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How to create and manage database fields in Act!

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Question: How do I create and manage database fields in Act!?

Product Details:
Product Family: Act!
Product: Act! Pro, Act! Premium
Version: 2010 and later



Answer:

Important Notes:
  • Fields cannot be created from within a remote database or offline client. You must create them either while accessing the database directly from the server or from a workstation via network share
  • In order to create or edit fields, you must have either an Administrator or Manager level security role in Act!. For more information about security roles in Act!, refer to the following knowledgebase article:

    Security Roles in Act!


Creating a field

When creating fields, there are up to 3 possible screens that are available for configuration of the field:
  • Enter field name and type
  • Customize field behavior
  • Set field triggers

For each field you create or edit, the “Enter field name and type” screen will be available, however the availability of the “Customize field behavior” and “Set field triggers” screens as well as the options available within those screens will depend on the field data type you choose to create a field with


To create a new field:
  1. Click Tools &gt Define Fields…
  2. Under View fields for, click the drop-down and choose one of the following depending on what record type you want to create a new field for:
    • Companies
    • Contacts
    • Groups
    • Opportunities
    • Products
       
  3. Under Field Tasks, click Create new field to open the “Enter name and type” screen
  4. Under Field name, enter a name for the field
  5. Under Field data type, choose the type of field you wish to create. For detailed information about different field types, refer to the following knowledgebase article:

    What are fields in Act!?


    Note: If you chose Address, E-mail, or Phone, there are no further options available, so you can click Finish to create the field and skip to the “Adding a field to the layout” section of this article. If you chose Calculated as the field data type, refer to the following knowledgebase article for information on creating Calculated fields:

    How do I create a calculated field in Act! v16 and later

     
  6. Under Customize field behavior, choose from the following options:

    Note: Some options may be shown in the program but not available for all field data types. Unavailable options will be grayed out.
    • Allow Blank – if checked, field allows empty values. Unchecking will require the entry of data before moving to another record
    • Generate History – If enabled, changes made to this field’s value will be tracked in History
    • Primary Field – If enabled, the contents of this field will be copied when duplicating a record
    • Use drop-down list – Allows you to associate a list of pre-defined options with the field

      Note: If you are using v17.1 or later and you choose to use a drop-down list, you can create the list as part of the field creation process. If you are using v17.0 or earlier, you must create the drop-down list before creating the field you wish to associate with it. For more information about using drop-down lists, refer to the following knowledgebase article:

      How to create and manage a drop-down list in Act!

       
  7. If desired, click Next to configure more options on the next available screen (See additional options in the sections below, depending on which screen you are taken to when clicking next)

    Note: If you do not wish to configure more options, click Finish and skip to the “Adding a field to the layout” section of this article


The Customize field behavior screen

The Customize field behavior screen is optional and is not available for all field types. Depending on the field data type you chose, the options available may also vary. The following options are available:

  • Default value (optional): The value you’d like to automatically populate this field with when new records are created.
  • Field format (optional): Allows you to specify a format for the text, such as the formatting for a social security number, or an account number that has text separated by hyphens, or you even want to force a field to begin with a specific type of character. For more detailed information about field formatting, refer to the following knowledgebase article:

    How do I configure a database field to be formatted in a specific way?

     
  • Field Length: The maximum number of characters allowed to be entered into the field
  • Number of decimal places to the left of the decimal separator: In Currency and Decimal field data types, the number of decimal places to the right of the decimal separator.
  • To the right: In Currency and Decimal field data types, the number of decimal places to the left
After configuring the field behavior, you can click Next to set field triggers, or if you’re done, click Finish to save the field and skip to the “Adding a field to the layout” section of this article.



The Set field triggers screen

The Set field triggers screen is optional and is not available for all field types. Depending on the field data type you chose, the options available may also vary. To set field triggers where available:
  1. Under “When changing a field, launch”, select one of the following:
    • Activity Series
    • Program

  2. On the same row, click the […] button, and select the Activity series, or browse to and select the program you wish to launch
  3. As desired, Repeat steps 1 and 2 for “When entering a field, launch” and “When leaving a field, launch”
  4. When done, click Finish to save the field, then go to the “Adding a field to the layout” section of this article


Adding a field to the layout

Once you’ve created a field, you must add it to your layout. For information on adding a field to your layout, refer to the following knowledgebase article:

Designing Layouts in Act!




Editing and deleting fields

Note: Before editing or deleting an Act! field, it is recommended that you create a backup of your database. Refer to the following knowledgebase article for information about creating database backups:

How to back up and restore an Act! database


Editing a field

Note: Changing the name of a field does not change the name that appears on the layout for that field. To change the field label on the layout, you must edit the layout. For information, refer to the following knowledgebase article:

Designing Layouts in Act!



Deleting a field

Note: Deleting a field will also remove all data that is contained within that field. This CANNOT be undone without restoring a backup that contained that field.
  1. Click Tools &gt Define Fields…
  2. Under View fields for, click the drop-down and select the record type that contains the field you want to edit
  3. Select the field you wish to edit, then click Edit field under Field Tasks
  4. Make the desired changes to the field, then click Next to make more changes on additional available screens, or click Finish if you’re done
  5. Click Tools &gt Define Fields…
  6. Under View fields for, click the drop-down and select the record type that contains the field you want to delete
  7. Select the field you wish to Delete, then click Delete field
  8. When prompted whether you are sure, click Yes

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