new Stop simply click on a field that doesn't currently have a Stop indicated. All Stops can be cleared by using the View > Tab/Enter Stops > Clear option. Tab Stops and Enter Stops can also be modified from the Behavior section of the Properties window.
- You will no longer have the ability to change layouts by clicking a button in the layout designer. To switch layouts while in the Act! Layout Designer; click the File menu, point to Open, and then click the appropriate option: Contact Layout, Group Layout or Company Layout. An Open dialog box appears. Click the Layout that you wish to open and then click Open. The layout opens in the Layout designer.
Designing Layouts in Act!
Design Tools
Important Note: If you are printing from the web view, be sure to expand any sections that you would like to print.
Custom:
- The Custom button contains only one tool.
The Pointer tool will allow you to select the fields in the layout.
- A field must be selected before you can change the size, position or other field attributes.
If you hold your Shift or Ctrl keys, you will be able to select multiple fields and field labels. You can also select multiple fields and/or field labels by clicking outside of a field and then dragging across the area containing the fields and/or field labels.
When you click a field or a field label to select it, a thick black border appears to surround the field.The small squares within this black border are called sizing handles. When you place your cursor over one of these sizing handles, your cursor will change to a two-way arrow; allowing you to click and drag the field to a different size. When you place your cursor over other parts of the border, a four-way arrow will appear; allowing you to click and drag the field to a new position.
Field properties can also be adjusted from the Properties window. Find a detailed description in the Properties section of this document.
Return to Top of the Design Tools Section Designing Layouts in Act!
Drawing:
The Pointer tool will allow you to select the fields in the layout. See the Custom section above for detailed information.
The Text tool will allow you to enter permanent text into your layout. When the Text tool is enabled, you can click your left mouse button and drag a new text field into your layout.
The Image tool will allow you to insert a picture or other graphics file into your layout. When the Image tool is enabled, you can click your left mouse button and drag in a field that will contain this image. An Open dialog appears, allowing to browse to (if necessary) and then open the image file you would like to display on the layout. You may add most types of graphics files to the layout, including .bmp, .gif, .jpg, . jpeg and .ico.
The Rectangle tool will allow you to drag a rectangular shape into the layout.
The Ellipse tool will allow you to drag a circular shape into the layout.
Return to Top of the Design Tools Section Designing Layouts in Act!
Field:
The Field button contains six tools, Pointer, Field, Memo Field, Picture Field, YesNo Field, Record Manager and Access.
The Pointer tool will allow you to select the fields in the layout. See the Custom section above for detailed information.
The Field tool will allow you to insert additional Contact, Company or Group fields into the layout. When the Field tool is enabled, you can click your left mouse button over an empty space, and then drag a new field into your layout.
The Memo Field tool will allow you to insert a memo field into your layout. A memo field is longer than a "normal field", wraps around in the layout (unlike previous versions, most fields will not word wrap now), and is designed for longer notes. A memo field will create a text box for entering long pieces of data, so it's ideal for all of the people that have asked if they can just make a "notes" field
The Picture Field tool will allow you to insert a 'contact specific' graphics file into the layout. A field must be defined as a Picture Field before it will be available to be added to the layout when this tool is enabled. This field type would commonly be used to insert a picture of the specific contact. Pictures can be added to this field after you save and close the layout designer. To add a picture to this field:
- Right-click into this field from a contact record, and then click choose image. A Choose an Image dialog box appears.
- Browse to (if necessary) and then Open the graphics file you would like to appear on this contact record. Common graphics file types (.bmp, .gif, .jpg, .ico, .png, .emf etc...) will work in an Act! picture field. If your image is blurred or distorted it is advised that you use BMP or PNG file as they are generally smaller in size than GIF or JPG file.
The YesNo Field tool will allow you to insert a yes/no field into your layout. The YesNo field appears as a small square and will either hold a check mark or will be blank. A field must be defined as a YesNo Field before it will be available to be added to the layout when this tool is enabled.
The Record Manager tool will allow you to insert the Record Manager field into your layout. The record manager reflects the database User that controls the contact record.
The Access tool will allow you to insert the field which designates the access level for a specific contact record. When the Public option is enabled, the contact can be viewed by all users of a database. When the Private option is enabled, the contact record can only be viewed by the record manager. When the Limited Access option is enabled, only certain Users and Teams are able to view this contact record.
Return to Top of the Design Tools Section Designing Layouts in Act!
Properties

You can modify the properties for any data Field, Text field, Picture, Rectangle, Ellipse, Tab or Panel (background) on your layout by clicking the drop-down arrow for the initial field in the Properties window (as illustrated below), and then clicking the desired field from the drop-down list.

Alternatively, you can click a field, tab or panel in the layout designer and the initial field in the Properties window will change to reflect that item.


Return to Top of the Properties Section Designing Layouts in Act!
Field Properties:



Within the appearance section, you are able to modify Background Color, Border Style, Font, Font Color and Text alignment.
Clicking the browse button

Changing the Strikeout value to True will place a line through the text. Changing the Bold, Italic or Underline values to True will modify the text with these attributes. The Text Alignment property will allow you to align your data Left, Right or Center. It is strongly recommended that you do NOT modify the values for GdiCharSet or GdiVerticalFont or Unit. The GdiCharSet is a byte value that specifies the GDI character set that this Font uses while the GdiVerticalFont is a Boolean (true/false) value that indicates whether this Font is derived from a GDI vertical font. These are settings that come from the font selected and are necessary for the graphic display of that font.
If you click the Edit Properties link, near the bottom of the Properties window, the Edit Properties dialog appears. Here, you may change the Font, Font Style or Size. Field Borders can be set to 3D, Single or None.

Tip:
To change the properties (such as color, font, etc.) of multiple fields at once, hold down the Ctrl button on your keyboard and click on all the fields you want to change. When you have selected the fields, then press the F4 button on your keyboard to bring up the Properties box on the right side of your screen. In the Properties box, you can make changes simultaneously to all the fields you selected.
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Behavior
Within the Behavior section, you can modify Enter Stop status, Enter Stop Value, Tab Stop status, and Tab Stop Value. Please refer to the New Design Features section of this document for detailed information on Tab or Enter Stops.
Return to Top of the Field Properties Section Return to Top of the Properties Section Designing Layouts in Act!
Data
Within the Data section, you can change the Field Value to that of a different field. When you click the field name in this data section, a list will appear of fields available to be added to the layout. Caution: If you change the field value in this way, the field label does not change. Therefore, reports or lookups that you use may not display your information correctly.
Return to Top of the Field Properties Section Return to Top of the Properties Section Designing Layouts in Act!
Layout
Within the Layout section, the X and Y coordinates reflect the Location of the top-left corner of the field. You can change this Location by adjusting these coordinates or by simply dragging the field to a new position. The Size dimensions for Height and Width can also be adjusted by editing these dimensions or by simply using your mouse to resize the field. (See the Custom tool section above for resizing details)
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Panel (background) Properties:


To change the background color of your layout; click into the value field for Background Color, click the drop-down arrow and then click your desired background color from one of the available color palettes. Refer to the Font Color and Background Color Options section above for details.
If you would like to use a graphics file as your layout background:
- In the Background Image field, click the System.Draw.Bitmap value. A browse
button appears.
- When you click this button, an Open dialog box appears.
- Browse to, and then open your image file. The background of your layout will change to display that image.
- If the image does not appear correctly, click into the Image Options/TileImage field, click the drop-down arrow, and then click either Normal or StretchImage to adjust the display of your image file.

Rectangle and Ellipse Field Properties:

If you click data entry of None for the Dock option in the Layout section, the following panel appears:

Clicking the appropriate section will dock your Rectangle or Ellipse field to the Top, Bottom, Left, Right or Fill (center) of the layout. When you dock your rectangle or ellipse field, you can resize the field but it cannot be moved.
Text Field Properties:
When you enable the Text field tool and drag in a text field or click a field label in the Layout Designer, '



Clicking the browse button

Changing the Strikeout value to True will place a line through the text. Changing the Bold, Italic or Underline values to True will modify the text with these attributes. The Text Alignment property will allow you to align your data Left, Right or Center. It is strongly recommended that you do NOT modify the values for GdiCharSet or GdiVerticalFont or Unit. The GdiCharSet is a byte value that specifies the GDI character set that this Font uses while the GdiVerticalFont is a Boolean (true/false) value that indicates whether this Font is derived from a GDI vertical font. These are settings that come from the font selected and are necessary for the graphic display of that font.
Click the value side of the Text data to change the text (or label) for this field. When you click into the value for Text Alignment, the following panel appears:

This panel allows you to align the text within this field to Topleft, TopCenter, TopRight, MiddleLeft, MiddleCenter, MiddleRight, Bottomleft, BottomCenter or BottomRight.
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Behavior
Return to Top of the Text Field Properties Section Return to Top of the Properties Section Designing Layouts in Act!
Layout
If you click data entry of None for the Dock option in the Layout section, the following panel appears:

Clicking the appropriate section will dock your Text field to the Top, Bottom, Left, Right or Fill (center) of the layout. When you dock your text field, you can resize the field but it cannot be moved. Docking a text field is not appropriate for field labels but may be useful if you are adding text to your layout that is not tied to another field.
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Appearance

Clicking the browse button

Changing the Strikeout value to True will place a line through the text. Changing the Bold, Italic or Underline values to True will modify the text with these attributes. The Text Alignment property will allow you to align your data Left, Right or Center. It is strongly recommended that you do NOT modify the values for GdiCharSet or GdiVerticalFont or Unit. The GdiCharSet is a byte value that specifies the GDI character set that this Font uses while the GdiVerticalFont is a Boolean (true/false) value that indicates whether this Font is derived from a GDI vertical font. These are settings that come from the font selected and are necessary for the graphic display of that font.
Return to Top of the Tab Properties Section Return to Top of the Properties Section Designing Layouts in Act!
Behavior
Return to Top of the Tab Properties Section Return to Top of the Properties Section Designing Layouts in Act!
Misc


- You can add new tabs by clicking the Add Tab button. The Add Tab dialog box appears.
Enter the name for your new tab into the Tab name field, and then click OK. Your new tab name will appear in the Show tabs in this order: pane of the Edit Tabs dialog box. Click OK, the new tab will appear on your layout in the Layout Designer. - You can change the name of some of these tabs by clicking the Edit Tabs button. The Edit Tabs dialog box appears.
Enter the name for your new tab into the Tab name field, and then click OK. Your new tab name will appear in the Show tabs in this order: pane of the Edit Tabs dialog box. Click OK, the new tab will appear on your layout in the Layout Designer.
Note: You cannot change the name of the Documents, Secondary Contacts, Groups, Opportunities, Activities, History or Notes tabs. - You may hide some of these tabs by clicking the tab name in the Show tabs in this order: pane, and then clicking the remove
button. Tab names that are hidden will appear in the Hidden Tabs: pane.
Note: Some of the Tabs may not be hidden, but can be deleted from your layout:
Contact Layouts:
Contact Info, User Fields, Home Address
Group Layouts:
Group Info
Company Layouts:
Addresses, Company Info
- You can delete some of these tabs by clicking the tab name in the Show tabs in this order: window, and then clicking the Delete Tab button.
Note: Some of the Tabs may not be deleted, but can be hidden:
Contact Layouts:
Notes, History, Activities, Opportunities, Groups, Secondary Contacts, Documents
Group Layouts and Company Layouts:
Contacts, Notes, History, Activities, Opportunities, Documents - You can change the displayed order of your tabs by clicking the name of a tab in the Show tabs in this order: pane, and then clicking the Move Up or Move Down buttons. The top to bottom order of your tabs in the Edit Tabs dialog box will correspond to the left to right order of your tabs in the layout.
Return to Top of the Tab Properties Section Return to Top of the Properties Section Designing Layouts in Act!


Appearance
If you would like to use a graphics file as your tab background:
- In the BackgroundImage field, click the System.Draw.Bitmap value. A browse
button appears.
- When you click this button, an Open dialog box appears.
- Browse to (if necessary), and then open your image file. The background of your tab will change to display that image.
- If the image does not appear correctly, click into the Image Options/TileImage<> field, click the drop-down arrow, and then click either Normal or StretchImage to adjust the display of your image file.
Return to Top of the Tab Properties Section Return to Top of the Properties Section Designing Layouts in Act!
Misc

You can also assign ToolTipText to be displayed when your mouse hovers over this tab.
Return to Top of the Tab Properties Section Return to Top of the Properties Section Designing Layouts in Act!