ACT- 2007 [Old Version] Description:

ACT! 2007 [Old Version] review:
1 stars (ACT! 2007...Gone BAD!) - Act has been a constant software companion for me since the 2.0 version with miles and miles of my most sacred business data. I always upgraded the product as soon as the new versions came out and for the most part was always happy with the new releases.



But when ACT! 2007 came out I heard some bad stories from inital reviews so I waited....then an update for 2007 came out to correct many of the issues the original release exhibited.



So I finally decided to upgrade, convert my old data over and expected to have a pleasant experiece with the latest features and supposedly speed that SQL use was to provide. WRONG!



After working with my data for awhile I noticed the database was SLOW, I was missing fields, notes, history, etc. but not for all of my contacts, it seems interspersed throughout my database. In using the layout designer tool it has hosed up my layouts so bad that some fields do not even show up in the Layout Designer but in the Contact View are way over to one side. This has cost me many hours of work trying to get my ACT! 2007 to function properly out of the box.



Do not buy this product, it is a waste of your money and will waste your time, especially if you used previous versions of ACT! and will frustrate the heck out of Advanced ACT! user.



I am going back to ACT! 6.0, atleast there is support for it for a few more years and give me time to look at other products in the market place.
4 stars (What is going on?) - I first began to work with ACT! in 1987 when the original founders of Contact Software showed up in my office and presented their ACT! software to me for testing. At the time I was a partner with a Big 8 accounting firm working with startup technology companies. I thought enough of the software and the company to leave the world of public accounting and join the company as their president and CEO for a short time to get them focused and funded.



Since that time, I have used ACT! as an executive search consultant, CEO of several companies, and a consultant to senior executive teams. My active data base contains over 8,000 contacts and the record of my contacts with each.



Over the years I have seen this software grow with pride knowing that I had a hand in helping it begin. The features that have been added have added considerable value to my services and the work I do.



However, I find that since ACT! 2007 my world of contact management has traveled a bumpy road. The performance issues of the past seem to have subsided some with an update release of 2007 I installed some time ago. The comments I read here about 2006 give me great concern about my future use of ACT!



It seems that SAGE needs to assemble a team to take apart the current version of ACT! and do some serious re-engineering to bring the software back to what is used to be . . . a powerful contact manager with a user interface that became second nature for those who really used it to track and manage their interface with others . . . . with a data base engine that delivered performance that worked at the speed of the mind and the fastest fingers around. This was the secret of the original version of ACT! . . . I believe any new user of this software needs to proceed with eyes wide open or face the consequences experienced by others who have posted their frustration here.



Tom Samson

tfsamson@teamworkdynamics.com
4 stars (Abundant functionality, but painstakingly slow...) - Having used Outlook formy primary contact management software the past 2 or 3 years, I figured that to further develope my business, I'd step it up to something a little more powerful - and this is it!



It took some getting used to and definitely a lot of after hours configuration to get the Contact Fields/Opportunity Lists/Groups set up & organized the way I liked them - but now that it's all done, I look forward to putting it to great use.



For the most part I am satisfied, but I do have a few quams - too many to list in all, but here are a few:



I have 1gb RAM and a 3.00ghz pentium and the program IS slow to load (compared to most). Sometimes the program drops contacts altogehter, (but they're there again when I reopen the database or create new contact - kind bizarre). The date fields seem to function "okay," though they do not like blank values - and default to 11/30/96 of somewhere thereabouts.



I liek the program in all, but anticipate an updated release. HTHs. JOE