Trans/ACT 1.0 reviewed [Archive] - Thoughts Media Forums

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Jason Dunn

09-23-2002, 08:00 PM

Pocket PC Thoughts reader Eric M. Carson took a detailed look at Trans/ACT 1.0, an application that claims to be the "world's first complete ACT! database implementation on the Pocket PC". How well does it work? Let Eric tell you himself <!> ACT to Go: Trans/ACT 1.0 Trans/ACT 1.0 from <a href="http://www.pinpointtools.com">pinpoint tools</a> is a one-way (PC to PPC) sync solution that puts a customizable version of ACT! on your PPC2k or PPC2k2 device. The whole reason this is necessary, for those of you that don't use ACT!, is that the desktop software has the ability to store up to 255 fields of information inside each contact, which allows for tracking of nearly unlimited addresses (phone numbers, e-mail, etc), user-defined fields, tracking of history with a contact, and linking of appointments to a specific contact. I tested this software using ACT! 2000 (5.04) and an unmodified iPaq 3870. The database for this test contains exactly 412 contact entries, 57 meetings, and 48 to-dos (as well as about 4 years of notes & history data). Where to buy Trans/ACT can be <a href="http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&platformId=2&productType=2&catalog=0&sectionId=0&productId=43641">purchased online from Handango for $79.95.</a> (affiliate link) Setup Setup is a no-brainer for this software. It installs itself and is ready to use within 5 minutes of downloading (however, being a 16MB download, it may take a while to get to the easy setup. First Use Getting your ACT! data over to the PPC device is, quite simply put, a pain. For some reason, the developer chose to make this a two-step process. You first have to click "Export" and then "Send to Pocket PC." After clicking "Export", in my relatively small database, the export process took nearly 2 minutes to complete, which is not completely unbearable, considering the other ACT! sync solutions, but keep reading. Once you have exported the database, you then have to "Send to Pocket PC" which is the most tedious step. Clicking this button does not save the PPC data in your My Documents folder on the desktop computer. Rather, you can only send to the PPC if you are connected via ActiveSync. Not only does this "send" require an additional 3-4 minutes via a Bluetooth or USB connection, it also prevents running this sync process via a schedule so that you always have the most up-to-date data on the PPC. This software really needs a one button sync like CompanionLink has and the ability to run command line so that it can be run on a schedule through Windows. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/articles/transact.gif" /> Figure 1: Screenshot taken from Handango entry All of that said, the customization on the first use is rather snappy. You can select, as with most other ACT! sync solutions, how many notes/histories to take with you, which group to sync with, and whether to sync the sales/opportunities section of the database. Unfortunately, a major piece missing here is the ability to sync only a certain user's activities or notes/histories. A good number of ACT! users use a group database with multiple users, so getting the whole groups information on your PPC almost renders the activities view unusable. Additionally, having version 1.0 installed on your ACT! database prevents synchronization with other desktop ACT! users, thus rendering your group use dead. This is a major problem for ACT! users with multiple users, but may not bother the single user. Please note, you also cannot import an e-mail containing ACT! sync data from another user while Trans/ACT is installed, which prevents any outside communication with the desktop version of ACT!). Contact View on the PPC The contact view on the PPC is probably the strongest feature for Trans/ACT. It is completely customizable with a drag & drop tool on the desktop computer, which is very simple to use. I never once had a problem with adding my custom fields to the PPC view, and was very pleased with my non-technical mind's ability to create views on the PPC which allowed me to see all of my data. You have the ability to create multiple tabs of views on the PPC, which is very nice and something that has been missing for every other ACT! sync solution I have ever used. Activities View on the PPC If you were looking for a reason to avoid Trans/ACT, unfortunately, the calendar/activities view on the PPC is it. All you get it for a calendar view is a spreadsheet that shows appointments only in military time. You also have to scroll over several screens to get all the details of the appointment (unlike the interface in Pocket Informant or Agenda Fusion, where you get most of the important details for a meeting on the first screen, i.e., length of time for the appointment, contact it is linked to, notes for the meeting). Additionally, as mentioned above, if you use a multiple user database in the desktop version of ACT!, you get every user's appointments and activities on the PPC. There is, unfortunately, no customization for this calendar view, not even whether to display in 12 or 24 hour time format. Very disappointing. Speed/Ease of Use on the PPC Now the deal breaker. This software is extremely slow to open on the PPC. My database took over 30 seconds to open on the PPC. PocketInformant, on the other hand, loads the same amount of data, including notes/histories, in less than 4 seconds. Screen refresh also seems sluggish as you move between views or tabs. Buttons on the PPC cannot be re-mapped to functions or views or tabs of Trans/ACT, thus limiting its' ease of use functionality. However, this may be for the better, because of the load time (who wants to hit the contact button and then wait 30 seconds to get a phone number?). Additionally, you cannot beam contacts from within Trans/ACT, although you can export them to Pocket Outlook and then beam from there. Bottom Line Trans/ACT is alpha software, at best. It is simply not useable in its' current form due to speed/performance issues, calendar view, tedious 2 click export process, and other issues noted above. It is certainly not, in this reviewer's opinion, worth $79, even for a free upgrade to a two-way sync version. Now, the developer shows promise, since there are several nifty features here, including the customization of contact views and the ability to view the exact data you need to view (perfect for ACT! databases with customized fields and views on the desktop). My advice is to wait until the developer fixes several of the issues above before you pay for this software. A 10 day free trial is available at <a href="www.pinpointtools.com">www.pinpointtools.com</a> (take a look, maybe you'll have different thoughts & opinions than I do).

Jerome Carney

09-23-2002, 08:41 PM

I've been a Maximizer user for years now, and although it's not as pretty as Act or Goldmine, it sits atop one heck of a database engine, which makes it the fastest and most flexible off-the-shelf CRM soution I've ever worked with.

A couple of years back Maximizer supported both Palm and WinCE 2.0 handheld devices (remember back in the day when they were called "Palm-Size PCs"?)... in fact, it was their WinCE app that first turned me onto Microsoft as (IMO) a better alternative to Palm.

Unfortunately they never upgraded the app for the PocketPC platform, and I always assumed a licensing deal with Palm was the culprit. Which is a crying shame, 'cause the the WinCE 2.0 app looked VERY promising.

Sigh... :?

MikPAQ

09-23-2002, 09:33 PM

EricMCarson

09-23-2002, 10:22 PM

A couple of years back Maximizer supported both Palm and WinCE 2.0 handheld devices

Ah, yes, ACT! also had a similar solution, but only for the HPC device, and only on non-ARM based processors. Once Symantec sold ACT! to Interact Commerce, they ceased development for anything except Palm (ouch!). IF only Interact would get their "ACT" together and release a decent ACT! client for PPC, none of these other imitators would be necessary. I am so in need of a decent ACT! sync solution or ACT! client on the PPC since I am on the go so much.

Rob Borek

09-24-2002, 12:15 AM

I shudder whenever I hear the program "Act" mentioned... as a tech support person, it's caused nothing but trouble and problems for me, and I dread any calls revolving around it. It may be fine in a single-user environment, but in a multi-user environment it's just very, very painful to use.

Jonathan1

09-24-2002, 01:40 AM

Unfortunately they never upgraded the app for the PocketPC platform, and I always assumed a licensing deal with Palm was the culprit. Which is a crying shame, 'cause the the WinCE 2.0 app looked VERY promising.

Sigh... :?

HEH We have a user who is quite tech savvy in out office he lives and dies by Maximizer. I've all but convinced him to get a Pocket PC with one small problem. The bastards at Multiactive refuse to release a Pocket PC client. I wrote them a nice letter explaining how they lost 140 licenses all because of their refusal to support the Pocket PC. You see we are currently on Ecco Pro as a shared calendar/contact system. As nice as it it the app is starting to seriously show its age. We been in the market for another app and this user introduced us to Maximizer. At first glance it seemed to be the can do app to replace Ecco. That was until I learned of their lack of support for the Pocket PC. We are going to eventually move the majority of the Palms to Pocket PC’s as the prices continue to fall. However we are not going to get trapped in an app that will not allow syncing with the Pocket PC. Multiactive and Maximizer can go down in the same boat Palm is for all I care. :evil: :evil: :x

Jerome Carney

09-24-2002, 04:43 PM

Hey Jonathan -

Buried deep within their web site, Maximizer still has a link to download the 30-day trial version of their WinCE 2.0 app:

http://www.maximizer.com/celink/pockettrial/ppctrial.htm (installation password ha1rl1n3).

Really wish someone would port it up...

tjmckiernan

09-25-2002, 07:49 PM

I can't even get the software to run on my ipaq 3600 2K2.

I would also emphasize the support is only available through email. Having had a problem initially I have found out the hard way how non existent the support is. No FAQ, no discussion board, and no phone support.

:x

Hello Mike,

I'm sorry we are still having trouble getting Trans/ACT to run on your Pocket PC. I am quite familiar with the problem and really appreciate your patience as we work towards a solution. As the product manager and primary developer, I have been working closely with Bill Rodgers, the support techician you have been working with, and researching the issue with Microsoft and other sources.

The problem on your particular iPAQ is not something we saw during beta testing, and has come up on a total of I think 3 Pocket PCs, yours being the first, out of 100 or so initial sales. And, as far as I can tell, the problem is caused by some other program's uninstallation routine, which removes key file-association registry keys and DLLs. Ralph Brown covered this in his article on deVBuzz.com about VBRegFix:

www.devbuzz.com/content/vbregfix_pg1.asp

We do not use the free Microsoft install wizard cited in this article, but lots of programs do. The symptoms on your iPAQ are consistent with the explanation in this article, so we think that is the cause. Some other program's install or uninstall routine messed up your registry and files that come preloaded with the Pocket PC, and that's causing trouble for Trans/ACT.

The only other comment I'd like to make is that, while we understand your frustration, I think it is unfair to say our support is "non existent". I realize it's hard to get through on the support phone line -- the techs are very busy, especially right after a new product release. But we DO have a support line, and in the U.S. it's even toll-free! (800-238-0560). There are two full-time support technicians, plus myself, my partner Lon and the primary salesperson for this product (David Latham) backing up support on an as-needed basis.

You also said we have no FAQ or discussion board. It's true we don't run our own news server, and are considering doing that and have looked at the sites you recommended. But, there IS an FAQ (we use the term Q&A) containing answers to the most common questions we get on the main product page:

www.pinpointtools.com/pocketpc

Also, there are tips and tricks in the 30-page Getting Started Guide that ships with the product, which answer the most common technical support questions. The most recent guide is always linked to the product page shown above, and also to the main support page at:

www.pinpointtools.com/support

Mike, I realize we have not solved the problem on your iPAQ yet -- but I think we have determined that we are not the cause of it, and 3 people at our company have already put in several hours of work trying to find a solution for you and have exchanged many emails with you and phone calls internally trying to work out the issue.

Your particular situation has received more attention than any other support call we have received to date on Trans/ACT. Rather than just saying "sorry it didn't work for you, here's a refund", we've invested a lot of resources trying to find a solution, already costing us far more than what we earned from your product purchase. I do understand your time is valuable and you too have had to make an unexpected investment here! Trust me, neither of us wanted to be in this situation.

Some good news: We do have a new build posted as of Tuesday morning, which you can download from

www.pinpointtools.com/downloads.htm

It includes checking for what we think is the specific issue on your iPAQ, such as the missing registry entries and VB runtime DLLs. I hope this will solve the problem but if it does not, we will continue to research it and work with you to find a solution. Thanks again for your patience.

Best regards,

Terry

tjmckiernan

09-25-2002, 08:46 PM

Pocket PC Thoughts reader Eric M. Carson took a detailed look at Trans/ACT 1.0, an application that claims to be the "world's first complete ACT! database implementation on the Pocket PC". How well does it work? Let Eric tell you himself <!>

Eric, thanks very much for taking the time to test out Trans/ACT and write your review. As you might imagine, as the product manager I don't entirely agree with all of your conclusions 8), but I certain appreciate the time and effort you put in with the release product and with beta testing.

You've also made some excellent suggestions for our next version, such as filtering exported notes and activities by user. We are collecting feedback from all of our users and beta testers, and, like any other software company, will weigh each idea's applicability, complexity, development and support cost for the next release. As I understand, you are continuing to work with Lon Orenstein in our office, and we welcome any additional suggestions you have.

There are a few things I'd like to say in response to this review:

1. While I know you don't like our two-step process of getting data over to the Pocket PC, it has received rave reviews by other users who really like it. A lot of them are confused by ActiveSync and like just clicking a button to send to the device. The process is also intentionally designed as two steps so that you can use your Pocket PC while the export is happening.

I think perhaps our process with the Send button appeals more to beginning Pocket PC users, and less to experts like yourself who know the ins and outs of ActiveSync. A few other people have requested export & download on a timer, or at in a single step, so that will likely make it into our next release.

2. Trans/ACT does NOT prevent ACT!'s synchronization from running, does not lock the ACT! database and does not require you to uninstall to make ACT! synch work. It certainly sounds like you ran into some synch related issue while testing but I am completely certain that we do not somehow lock up your ACT! system so that synch will not run. Perhaps you can work out this issue in your discussions with Lon.

Now, Trans/ACT does use the ACT! SDK to log into the database in the background -- just the same as if a network user logged into your database over the LAN. And, only while it is logged in and exporting (those few minutes), since the database is open, you would not be able to lock it for other reasons. This means you could not apply a synch packet if and only if you have the ACT! synch option turned on to lock the database, so that you can receive field definition changes. You also could not do File, Administration, Lock Database or Edit, Define Fields or compress/reindex your database during this time.

This however is not specific to Trans/ACT -- it's how ACT! database engine works. Anytime any other user or ACT! add-on application is logged into an ACT! database, that database cannot be locked, simply because the file is in use. This is also true of Access databases, dBase databases and so on. Trans/ACT is only logged in for the few minutes while it is exporting, not continually.

So, if your database cannot be locked even when Trans/ACT is not exporting, and you cannot synch because for some reason you must have the "apply field definition changes" option turned on in ACT!, there must be some other cause. Hopefully you and Lon can work out what that is. I can assure you, it isn't Trans/ACT and an uninstall is not required.

3. Calendars: Yes, our calendar views are not as nice as those in Agenda Fusion and other Pocket Outlook add-ons. That's an area we plan to improve. Nice graphical calendars were not a major design goal in version 1.0. The critical business function that Trans/ACT provides, and which no other Pocket PC contact manager can, is the ability to download ALL of your ACT! data including custom fields, sales, groups etc.

I've been an ACT! Certified Consultant since 1991 and my partner Lon has been working with ACT! since 1986. We've worked with thousands of ACT! users and been through every release of ACT! since the beta of ACT! 1.0 for DOS. One of the key things about ACT! is that you can customize the database, add & rename fields, etc. The various solutions out there that download to Pocket Outlook basically tell you "sorry, you can't use all that critical business data on your Pocket PC, because we have nowhere to put it". No matter how nice the calendars look, a system based on Pocket Outlook can't show you everything you need to know about your customer, when you need to know it -- like right before you walk into a meeting or take a call. That's what Trans/ACT does.

4. The last part of your review said Trans/ACT was "alpha software, at best". I strongly disagree with this. Now, perhaps you think I'm just playing with words here, but the term "alpha" has a very specific meaning for us software developer types: it means a product that is pre-release, not feature complete, lightly tested, generally not supported, in limited release to testers, just above a prototype.

That is not the case with Trans/ACT. Trans/ACT 1.0 is a feature-complete, tested, stable, documented and supported application. We had a list of features we wanted to implement in 1.0, implemented all of them, went through a beta test cycle, and did all the other things that are part of a full software release.

Maybe you don't agree with our feature set, and think Trans/ACT should have more things in it. You've certainly given us some great feedback, and believe me that hasn't gone down some big black hole somewhere. But this is a full release product, not a pre-release or alpha or whatever.

I hope you'll continue to use Trans/ACT and keep in touch. Thanks once again for your time and consideration thus far.