ACT! 2000 for Windows for Dummies (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Read this chapter before you look at any other part of this book!..." (more)
Key Phrases: form letter template, current lookup, group membership rules, Task List, Define Fields, Layout Designer (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A friend of salespeople and customer service representatives everywhere, ACT! 2000 does a great job of managing lots of names and their associated bits of contact information. ACT! 2000 for Windows for Dummies realizes that most people don't want to spend their days running ACT!--they just want to know that Ruth Ann Krinklemeyer needs a follow-up call (at this number right here) on the 23rd. Because of this, the book jumps right to the simplest ways of getting contact information into an ACT! database and then getting it back out on demand. Later chapters deal with advanced database queries and Internet integration, but author Jeffrey J. Mayer has organized the first part of this book with the knowledge that most readers will spend a lot of time there.

ACT! 2000 for Windows for Dummies employs the vintage Dummies writing and organizational style, complete with explicit how-to procedures and more than a few dopey jokes. You probably know from other books whether you like the approach. Generally, it works well as straight documentation of the program's features (especially the relatively basic ones) and holds up reasonably well when you want to do something that falls outside the realm of the normal. This book gives you the grounding you need to get practically all ACT! 2000 jobs done. Ms. Krinklemeyer will get her call. --David Wall

Topics covered: Entering contacts; extracting information; defining custom fields; using list views; performing advanced queries; using the calendar and task list features; and using ACT! as an e-mail, fax, and letter-writing platform.

Product Description

For years, we’ve all been keeping track of our activities by using some version of a to-do list. Some people write down all of their tasks on pads of paper and update the list every few days; others use daily planning books; and still others write everything on self-stick notes and paste them to the desktop, wall, and computer monitor.

With ACT!, you don’t make lists. You schedule a specific task and include the task’s date, time, and regarding information, and then you assign the task to a specific person. Then you use ACT! to help you to keep track of all your unfinished tasks. With Act! 2000 For Windows For Dummies in hand, you'll discover how to put the power of Act! to work for you and your business.

This book is filled with information that will help you to use ACT! 2000’s many timesaving and productivity-improving features so that you can grow your business, expand your career, save time, and make more money. Whether you're an experienced Act! user or someone who is new to the software, this information-packed reference tool will guide you through the following topics and more:

Turning Act! into your electronic phone book

Creating a new database

Looking at Act! fields, commands, shortcuts keys, tool bars

Understanding various tabs: Notes/History, Activities, Sales/Opportunities, and Group

Entering information into a database

Scheduling activities; using calendars

Writing letters; including printing, faxing, and e-mailing

Working with reports and layouts

Managing and protecting your Act! database

Act! is a very powerful tool, on par with a top-of-the-line database or spreadsheet program. With help from Act! 2000 For Windows For Dummies, you'll be able to fine-tune Act! features to match your specific needs and use this tool to its fullest potential.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (September 27, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764505610
• ISBN-13: 978-0764505614
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #871,447 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars ACT! 2000 For Windows For Dummies vs. Act! 2000 User's Guide, December 14, 2000

By	"alanq" (Salt Lake City, Utah USA) - See all my reviews

I found this manual no more helpful than the User's Guide provided with ACT! 2000. In my opinion, this "Dummies" book is written on the same level as the User's Guide, and really does not speak to the "dummy" or new user any more clearly or understandably than the ACT! 2000 User's Guide does. In fact, I found Mr. Mayer's book confusing at times and would turn to the User's Guide for clarification. I wish I had read some of the Amazon reviews before purchasing Mr. Mayer's book. Had I known what I know now, I would not have purchased ACT! 2000 For Windows For Dummies but would have saved myself time, study, and money by simply using the ACT! 2000 User's Guide.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for beginners, May 16, 2000

By	DeNae Leverentz "Toadnae" (Brooklyn Park, MN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book covers a large amount of information very quickly. As a more advanced user of ACT!, I found most of the topics too superficial. However, my users frequently find the book very helpful in assisting them with basic tasks in ACT!. I found the constant references to the author's classes and other books somewhat annoying after the first several.

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An abberation in the Dummies series, May 11, 2000

By A Customer

I have great affection for the unfortunately-titled Dummies series. Typically they combine a very digestible series of easily read lessons, which teach rather more than the title suggests. And if I find the writing style cloying, with the mandatory joke per page, I at least give them credit for trying to ease the worried reader's misgivings.

ACT is notorious in clerical office worker circles as being a daunting bear to learn really well. The instruction manuals make one think that one could spend the same amount of time learning C++ or rocket science. Typically that's when someone like me turns to a Dummies book.

I cannot fault the book for the very complete information it provides. It does it as well, or better, than any other complete manual I've seen. What disappoints is the fact that the information here makes the subject no less daunting than any of the other complete manuals.

It becomes almost sad when the reader realizes by the middle of the second chapter, that the writer is uniquely colorless and lacking any inate sense of humor -- and his attempts at it strike one as pathetic. The easy digestibility one expects from a Dummies book is completely absent. I still felt like I'd make a better living if I spent the time learning rocket science. The Dummies books on Excel, or A+ Certification -- not lightweight subjects -- make ACT appear like the height of esoteric knowledge by comparison.

This is a very fine manual, and I learned alot from it. ...