Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Houston, TX, USA
Posts: 23

Symantec provides a way to Hotsync ACT! with the Palm and Handspring. Anyone using it?

I depend on ACT! 2000in my business.

I've also heard that CompanionLink has software called CompanionLink Express which syncs ACT! with PDA's. Anyone using this?

My Visor Deluxe should be arriving in the next couple of weeks and I'm preparing to use it the most effective ways possible.

Rob

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Rob
[email protected]

Registered: Oct 1999
Location: Columbia, MO, USA
Posts: 68

The Act sync conduit provided by Symantec is marginal at best... I found it so horrible that I switched to Outlook. It doesn't transfer notes or to-do's at all and pretty well labotimized the contact data. Don't recall that it even transferred the clendar info.

I understand that the Intellisync software (purchase separately) does a good job, but have no personal experience with it. Someone else posted that the Intellisync software was $100+.

PocketMirror (Visor <-> Outlook) sync software comes with the Visor and does an excellent job.

LarryD

Registered: Sep 1999
Location: Modesto, CA USA
Posts: 599

Companion Link Professional version is the only way to go. It syncs notes and you can select which custom fields to bring in. You can also set filters on the notes to bring only by certain dates. Plus you can specific groups of contacts and sync them to categories in the address book.

Here is the key though for using Companion Link...it ties the to do's to the contact. The bundle Act 2000 conduit doesn't even come close. You can't even bring in mobile or cellular phone numbers into the address book.

I must admit that I've only been using it for a little over a week but it's definitely a massive improvement over the "bundled" stuff.

The companion link web page www.companionlink.com has a pretty good comparison versus the data sync softwares available. Typical features and benefits. That's what sold me even though it's 74.95 ouch.


[This message has been edited by RSGMOOSE (edited 12-04-1999).]

Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Houston, TX, USA
Posts: 23

Thanks Larry D and RSGMoose for the response regarding HotSynch with ACT! I will try CompanionLink Professional for sure. I don't know anything about Intellisync or Action Names. I'm willing to spend $$$ since this is important to my business. I plan to download the CompanionLink Professional as soon as my Visor arrives, check out Action Names and find out more about Intellisync.

Thanks.

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Rob
[email protected]

Registered: Dec 1999
Location: Irving, Texas, USA
Posts: 3

I have tried Symantec's version, but have been frustrated. It merged the ToDo list and calendar great, but it hangs during the contact transfer, and I end up with multiple entries of the same contact. I wish there was a quick way to delete these on my Visor, but I can't "batch" delete, and with over 50 of some identical contacts, I have been very busy deleting these one by one for a few weeks. As it was a free download, I guess this is what I should have expected.

Registered: Nov 1999
Location: Honolulu, HI, USA
Posts: 34

I'm really surprized at all the trouble people are having with synching ACT!2K and the Visor. I agree that it was a bother to have notes not synch, but that has been solved with Action Names 4.0. No, I don't work for them or get a cut, I'm a customer. A.N. will synch contact notes both to and from ACT. My calendar, contacts, to-do's and e-mails synch as well with no problem. I admit, I had to change "Alt Phone" to "Cell Phone" cuz the conduit did not pick up the factory field for cell phone, but its all ok now! It even synchs the contact e-mail addresses to my Visor. I don't doubt that the aftermarket synching programs are slicker, but the stock app on the ACT cd is not half bad.

Registered: Dec 1999
Location:
Posts: 2

Another thing to consider is whether or you not you have to synch with a central, mother ship, ACT database as I do. What I discovered was that if I used Symantec's conduit, which does *not* allow category management, I would potentially be sending the veterinian's phone number from my personal catagory to the ACT database on my laptop and then on to the mother ship ACT database. Campanionlink has a *great* category manager which I highly recommend.