ACT!2005 Layout Manager automatically changes the layout for the Contact Detail, Company Detail and Group Detail views in ACT!2005, based on the value in the selected field on the current record.

Using the Preferences window, you determine which field should be used in each ACT! Detail view to control which layout is shown, and the default layout to use when the selected field doesn't match any available layout. Layout Manager takes over, and as you move from record to record, the layout automatically changes.

Now the Finance department can immediately see if the contact they are viewing has a good or bad credit rating, and have different fields displayed and available for editing. The Sales department can immediately see whether the company has a high or low revenue potential. The Support department can immediately see whether the contact they are viewing has an open issue and see different fields for opening a new "ticket" or updating and existing one.

You get complete control over the what you see and how you see it, making ACT! easier, faster and more informative.

Layout Manager is also available for ACT!6.

ACT! 6 Tip

Adding/Deleting Fields
Make use of the default fields in your ACT! database before adding more fields to the database. If you have a 10,000 record database and add a field which is 100 characters long, you have just increased the size of your database by one megabyte; that is, each record in the database will add an additional 100 bytes to the database. When defining fields, only add fields that you need.

Once you add a custom field, do not delete fields. When you add a custom field, it is assigned a field ID number starting at 1000; each subsequent new field will get the next available number. After you add ten fields to a new ACT! database, the database structure will include field identification numbers 1000 through 1009. If you then delete the fifth field you added (the one that would have been assigned 1004), you will leave a blank spot in the number sequence for user-added fields. The next field you add will be assigned 1004. This may cause issues with custom layouts, templates, and reports that were created before deleting the original 1004 field. As mentioned previously, a better option is to shrink the size of field 1004 to two characters, and remove it from your layout, but not your database. This will minimize both its size impact on your database, as well as minimizing problems with other customization.

Note: When synchronizing databases, it is imperative not to delete fields. Deleting fields can cause many problems with the field definitions. If you do need to change the database structure, it would be best to customize the structure of the master, then send out new empty copies to your remote users. The next step would be to restart synchronization from scratch.

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ACT! 7 Tip

Attaching a file to multiple Contacts
Open the Contact list view by clicking on the appropriate button or clicking the View menu, and then clicking Contact List.
Select the individual Contacts that you want to attach the file to.
Hint: You can create a lookup of Contact records to automatically open the Contact List view, and then click the Tag All button to select all records --or-- from the Contact List view, press and hold your Ctrl key while clicking the individual records you wish to attach the file to.

Once the records you wish to add the attachment to are selected, click the Contact menu, and then click Attach File . An Attach File dialog box appears.
Browse to (if necessary) and Open the file you want to attach to your selected Contact records.
On the History tab of each selected record, there will now be an attachment entry indicating that the file is now attached.
Click this attachment icon to open the attached file from each individual record.

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Word Tip

Find Shortcuts to Useful Word Features on the Status Bar

Did you know that the status bar, that area at the bottom of Word documents where the page number appears, also provides shortcuts to a number of very useful features? Here are a few you may want to use:

• To open the Find and Replace dialog box, double-click any location indicator on the status bar, such as the page number or section number.

• To turn the macro recorder on or off, double-click REC.

• To turn the Track Changes feature on or off, double-click TRK.

• To turn extend selection mode on or off, double-click EXT.

• To turn overtype mode on or off, double-click OVR.

• To change the language format of selected text, double-click Language.

• To resolve errors in grammar or spelling, double-click the Spelling and Grammar Status icon.

Note: When the previous features are turned off, their labels appear dimmed.

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Excel Tip

Selecting cells that only contain Text in Microsoft Excel

By selecting cells that only contain text, you can distinguish between cells containing different types of data, which allows you to delete, fill or lock cells by type.

Technique 1

1. Press F5, or choose Edit, Go To…;

2. In the Go To dialog box, click Special.

3. In the Go To Special dialog box, select Constants.

4. Click OK.

Technique 2 - Conditional Formatting

1. Select the data area.

2. From the Format menu, select Conditional Formatting.

3. In Condition 1, select Formula Is.

4. In the Formula Box, enter the formula =Istext(A1).

5. Click Format..., choose any format from the Format Cells dialog box, and click OK.

6. Click OK.

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