ACT! 5/6 PRODUCT INFORMATION

Features & Benefits

OAK!Merge! provides ACT! users with a preference-driven environment to merge data from an ASCII file (quote-comma delimited, comma-separated values (CSV), OR tab-delimited) containing any number of fields into an ACT! database. OAK!Merge! updates any combination of the "updateable" ACT! Contact, Group, Activities, E-mail, History, or Notes fields. Some examples are:

• Update Selected ACT! Fields with "Mainframe Data". Update Selected ACT! Fields with "Mainframe Data" On a monthly basis, a bank extracts five fields from a mainframe database (Customer#, Loan Balance, CD Balance, Checking Balance, and Savings Balance) into a quote-comma delimited ASCII file. The ACT! Administrator uses OAK!Merge! to match on Customer# (in the ACT! ID/Status field) and update only the four User Fields that contain account balance data. All other ACT! fields, Notes, and History remain intact and undisturbed.
• Assign Sales Territories Based on the First Three Digits of Zip/Postal Code. First, create an ASCII file with the territory definitions ("221","Sally", etc.). Then run OAK!Merge!, specifying a Begins With match on Zip/Postal Code, and update User3 with Rep’s name. All ACT! records where the first three characters of Zip/Postal Code match are updated. Territories change? Edit the ASCII file and rerun OAK!Merge!. Simple! This approach is also perfect for territory assignment by Area Code or State.
• Create Group and Contact Records From the Same Input File. Using one input file and two passes with OAK!Merge!, you can create groups in your database and then add contact records to your database. Each merge pass uses a different data map to identify which ACT! fields to update (Group or Contact fields). A great example of how one input file can update different types of ACT! records.

Sounds Interesting - How Does It Work?
OAK!Merge! OAK!Merge! is controlled by the user through a series of three Wizard-style dialog screens. The user specifies:

• File Name of the Input Data and Name of the Target ACT! Database
• User Name and Password for the Target ACT! Database you want to merge into
• Which Mapping Database to use
• Field Map Name (you can save the current merge settings for later use)
• Which Input Field(s) update which ACT! field(s) (Contact, Group, Activities, E-mail, History, Notes)
• Which Input Field(s) must match which ACT! field(s). Do not match on numeric or currency fields
• Is the match criteria Exact, Begins With, or Case Sensitive
• Ignore First Record? (when the first record contains field names)
• On which Input Record to Start and Stop
• Skip the Input record OR Update an ACT! Contact when a MATCH occurs
• Skip the Input record OR Add an ACT! Contact when NO MATCH occurs
• If Applicable, Name of the ACT! Group to which merging is restricted
• Log/Message File Name and Logging Level (None, Errors, Errors and Changes, Everything)
• Append to OR Replace the Log/Message File

After completing the specifications, a click on the FINISH button executes the merge. During execution, OAK!Merge! displays a progress meter. Upon completion, OAK!Merge! displays counters for the records processed, updated, and created. The Log File provides the details of the merge as specified and can be viewed in any word processor or editor. OAK!Merge! updates ACT! as specified.