Nobody's perfect. From time to time a few of those dreaded bugs slip by the programmers and annoy the heck out of you. Enter the update.
When you purchased ACT! you paid for a specific version. For example, you might have purchased ACT! 2012, which is also known as version 13. From time to time Sage will issue a service pack that is an update specific to that version and fixes an existing problem; sometimes the service packs also include enhancements to the product. Over a period of time a hotfix or patch might be released that actually contains files to fix known problems or provide enhancements.
It's important to realize three things about ACT! updates:
In ACT!, applying an update is actually a two-step process. First, you apply the update, and then you need to update your database.
There are two ways to update your version of ACT! to the latest release patch: manually or automatically. With an automatic update, ACT! informs you when a new update is available when you open ACT!. You also see a blinking message in the bottom-right corner of ACT!. I highly recommend that you resist the urge to use the automatic update. By using the manual method, you can update your version of ACT! at your leisure. This is especially important if you are using a shared database because everybody needs to be updated at the same time.
When it comes to your database, surprises are generally not a good thing. You might want to read up on any updates before doing the deed. An easy way to do that is to click the Help menu, point to Service and Support, and choose Knowledge Base Articles; information about new updates is generally listed there.
You'll also want to make sure that you know the version, release, and Hot fix number of your current ACT! version. You can find that information by clicking the Help menu, and choose About ACT!. A window similar to the one in the following figure appears, giving you the complete details:
You can double-check that your version of ACT! is now updated to the latest release patch by heading back to the Help menu and choosing About ACT!.
If you're responsible for a multi-user database, you want to make sure that a renegade user doesn't attempt to update the database prematurely. In a multi-user environment, you should update the server copy of ACT! first and then update the database itself directly from the server. Only then should the local workstation copies of ACT! be updated. The same procedure holds true for remote databases; remote ACT! users should update their copies of ACT! and their databases only after receiving the go-ahead from the database administrator.
If you are the only one using your ACT! database you might like having the automatic preference turned on to notify you that a new update release or hot fix is available. You can change your automatic updating with a simple change in the preference settings. If you're the database administrator you might prefer to turn off that preference so that users don't give the update the green light without your prior consent.
Follow these steps to change the preference setting:
- Click the Tools menu and choose Preferences.
- Click the Startup tab.
- Uncheck the Automatically check for updates item to turn off the automatic updating.