How to create and edit custom tables

Question:  How do I create and edit custom tables?
 
Product Details: 
Product Family: Act!
Product: Act! Premium Plus
Version: v20.1
 

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Answer: 

Important Note: The process of creating or editing a custom table will lock the database. It is strongly recommended that you ensure everyone is logged out of the database prior to creating or editing custom tables.
 
 
Note: Custom tables cannot be created or managed from a remote database or an offline client.

Creating a new Table
 
Part 1: Creating the custom table

1. Login to the database as an Administrator or Manager level user
2. Click Custom Tables &gt Manage Custom Tables
3. Under Table Management, click Create Table
4. Enter a Table Name (must be less than 32 characters and cannot have any spaces), then enter the Display Name (Display Name can have spaces)
   
   Note: Once the custom table has been created, the Table Name cannot be changed, however the Display Name can be edited later if desired.
    
5. If you wish to have a logo display next to the name of your custom table in the Navbar, click Browse, browse to and select an image file, then click Open
6. Under Additional Settings, select all of the areas where you would like the custom table to display, then click Next
7. Select the Act! entities the table will link to, then click Next
   
   Note: These cannot be changed later. It is recommended to ONLY link to Contacts and Companies and not Groups and Opportunities unless there is a specific reason for linking to them. Linking too many Act! entities to custom tables can degrade database performance.
    
8. After ensuring that no other database users are logged in, click Next to lock the database and create the custom table
9. When the success notification appears, click Finish
10. When prompted whether you wish to define the default columns that will be displayed for all users, choose either Yes (recommended) or No

 
Note: If you choose No, you can come back to this later by clicking Edit Default Columns on the main Manage Custom Tables dialog. For information on Editing Default Columns, refer to the following knowledgebase article:
 
How to edit default columns for custom tables

 

Part 2: Creating a layout
 
After you have created a custom table, before you can use it, you must create a layout. The layout will be used if you have added the custom table to the navigation bar, as well as if you have added it to a tab. For information on creating custom table layouts, refer to the following knowledgebase article:

How to create and manage custom table layouts

 
 
Editing Tables
 

1. Click Custom Tables &gt Manage Custom Tables
2. From the Load Table drop-down, select the desired custom table
3. Under Table Management, click Edit Table
4. In the Manage Table dialog, make desired changes, then click Next
5. Click Next again to proceed to the Confirm changes page, then click Next again
6. When the update is complete, click Finish

 
 
Deleting Tables
 
Note: Deleting a custom table will delete all information that is saved within the custom table, and will remove the custom table from all areas of the program. This cannot be undone. It is strongly recommended that you create a backup of your database before proceeding with deleting a custom table. For information regarding creating database backups, refer to the following knowledgebase article:
 
How to back up and restore an Act! database

 
 
To delete a custom table:
 

1. Click Custom Tables &gt Manage Custom Tables
2. From the Load Table drop-down, select the table you wish to delete
3. Under Table Management, click Delete Table
4. When prompted if you’re sure, click Yes
5. When the confirmation that the custom table was deleted appears, click OK