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| ![ACT! 2005 [Old Version]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/515GQQBY0PL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | From: Sage Software
Category: Software
List Price: $229.99
Buy Used: $32.48
You Save: $197.51 (86%)
Used (4) from $32.48
Rating:  131 reviews
Sales Rank: 5089
Format: Cd-rom
Platforms: Windows 2000, Windows Xp, Windows 2003 Server
Media: CD-ROM
Edition: Standard
Number Of Items: 1
Operating System: Windows XP
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4
Dimensions (in): 9.7 x 7.9 x 2.7
MPN: ACTS2005RT
Model: ACTS2005RT
UPC: 040689003817
EAN: 0040689003817
ASIN: B0002LXRXY
Release Date: August 20, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Opened, but never used. Ready to ship!!
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| Customer Reviews:
 Someone needs to Sue these people November 5, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I started with Act4 and decided to upgrade to the newer and better Sage Act 2006. It immedialtely had problems. I bought the service agreement for Act2006(its expensive) This agreement ends in Sept 2007. I was told that with this special #### I would get special Treatment..(boy did I go for the ole okey doke). I just received from Sage the annoucement for the new Act2007. That states Sage will not be offering any support for Act2006 as of 11/30/2006. So the so called service agreement(that you never get through to anyone that you can understand.)That was purchased for Act2006 will not be supported after Nov 2006.
Beware be very aware.....
 WOW! Can't believe all the negative reviews January 26, 2006
8 out of 11 found this review helpful
This is a huge improvement over every previous version. I've used several versions of ACT back to 3.0. The most recent version I used was 2000. It has always been a somewhat buggy regardless of what version but overall has worked well.
THE UPSIDES
- Company!!! - Finally ACT allows you to create a company and assocate multiple contacts with it. Before if you had 50 contacts for the same company they were all individual contacts. Now you can get a rolled-up snapshot of a company and all of the contact's notes, activities, etc. If you have customers with a gazillion contacts or have used a CRM system like Saleslogix or Microsoft CRM this is a big deal.
- SQL Database - The ancient flat file has finally been replaced by a true database. Now you can actualy have multiple people working on a record without being kicked out.
- Attachments!!! - Finally you can attach a file and it's stored in the ACT database. In previous versions the ACT attachment was just a link and if you deleted (or moved) the file from your hard drive the attachment in ACT wouldn't open because it coulnd't find the file on your hard drive.
- Secondary Contacts - This is pretty nice. Now you can associate contacts with another contact. Good for creating assistants, contractors, leads sources, etc.
- Importing - has more options and functionality.
- Other stuff - Map button to pull contact address for getting directions is a nice add. The layout tool gives you a lot more flexibility. You can now keep formats in notes (Word bullets, font type/colors, etc) instead of your formatting being stripped when you copy/paste. You can now associate multiple contacts with activities and notes. The search tool has been enhanced to search by ranges, high/low, etc. Great for creating targeted marketing lists.
THE DOWNSIDES:
- Still a bit buggy - I ocassionally get error messages when using the design tool.
- Linking contacts - Although there's a batch method of linking contacts to a company there doesn;t appear to be a batch method of linking a company to multiple contacts. This must be done one-by-one and is time consuming.
- Performance - I've read a ton of complaints about performance. Guess what folks. This isn't a lightweight product anymore. It won;t run on your 5 or 10 year old computer. In fact it probably won't run well on that $300 Dell you just bought. I have it running on a 1.8ghz laptop with 2 gigs of RAM and it runs great. Starts up in a few seconds, searches instantly, etc.
- Converting previous versions of ACT - You can import/convert older ACT databases but ACT 2005 is a totally new program. Because it now has a company structure and older ACT versions don't, you'll be forced to go through a workaround process of importing companies, importing contacts, and then linking the contacts to the companies.
- Updates - I installed the most recent update from ACT's Web site and it caused problems. It probably depends on what version you have but I'd avoid the updates. I re-installed ACT from the disk (Version 7.0.399.0) and it runs fine.
IN SUMMARY
I think this is the best version (maybe minus version 2006) they've released. I didn't give it 5 stars because it still has some bugs and requires some manual workarounds that I think should have been somehow automated. I'm a salesperson but am also pretty technical so maybe that had something to do with me not having that many problems. If you're not technical I'd recommend having someone else install and configure it for you. Also I'd recommend buying a higher end PC to run it or you'll be disappointed. Earlier versions of ACT were simple enough to throw the disk in and let it install itself. Not anymore. Especially with SQL. I think it could use some improvments but it is by far the best version (functionality-wise) they've released.
Waste of time January 12, 2006
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
I spent 2 weeks trying to make ACT2005 work. It has numerous problems, multiple malfunctions in multiple features,won't synch with handheld, and runs very SLOW. Tech support told me there was something wrong with my computer,however the computer ran fine before I installed ACT2005 and runs fine now that ACT2005 has been uninstalled. Total waste of my time and money.
ZERO stars November 12, 2005
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
Zero stars isn't an option but it should be.
After hours getting the *%%^#@@*& program to install, I went to convert my old data bases. Only to discover that only the most basic fields would convert without major consternation. Since I had completely customized my previous ACT I went looking for help - which by the way was no where to be found in ACT's new user guide which I spent extra $$ for. When I read all of the challenges here I have decided to go back to my 6.0 ACT version.
Thanks for saving me days of time trying to get this program to function even as well as my old one does.
Installation problems October 25, 2005
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
My husband and I have been using ACT! for our small business for over 13 years. We recently attempted to upgrade from ACT! 2000 to ACT! 2005 because of compatibility problems with newer versions of MSWord. What a nightmare! We couldn't even get the software to install on our new Dell system. We contacted technical support for ACT and were directed to a document containing and endless list of system checks and changes to make. We spent over 2 hours slogging our way through the list, and hardly made a dent in it. Then we took a look at reviews of the product and decided not to bother with the upgrade. We're returning the software for a refund and sticking with ACT 2000 until we can find something better, or until the makers of ACT! get their act together.
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