Cannot open act database on network

You wish to share ACT! data over the Local Area Network (LAN).

Introduction and Important Notes

Before sharing an ACT! database over a network see the following document to resolve any issues that may cause database corruption when an ACT! database is accessed over a network.

Note: We do not recommend running Microsoft Windows ME or 98 on the server; these operating systems do not have the stability or memory management required to be used reliably as a server. Windows XP Home can be used. However, because of the inability to disable simple file sharing on Windows XP Home, you will not be able to share a folder within a user's profile. By default, ACT! places the database folder within the My Documents folder (which is part of a user's profile). For more details on simple file sharing, including how to disable it on Windows XP Professional, refer to the following document:

Title: Issues Caused by Windows XP Simple File Sharing
Document ID: 2002112116812
Web URL: http://itdomino.act.com/act.nsf/docid/2002112116812

• We neither support nor recommend accessing ACT! databases over dial-up connections, virtual private networks (VPNs), or wide area networks (WANs).
• To set up a shared database correctly, all workstations should have a drive letter mapped to the shared folder (where the data is held) on the server. All workstations should use the same drive letter for the mapped drive. Before choosing a drive letter to map to, be sure that the drive letter is available on all workstations.

Setting Up the Server

1. Create a folder on the server named ACTSHARE. This folder can be anywhere on the server's hard drives, but we suggest creating in on the root folder of the hard drive (for example, C:\ACTSHARE).

Note: If the server is running Windows XP Home, do not place the ACTSHARE folder within any user's profile folders. Simple file sharing will prevent the folder from being shared properly.

2. Set the ACTSHARE folder to be shared over the network. Each ACT! user must have full access rights to this folder. If you need assistance sharing a folder, please contact a local computer technician or Microsoft or Novell Support.

3. Create a folder called DATABASE within the ACTSHARE folder (for example, C:\ACTSHARE\DATABASE).

4. Save a copy of the ACT! database to be shared into the DATABASE folder that you created in step 3.

Note: For information about sharing more than the database, please see the section titled, "Sharing more than just the database."

Setting Up the Workstations

1. On each workstation, map a drive letter to the ACTSHARE folder on the server.

Note: This information is provided as a courtesy. ACT! does not provide technical support for server configuration or mapping of network drives.

To map a drive letter, follow the steps for the workstation's version of Windows:

� Windows 2000 and XP:

a. Right-click on the Windows Start button, then click Explore on the shortcut menu. Windows Explorer launches.

b. Click the Tools menu, then click Map Network Drive. The Map Network Drive dialog box appears.

c. In the Drive drop-down list, click the planned drive letter.

d. To the right of the Folder box, click Browse. The Browse dialog box appears.

e. Navigate to and click the ACTSHARE folder on the server. Click OK to close the dialog box and save the path.

f. Select the Reconnect at logon check box.

g. Click Finish to assign the mapped drive letter.

� Windows NT 4.0:

a. Right-click on the Windows Start button, then click Explore on the shortcut menu. Windows Explorer launches.

b. On the Tools menu, click Map Network Drive. The Map Network Drive dialog box appears.

c. In the Drive drop-down list, click the planned drive letter.

d. In the folder hierarchy display in the lower portion of the Map Network Drive dialog box, navigate to and click the ACTSHARE folder on the server. The path to it will appear in the Path box when clicked in the folder hierarchy display.

e. In the Connect As box, enter the user name of the user who will be logging on to the network to access the ACT! database.

f. Select the Reconnect at logon check box.

g. Click OK to assign the drive letter.

� Windows 95, 98, and ME:

a. Right-click on the Windows Start button, then click Explore on the shortcut menu. Windows Explorer launches.

b. In the right pane, open either My Network Places or Network Neighborhood (varies with different versions of Windows).

c. Navigate to and click the ACTSHARE folder on the server. The files in that folder will appear in the right pane.

d. Right-click on the ACTSHARE folder, then click Map Network Drive on the shortcut menu. The Map Network Drive dialog box appears.

e. In the Drive drop-down list, click the planned drive letter. The Folder box will already contain the path to the ACTSHARE folder.

f. Select the Reconnect at logon check box.

g. Click Finish to assign the drive letter.

Note: The drive letter must be the same on all workstations to ensure that shared attachments can be accessed from all workstations, and to simplify database administration. Plan the drive letter assignment before setting up workstations.

2. Set the default database folder to the database folder on the server:

�. Launch ACT!.

a. On the Edit menu, click Preferences. The Preferences dialog box appears.

b. Click the General tab.

c. Under Default locations, click Database in the File type drop-down list.

d. Click Browse to the right of the Location box below the File type drop-down.

e. Locate the drive letter that was just mapped in the previous step. Locate the DATABASE folder on the network drive, click it, and then click OK.

f. Click Apply and then OK to close the dialog box and save the setting.

3. Open the network database by clicking Open on the File menu. The Open dialog box appears, showing the contents of the DATABASE folder on the network drive. Click the database, and then click Open.

Running ACT! on the Server
If the server is also going to be used as an ACT! workstation, follow the same steps as Setting up the Workstations. This is done so that every machine's setup is the same for purposes of files being attached to contacts, as well as other functions that rely upon the file path being the same. When finished, the server will have a network drive letter mapped to the database that is actually stored locally.

Sharing More than the Database
The following folders can also be shared:

• Document - Letters written using ACT! (using ACT! Word Processor or Microsoft Word)
• Templates - Templates used for writing letters and performing mail merges
• E-mail - Attached e-mail messages and Inbox (ACT! 6.0.1 or earlier) - Inbox only (ACT! 6.0.2 or later)
• Attached E-mail - Attached e-mail messages (ACT! 6.0.2 or later)
• Layout - The database layouts
• Macro - Macros
• Query - Custom Queries
• Report - Report, label, and envelope templates
• Spell - Spell check dictionary

Note on ACT! 6.0 only: When attaching Web sites to contacts using Internet Services, make sure you copy the NetLinks folder from your workstation and paste it into the shared folder on the server. There are files in that folder that are required for this to work.

To share any of the above folders:

1. Copy the desired folder from a workstation to the ACTSHARE folder on the server.

2. Launch ACT! on a workstation.

3. On the Edit menu, click Preferences. The Preferences dialog box appears.

5. Under the General tab, in the Default locations section, click the file type you want to share on the server in the File type drop-down list.

6. Click Browse to the right of the Location box below the File type drop-down.

7. Locate the drive letter that was previously mapped. Locate the folder copied to the network drive in Step 1, click it, and then click OK.

8. Click Apply, and then OK to close the dialog box and save the setting.

9. Repeat Steps 1 through 7 each file type to be shared on the server.

10. Repeat Steps 2 through 8 for each workstation accessing the shared folders.


Note: All workstations, including the server if it is being used as a workstation, must access the shared folders through the same mapped drive letter.

Attached Files
When a file is attached to a contact (on the Notes/History tab), the file is not saved in the database. ACT! saves the attachment as a shortcut to the location where the existing file resides.

If one user attaches a file (for example, C:\My Documents\myfile.xls) to a contact, ACT! saves the shortcut as "C:\My Documents\myfile.xls" in the database. That file will not be able to be opened from another computer. This occurs because the file does not exist in a location that the other computer can access. To be sure the attachments are viewable by all ACT! users on the network, we suggest saving the files you want to attach to contacts into the Document folder being shared on the server, or another folder in the ACTSHARE folder on the server. Be sure to attach the file through the mapped drive letter.

If you already have files attached before you relocate the database to the shared, either you will need to manually update the attachment paths for all documents, or you can use that Attachment Migration Wizard. For more details on the Attachment Migration Wizard, refer to the following document:

Setting Up a Multi-User Database
Refer to the following Knowledge Base document for information on setting up a multi-user database:

Title : How to Set Up a Multi-User Database
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