---

---

 

---

 

 

 

CHAPTER  I-1

Getting Started with the OLE Database Object

This section consists of three chapters that describe the ACT!^TM OLE Database Object component of the ACT! Software Development Kit (SDK). It is written for programmers who want to use the ACT! OLE Database Object to build applications that can interact with an ACT! database.

To use this section, you need to be familiar with and using the following:

·         ACT! for Windows, version 3.0.3 or later

·         Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, or Windows NT 4.0

·         Microsoft Visual Basic, version 4.0 or later, or Microsoft Visual C++ 4.0 or later

Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications can be used as an alternative development language to access data in Microsoft Access and Excel versions in Microsoft Office 95, and Microsoft Access, Excel and Word versions in Microsoft Office 97 through Office 2000.

Conventions used in this section

This section provides syntax conventions and terminology used in this section.

Syntax conventions

bold                                   Command names, function names, properties, methods, and other text you need to type are shown in bold.

ALL CAPITALS                File names and messages are shown in all CAPITAL letters.

Courier                          Example code is shown in a monospaced Courier font. Comments in the code are preceded by an apostrophe ('Comment). If a line of code does not fit on a single line of the page, the remaining code is indented on the next line. Code examples are not case sensitive.

italic                                  Parameters, return variables, data structure names and text that represent the type of text to be entered rather than a literal series of characters are shown in italic.

[brackets]                          Optional items in syntax statements are enclosed in brackets ([ ]). For example, [password] indicates that a password can be used with the command, but is not required. In commands, include the information within the brackets, without the brackets.

Parameter1|Parameter2     Parameters are separated by a vertical bar (|) to indicate a mandatory choice between two items. Only one of the items can be specified.

Items that you can repeat are indicated by an ellipsis (… ) For example, devicename [...] indicates that you can optionally specify more than one device, separating the device names with a space.

Terminology

ACT! database                   The term database, in relation to an ACT! database, refers to the set of tables and their associated indexes in an ACT! database.

Table                                  The term table refers to a specific table in an ACT! database.

Parameter types

The following table lists the data types that are referenced in this section. Parameter names follow Hungarian notation, beginning with a lowercase letter or letters that indicate the data type.

Parameter syntax	Data type
date	Date and time in Short Date style and Time style from Windows Regional Settings (DATE in Visual C++)
iParameter	Short integer
lParameter	Long integer
szString	String, terminated by a null character (BSTR in Visual C++)
True|False	Boolean
vParameter	Variant (VARIANT in Visual C++)

Special data types

This section describes the format for date and time values and phone numbers used by the OLE Database Object, which is different from the native format used to store this information in an ACT! database.

Date and time formats

The OLE Database Object gets and returns date and time values formatted according to Windows Regional Settings Short Date style and Time style.

Using the regional settings for the United States, for example, the date and time is formatted as follows:

M/d/yy h:mm:ss tt          example: 8/19/97 6:28:29 PM

Using the regional settings for Australia, for example, the date and time is formatted as follows:

d/MM/yy H:mm:ss         example: 19/08/97 18:28:29

Date and time field values must be in the following ranges:

Portion	Description	Range
yyyy	Year	1970 - 2038
MM	Month (January = 01)	01 - 12
dd	Day	01 - 31
hh	Hours after midnight	00 - 23
mm	Minutes after hour	00 - 59
ss	Seconds after minute	00 - 59

Phone formats

The OLE Database Object returns phone numbers in the default of the canonical address format, or formatted as displayed in the ACT! application, depending on the value set by the PhoneFormatting property of the Database object.

When setting data in a phone field, the OLE Database Object accepts only a TAPI canonical-formatted phone number.

A canonical address is an ASCII string with the following structure:

+CountryCode space [(AreaCode) space] SubscriberNumber

The phone number string is continuous with the exception of exactly one space after CountryCode and exactly one space after the optional AreaCode.

+                               ASCII Hex (2B). Indicates that the number that follows uses the canonical format.

CountryCode            A variable length string containing only the digits 0-9. It identifies the country in which the address is located.

space                         Exactly one ASCII space character (0x20). The space is used to delimit the end of the CountryCode part of an address.

[(AreaCode) space]   A variable length string containing only the digits 0-9. The optional AreaCode is the area code part of the address. If present, it must enclosed in parentheses and followed by a space as a delimiter.

SubscriberNumber    A variable length string containing the digits 0-9 and formatting characters, including any of the following dialing control characters:

AaBbCcDdPpTtWw*#!,@$?

The subscriber number cannot contain the left parenthesis or right parenthesis character (which is used only to delimit the area code), and cannot contain the “|”, “^”, or CRLF characters, which are used to begin the following fields. Most non-digit characters in the subscriber number are spaces, periods (“.”), and dashes (“-”).

The following is an example of an Australian phone number in TAPI canonical format, with a breakdown of its different parts:

   +61 (3) 8236887

Country Code                61 (Australia)
Area Code                    3
Subscriber Number        8236887

For a complete list of country codes and default formats look at the PHONE.FMT file. This file is installed in the ACT folder.

Overview of the ACT! OLE Database Object

Developers can access and manipulate ACT! data using the ACT! OLE Database Object. The primary function of the OLE Database Object is to allow non-ACT! applications to open and access an ACT! database. The design of the OLE Database Object helps maintain the integrity of the ACT! database, including its indexes and tables, when a foreign application accesses it. It also allows for simultaneous access to the ACT! databases by foreign applications while ACT! has the database open.

How can developers use an ACT! OLE Database Object?

The goal of the OLE Database Object is to allow developers to access an ACT! database for reading, changing, adding, and deleting data in an integral manner. Using the OLE Database Object ensures that when an ACT! database is accessed to read or change data, all default values and rules will operate, unless the defaults are intentionally overwritten. Also, the OLE Database Object provides developers with a set of tools in the form of OLE automation objects with associated methods and properties.

How does the OLE Database Object affect the ACT! user interface?

This object provides only for data access and has no links to the ACT! user interface in the OLE Database Object. ACT! user interface access is provided by the ACT! OLE Application Object. You may notice, however, that if you have a foreign program that uses the OLE Database Object to add data, the ACT! UI can detect the update in its views if that database is open.

Is the OLE Database Object a database tool for developing applications that can access ACT! data?

YES! The OLE Database Object is a set of interfaces and other tools for building applications that can interact with an ACT! 3.0 or later database. OLE facilitates application integration by defining a set of standard interfaces (groupings of semantically related functions) through which one application accesses the services of another.

Features and limitations of the ACT! OLE Database Object

The OLE Database Object only works with 32-bit developer tools, such as Microsoft Visual Basic 4.0 or later, Microsoft Visual C++ 4.0 or later, or Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications.

The OLE Database Object provides the following functions:

·         The ability to open and close the database

·         Access to all data table objects

·         Table navigation methods

·         Table properties and field attributes

·         Field data retrieval and assignment

·         Lookups

·         Sorting

·         Support for multiple ACT! databases opened at the same time by a single OLE application

The OLE Database Object does not provide the following functions:

·         Creation of new databases

·         Scheduling an activity with more than one contact

System requirements

Before you use the ACT! OLE Database Object, you should have the following applications already installed on your computer:

·         ACT! for Windows, version 3.0.3 or later. We recommend using the latest update. To receive an update, choose ACT! Update from the Help menu.

·         Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, or Windows NT 4.0.

Development languages

Many programmers who work with the OLE Database Object work with Microsoft Visual Basic. Hence, most of the examples in the documentation of the database object are designed for the Visual Basic programmer. However, a type library is supplied and consequently, the integrated development environment (IDE) of Microsoft Visual C++ can be used to automatically generate prototypes for the object methods.

Using the Database Object with Visual C++

The following basic steps can help you get started using ACT! automation libraries using Microsoft Visual C++ 4.0 or later and Microsoft Foundation Class (MFC) library. To use the OLE Database Object in an application written using Visual C++, you first need to first create a wrapper class around the OLE objects supported by the OLE Database Object.

To create a wrapper class:

1        Create a new MFC project and enable OLE automation.

2       Open the class wizard and click Add Class.

3       Select the From Type Library option.

4       When prompted for the name of the type-library, choose ACTOLE.TLB from the ACT! program files folder. The Confirm Classes dialog appears.

5       Click OK or select only those classes that you need, then click OK.

Visual C++ will automatically generate MFC wrapper classes for all methods and properties supported by the OLE Database Object.

For more information on how to use OLE automation in Visual C++, see Visual C++ online help.

Using properties in Visual C++

For each property, the ACT! Database Object creates corresponding sets of Get and Set methods in an MFC wrapper class. Read-only properties, however, have only a Get method. If you are using Visual C++, check the C++ header file generated by Visual C++ (ACTOLE.H) for the methods that correspond to properties documented in this manual.

The following table lists examples of properties and corresponding methods to use in Visual C++.

Property Name	Type	VISUAL C++ Method
Database.ActiveUserCount	Read Only	Database.GetActiveUserCount()
Activity.NextScheduledWith	Read/Write	Activity.GetNextScheduledWith() (to get the value of the property) Activity.SetNextScheduledWith() (to get the value of the property)

Understanding key files

The following table lists key ACT! files used by the ACT! OLE Database Object. These files are stored in the ACT! program files folder.

File	Description
ACTOLE.DLL	OLE library containing the ACT! OLE Database Object.
ACTOLE.TLB	Type library that contains functions within the ACT! OLE Database Object. Methods contained in the type library need to be used directly by Visual C++ developers. In Visual Basic type library functions are handled automatically at run time.
ACTEVENT.OCX	OLE event notification control module, used by third-party applications for receiving event notification. An event is generated, for example, when the contact is changed in the Contact View.
ACTREG.EXE	The ACT! Windows registry update utility. This utility can be run manually if necessary to register ACT! OLE controls as a troubleshooting procedure.

Using the type library

Support is provided for ACT! 3.0, ACT! 4.0, and ACT! 2000 data access within a 32-bit development environment for ACT! 3.0 or later. The OLE Database Object (ACTOLE.DLL) is an OLE automation server with objects implemented as a Windows dynamic link library of methods and properties used to simplify communications between OLE programmable languages and an ACT! database. The object is a Visual C++ programmed module using internal buffers to move information to and from the database. If you add or change information, you will fill a buffer with the appropriate data, and then call a method to move the data into the ACT! database. If you request information from the OLE Database Object, buffered data will be returned to your client application. The ACTOLE.DLL makes calls into the ACT! database layer ADAL.DLL. The ACTOLE.DLL and type library ACTOLE.TLB are installed with the ACT! application and placed in the ACT folder.

The database object provided with ACT! 2000 is incompatible with the databases in ACT! 3.0 or ACT! 4.0 format. Before you use the ACT! 2000 database object, you must convert ACT! 3.0 and ACT! 4.0 databases into ACT! 2000 format.

ACT! Database Unique ID field considerations

ACT! database Unique ID field values are created by calculating a unique value, then modifying it to contain printable characters. The resulting value is a left-justified string, which is padded with enough trailing spaces to complete the 12 character fixed-length Unique ID field. See the ACT! Database File Formats Reference appendix for lists of field IDs and names (Field constants).

ACT! OLE Database Object definitions

The ACT! OLE Database Object defines the following objects:

Object	Definition
Activity object	This object contains scheduled activity information for the active Database object.
Contact object	This object contains information about the ACT! contacts.
Database object	This is the OLE creatable object that contains the ACT! database information and objects. This is the programmable interface for Activity, Contact, Email, Group, and NoteHistory objects.
Email object	This object contains e-mail information for the active Database object.
ExceptionInfo object	This object contains the recurring exception information for a particular activity.
Fields object	This object contains the data properties for a specified ACT! field.
Group object	This object contains group and membership information for the active Database object.
ListTable object	This object contains product, product type, and main competitor data for use by the Sales object in ACT! 2000 or later.
Members object	This object contains membership information for the active Group object.
NoteHistory object	This object contains notes and historical information for the active Database object.
PopupInfo object	This object contains the popup information for a valid field.
Relations object	This object contains relational information between table objects of the active Database object.
Sales object	This object contains data for sales process management for the active Database object in ACT! 2000 or later.
Users object	This object contains the user information for the active Database object.

ACT! OLE object model

The following chart shows the relationships of objects in the ACT! OLE Database Object model:

 

 

What’s new

The ACT! OLE Database Object requires ACT! 3.0.3 or later. This section lists changes to the OLE Database Object for ACT! releases 3.0.6, 3.0.7, 4.0, 4.0.2, and 2000.

Changes for ACT! 3.0.6

The Relations object and the following properties and methods have been added for ACT! 3.0.6:

Object	New Properties	New Methods
Contact		LoadLookUpQuery
Database	Relations	ActVersion GetTableId GetTableNameFromId GetTableNameFromIndex TableCount Version
Fields	FieldIdAt
Relations (new)	Count	GetColumn1ID GetColumn2ID GetRelationTable GetRelationType GetTable1ID GetTable2ID UsesRelationTable
Users		CurrentUserAccess CurrentUserId CurrentUserName CurrentUserSecurity

Additional parameters have been documented for the following properties:

Object	Properties	Added parameters
ACT! database common objects	Data property Query property	szValue (optional) szString (optional)
Activity object	FirstScheduledWith property	szUniqueID (optional)
Database object	PhoneFormatting property	iValue (optional)
Fields object	DecimalPlaces property	iDecPlace (optional)
	EntryTrigger property	szExecutableName (optional)
	ExitTrigger property	szExecutableName (optional)
	Flags property	lFlag (optional)
	IsBlockSync property	True|False
	Label property	szLabel (optional)
	Type property	iType (optional)
Users object	Security property	lValue (optional)

Changes for ACT! 3.0.7

The following methods have been added to the ACT! OLE Database Object for ACT! 3.0.7:

Object	New Properties	New Methods
Email		ClearContactScope SetContactScope
Fields	FieldId
Group		ClearContactScope SetContactScope

Changes for ACT! 4.0

The following properties and methods have been added for ACT! 4.0:

Object	New Properties	New Methods
ACT! database common objects		GetSort
Activity	NextScheduledWith
Contact		SetAsMyRecord
Database		GetDatabasePath DatabaseVersion OpenEx
Users		AddUser GetPassword CheckIsPhonebook SetAsPhonebook

Changes for ACT! 4.0.2

The following functions have been added to the ACT! OLE Database Object for ACT! 4.0.2:

·         Batch mode operations for faster import and update operations on locked ACT! databases.

·         Functions for getting and setting data to multiple fields in ACT! database tables in one operation.

·         Set function added to the IsCutHistory property of the Fields object.

The following properties and methods have been added for ACT! 4.0.2:

Object	New Properties	New Methods
ACT! database common objects		GetDataEx SetDataEx
Database	IsInBatchMode IsLocked	BeginBatchInsert BeginBatchUpdate EndBatchInsert EndBatchUpdate Lock Unlock
Fields	EntryRule	BeginBatch EndBatch

Changes for ACT! 2000

The following objects have been added for ACT! 2000:

·         ListTable object

·         Sales object

The following properties and methods have been added for ACT! 2000:

Object	New Properties	New Methods
ACT! database common objects		FindDuplicates GetDuplicateCriteria LookupKeyword SetDuplicateCriteria
Activity		HasDetails IsOutlookActivity
Contact		LookupMyRecord
Fields	AutoPopulate	GetLinkToList SetDuplicateCriteria SetLinkToList UnLinkLists
Group		AddSubGroup AssignParent ChangeToParentGroup ChangeToSubGroup GetParent GetSubGroup GetSubGroupCount GetSubGroupList GroupType
ListTable		ClearScope GetScope SetScope
Sales		AssociateWithContact AssociateWithGroup CompleteSale ReopenSale

CHAPTER I-2

Using Database Object Properties and Methods

This chapter contains descriptions of the different properties and methods that apply to the various ACT! OLE database objects. The chapter is divided into sections devoted to the following ACT! Database Object properties and methods:

·         Common properties and methods applying to more than one object

·         Activity object properties and methods

·         Contact object methods

·         Database object properties and methods

·         Email object methods

·         ExceptionInfo object properties and methods

·         Fields object properties and methods

·         Group object properties and methods

·         ListTable object methods (require ACT! 2000 or later)

·         Members object properties

·         NoteHistory object methods

·         PopupInfo object properties and methods

·         Relations object properties and methods

·         Sales object methods (require ACT! 2000 or later)

·         Users object properties and methods

Most sections show a list of properties and a list of methods in table form (some have only one of each), followed by an alphabetized list combining these properties and methods, which supplies details and, in some cases, examples. “See also” cross references are provided that refer to other properties and methods within the same object unless another object is listed.

Common properties and methods

The following common properties and methods apply to more than one ACT! database object. The database objects the property or method applies to are listed in the following table.

Properties

Property name	Objects	Parameter(s)	Parameter type(s)	Value type	Access
Data	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, Members, NoteHistory, Sales	iFieldID [, szValue]	Short Integer, String	Date/Variant	Read/Write
Error	Activity, Contact, Database, Email, ExceptionInfo, Fields, Group, ListTable, Members, NoteHistory, PopupInfo, Relations, Sales, Users	None		Boolean	Read Only
FieldCount	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, Members, NoteHistory, Sales	None		Short Integer	Read Only
Fields	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, Members, NoteHistory, Sales	None		Object/ LPDISPATCH	Read Only
IsBOF	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, Members, NoteHistory, Sales	None		Boolean	Read Only
IsEOF	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, Members, NoteHistory, Sales	None		Boolean	Read Only
IsLocked	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, NoteHistory, Sales	None		Boolean	Read Only
IsOpen	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, NoteHistory, Sales	None		Boolean	Read Only
LastError	Activity, Contact, Database, Email, ExceptionInfo, Fields, Group, ListTable, Members, NoteHistory, PopupInfo, Relations, Sales, Users	None		Short Integer	Read Only
LockLevel	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, NoteHistory, Sales	None		Short Integer	Read Only
Name	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, Members, NoteHistory, Sales	None		String	Read Only
Position	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, Members, NoteHistory, Sales	None		Long Integer	Read Only
Query	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, Members, NoteHistory, Sales	szString	String	String	Read/Write
RecordCount	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, Members, NoteHistory, Sales	None		Long Integer	Read Only

Methods

Method name	Objects	Parameter(s)	Parameter type(s)	Return type
Add	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, NoteHistory, Sales	None		Void
Close	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, NoteHistory, Sales	None		Void
Delete	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, NoteHistory, Sales	None		Void
Edit	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, NoteHistory, Sales	None		Void
Execute	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, Members, NoteHistory, Sales	None		Void
FindDuplicates	Contact, Group	None		Void
GetDataEx	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, NoteHistory, Sales	iFieldArray, szValueArray	Short Integer, String	Void
GetDuplicateCriteria	Contact, Group	iField1ID, iField2ID, iField3ID	Short Integer, Short Integer, Short Integer,	Short Integer
GetSort	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, Members, NoteHistory, Sales	iField1ID, iDirection1, iField2ID, iDirection2, iField3ID, iDirection3	Short Integer, Short Integer, Short Integer, Short Integer, Short Integer, Short Integer	Short Integer
GoTo	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, Members, NoteHistory, Sales	szUniqueID	String	Void
Jump	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, Members, NoteHistory, Sales	lValue	Long Integer	Void
Lookup	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, Members, NoteHistory, Sales	iFieldID, szKeyword, iLookupType	Short Integer, String, Short Integer	Void
LookupKeyword	Contact, Email, Group, NoteHistory	szKeyword	String	Void
MoveFirst	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, Members, NoteHistory, Sales	None		Void
MoveLast	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, Members, NoteHistory, Sales	None		Void
MoveNext	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, Members, NoteHistory, Sales	None		Void
MovePrevious	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, Members, NoteHistory, Sales	None		Void
Rebuild	Activity, Email, Group, ListTable, Members, NoteHistory, Sales	None		Void
SetDataEx	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, NoteHistory, Sales	iFieldArray, szValueArray	Short Integer, String	Void
SetDuplicateCriteria	Contact, Group	iFieldID1, iFieldID2, iFieldID3	Short Integer, Short Integer, Short Integer	Void
Sort	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, Members, NoteHistory, Sales	iField1ID, iDirection1, iField2ID, iDirection2, iField3ID, iDirection3	Short Integer, Short Integer, Short Integer, Short Integer, Short Integer, Short Integer	Void
Update	Activity, Contact, Email, Group, ListTable, NoteHistory, Sales	None		String

Description    Adds a new record with default field values in the current object.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Email, Group, NoteHistory
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.Add

Comments     Creates a new record buffer with default field values so that field data can be assigned using the Data property. The new record is committed using the Update method or aborted if any record navigational method is called.

See also         Data, Delete, GoTo, Move…, Update
FirstScheduledWith, NextScheduledWith in Activity object

Example        

Description    Closes the current table. The table schema and record information is discarded.

Objects          Contact, Email, Group, NoteHistory
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.Close

See also         IsOpen
Open in Database object

Description    Gets and sets the data for a specified field in the specified object.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Email, Group, Members, NoteHistory
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.Data iFieldID [, szValue]

Parameters    iFieldID                 A short integer that specifies the unique field ID for the specified table. See the ACT! Database File Formats Reference appendix for lists of field IDs and names (Field constants).

[szValue]                A string that specifies the data to set for the specified field. Omit this optional parameter to get the data in the field.

Value type      Date/Variant, Read/Write

Comments     Make a call to Add or Edit before setting data to a field, while not making intervening navigational calls. Follow the Data assignment by Update to commit the data to disk. All field data is passed and retrieved in string format only. Use the Type property in the Fields object to get the required data type for the data.

See also         Add, Edit, FieldCount, IsBOF, IsEOF, RecordCount, Update
Type in Fields object

Example         'This example demonstrates how to retrieve data from a record.

 

dim objData as object

Set objData = CreateObject("ACTOLE.DATABASE")

objData.Open dbName

 

Dim tableObject As Object

Set tableObject = objData.CONTACT

 

tableObject.MoveFirst

 

'Get the name of the contact

dim strOutput as String

strOutput = tableObject.Data(CF_Name)

 

set tableObject = Nothing

 

objData.Close

set objData = Nothing

Description    Deletes the currently selected record.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Email, Group, NoteHistory
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.Delete

Return type   Void

See also         Add, GoTo, IsLocked, LockLevel, Move…

Description    Prepares the current record for editing and applies a record lock.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Email, Group, NoteHistory
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.Edit

Return type   Void

Comments     This method enables the current record buffer to be edited and sets default field values so that field data can then be assigned using the Data property. The edited record is committed using the Update method or aborted if any record navigational method is called. To make sure the edit will succeed, call IsLocked immediately before calling this method and LockLevel immediately after.

See also         Data, GoTo, IsLocked, LockLevel, Move…, Update

Example         'This example demonstrates how to edit an existing contact record.

 

dim objData as object

Set objData = CreateObject("ACTOLE.DATABASE")

objData.Open dbName

 

objData.CONTACT.MoveFirst

objData.CONTACT.Edit

 

'Change the address

objData.CONTACT.Data CF_Address1, "20323 Somewhere Avenue"

 

'Update the records contents

objData.CONTACT.Update

 

objData.Close

set objData = Nothing

Description    Returns the error status of True for the object after a call that generated an error. Returns False if no error was generated on the last call. The error status is set to False at the beginning of each operation. If an error status of True is returned, call LastError to get the error code. See the last chapter of this section for error code descriptions.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Database, Email, ExceptionInfo, Fields, Group, Members, NoteHistory, PopupInfo, Relations, Users
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.Error

Value type      Boolean, Read Only

Comments     This status should be checked after any call is made that may generate an error. Otherwise, further errors may be propagated that will overwrite the failing process or a successful call will hide the error, because error status is reset to False at the beginning of each operation.

See also         LastError

Description    Executes a query that has been set by the Query property and clears any previous query.

Objects          Contact, Group
Also applies to Activity, Email, Members, and NoteHistory objects in ACT! 3.0.7 or later.
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.Execute

Return type   Void

See also         Query

Example         'This example demonstrates how to use queries.

 

dim objData as object

Set objData = CreateObject("ACTOLE.DATABASE")

objData.Open dbName

 

objData.CONTACT.Query = "CONTACT contains ""Smith"""

objData.CONTACT.Execute

 

'*** Can now retrieve data for record(s)

objData.Close

set objData = Nothing

 

Description    Returns the number of fields in the table object. Use this value to iterate through the Data property and Fields property.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Email, Group, Members, NoteHistory
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.FieldCount

Value type      Short Integer, Read Only

See also         Data, IsBOF, IsEOF, RecordCount

Description    Returns a Fields object. The Fields object returned by this property is directly associated with its parent object. For example, if the parent object is Contact, then the Fields object is initialized with the fields for the Contact table.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Email, Group, Members, NoteHistory
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.Fields

Value type      Object/LPDISPATCH, Read Only

See also         Fields object

Example         'This example demonstrates how to retrieve fields object from a list object.

 

dim objData as object

Set objData = CreateObject("ACTOLE.DATABASE")

objData.Open dbName

 

'Obtain the Fields object for the Contact object

dim fields as object

set fields = objData.CONTACT.FIELDS

 

objData.Close

set objData = Nothing

Description    Uses the duplicate checking criteria to search for duplicate contacts and groups in the Contact table or Group table. After executing this command, the Current lookup contains the duplicates.

Objects          Contact, Group

Syntax            object.FindDuplicates

Return type   Void

See also         GetDuplicateCriteria, SetDuplicateCriteria

Example         'The following code finds duplicates and then enumerates through the

'duplicate records.

 

Dim objDatabase as object

Set objDatabase= CreateObject("ACTOLE.DATABASE")

objDatabase.Open dbName

 

'Assign the correct table object

Set objContact = objDatabase.Contact

If objDatabase.IsOpen Then

   'Find the duplicate contacts in this database

   objContact.FindDuplicates

   List1.AddItem objContact.recordCount & " duplicate contacts Found!"

 

   'Enumerate all the duplicates in the contact table

   objContact.MoveFirst

   While Not objContact.IsEOF

       List1.AddItem "CONTACT: " & objContact.Data(CF_Name)

       List1.AddItem "TITLE: " & objContact.Data(CF_Title)

       List1.AddItem "COMPANY: " & objContact.Data(CF_Company)

       List1.AddItem objContact.Data(CF_City) & ", " &

          objContact.Data(CF_State)

       objContact.MoveNext

   Wend

   Set objContact = Nothing

   objDatabase.close

End If

Set objDatabase = Nothing

Description    Returns an array of strings containing the data for each field specified in an array of fields.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Email, Group, NoteHistory
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.GetDataEx iFieldArray, szValueArray

Parameters    iFieldArray            Returns an array of short integers (or pointers to short integers in VISUAL C++) that represent the field IDs of fields for which to get the data contained in the fields.

szValueArray         Returns an array of strings (or BSTRs in VISUAL C++) for the data that is returned for the specified fields. The same number of elements must be specified for the iFieldArray and the szValueArray parameters.

Return type   Void

See also         SetDataEx

Example         'This example demonstrates getting data from multiple fields and sending

'it to a file.

 

Dim NoteIdArray(10) As Integer

Dim OutputArray(10) As String

Dim objData As Object

Dim objNoteHistory As Object

Dim count As Double

Dim LastRecord As Long

Dim FileNum

 

NoteIdArray(0) = NHF_ContactId 'Field ID constant

NoteIdArray(1) = NHF_UserTime     'Include Actfield.bas

NoteIdArray(2) = NHF_Type

NoteIdArray(3) = NHF_Text

 

Set objData = CreateObject("ACTOLE.DATABASE")

objData.Open dbName

If objData.IsMultiUser Then

   objData.ValidateUser "Chris Huffman", ""

End If

If objData.IsOpen = False Then

   MsgBox "Failed to open database"

End If

 

Set objNoteHistory = objData.NoteHistory

LastRecord = objNoteHistory.recordcount

count = 1

'Get a free file number

FileNum = FreeFile

'Open GetNoteHistory.TXT for append

Open "GetNoteHistory.txt" For Append As FileNum

objNoteHistory.MoveFirst

 

Do While (count <= LastRecord)

 

   objNoteHistory.GetDataEx NoteIdArray, OutputArray

 

   Write #FileNum, OutputArray(0), OutputArray(1), OutputArray(2),

       OutputArray(3)

   count = count + 1

   objNoteHistory.MoveNext

   If objNoteHistory.IsEOF Then

       Exit Do

   End If

Loop

Close FileNum    'Close the file

Set objNoteHistory = Nothing      'Clean up

ObjData.Close

Set objData = Nothing

Description    Returns short integer values for the field IDs for the duplicate checking criteria for the Contact table or Group table.

Object            Contact, Group

Syntax            object.GetDuplicateCriteria (iFieldID1, iFieldID2, iFieldID3)

Parameters    iFieldID1               A short integer (or pointer to a short integer in VISUAL C++) that represents the field ID type for the first field for duplicate checking (find a match for data in this field).

iFieldID2               A short integer (or pointer to a short integer in VISUAL C++) that represents the field ID type for the second field for duplicate checking (then find a match for data in this field).

iFieldID3               A short integer (or pointer to a short integer in VISUAL C++) that represents the field ID type for the third field for duplicate checking (then find a match for data in this field).

See the ACT! Database File Formats Reference appendix for lists of field IDs and names (Field constants).

See also         FindDuplicates , SetDuplicateCriteria

Example         Dim objDatabase as object

Set objDatabase = CreateObject("ACTOLE.DATABASE")      'Open the database

objDatabase.Open dbName

 

'Assign the correct table object

Set objContact = objDatabase.Contact

 

If objDatabase.IsOpen Then

   'Get the current duplicate criteria

objContact.GetDuplicateCriteria DupCriteria1, DupCriteria2,

   DupCriteria3

   List1.AddItem "Duplicate criteria is :  Match on   " & DupCriteria1 &

       " and then on  " & DupCriteria2 & "  and then on " & DupCriteria3

'Set the duplicate criteria as match on User1 then Department and then

'on Title

   objContact.SetDuplicateCriteria CF_User1, CF_Department, CF_Title

   Set objContact = Nothing

   objDatabase.close

End If

 

Set objDatabase = Nothing

Description    Returns short integer values for the field IDs and sort directions of the sorted fields for the active sort of an ACT! database table. A value of 0, 1, 2, or 3 is returned specifying the number of fields sorted for the table.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Email, Group, Members, NoteHistory
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.GetSort iField1ID, iDirection1, iField2ID, iDirection2, iField3ID, iDirection3

Parameters    iField1ID               A short integer (or pointer to a short integer in VISUAL C++) that represents the field ID for the first field in the sort order.

iDirection1            A short integer (or pointer to a short integer in VISUAL C++) that represents the sort direction for the first field. Values returned are 0 for ascending order or 1 for descending order.

iField2ID               A short integer (or pointer to a short integer in VISUAL C++) that represents the field ID for the second field in the sort order.

iDirection2            A short integer (or pointer to a short integer in VISUAL C++) that represents the sort direction for the second field. Values returned are 0 for ascending order or 1 for descending order.

iField3ID               A short integer (or pointer to a short integer in VISUAL C++) that represents the field ID for the third field in the sort order.

iDirection3            A short integer (or pointer to a short integer in VISUAL C++) that represents the sort direction for the third field. Values returned are 0 for ascending order or 1 for descending order.

See the ACT! Database File Formats Reference appendix for lists of field IDs and names (Field constants).

Return type   Short Integer

See also         Sort
IsSortable in Fields object

Example        

Description    Goes to the specified record and makes it the current record, if it exists.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Email, Group, Members, NoteHistory
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.GoTo szUniqueID

Parameters    szUniqueID            A string that specifies the Unique ID of the record.

Return type   Void

See also         Data
UniqueID in Users object

Description    Returns True if the current record is the first record in the table or False if the current record is not the first record in the table.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Email, Group, Members, NoteHistory
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.IsBOF

Value type      Boolean, Read Only

See also         RecordCount

Description    Returns True if an attempt has been made to move past the last record in the table or False if the current record is not the last record in the table.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Email, Group, Members, NoteHistory
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.IsEOF

Value type      Boolean, Read Only

See also         RecordCount

Description    Returns True if the current record is locked or False if it is not locked. Call this property immediately before calling Edit to determine if the record can be edited.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Email, Group, NoteHistory
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.IsLocked

Value type      Boolean, Read Only

Comments     Use LockLevel to determine if the current record is unlocked or has been locked by the current user or by a network user.

See also         Add, GoTo, Edit, LockLevel, Move…

Description    Returns True if the current table object is open or False if it is not open. Call this property to determine if a database has been successfully opened.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Email, Group, NoteHistory
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.IsOpen

Value type      Boolean, Read Only

See also         Close,
Open in Database object

Description    Goes to a specified position within the table.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Email, Group, Members, NoteHistory
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.Jump lValue

Parameters    lValue                    A long integer that specifies the new position in the list, in the range between 1 and RecordCount.

Return type   Void

See also         Position, RecordCount

Example        

Description    Returns the last error code for the object. This status should be checked if Error is True to determine the cause of the last error. After checking this property, the last error status is reset to Status_Success. See the last chapter of this section for error code descriptions.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Database, Email, ExceptionInfo, Fields, Group, Members, NoteHistory, PopupInfo, Relations, Users
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.LastError

Value type      Short Integer, Read Only

See also         Error

Description    Returns record lock status 0 if the current record is not locked, 1 if locked by the current user, or 2 if locked by a network user. Call this property after calling Edit to make sure the current user has the record lock.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Email, Group, NoteHistory
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.LockLevel

Value type      Short Integer, Read Only

See also         Add, Edit, GoTo, IsLocked, Move…

Description    Performs a lookup for the specified keyword. The lookup is restricted to searching on one field in a table at a time. An error is generated if the specified field does not exist in the table.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Email, Group, Members, NoteHistory
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.Lookup iFieldID, szKeyword, iLookupType

Parameters    iFieldID                 A short integer that specifies the field ID of the field on which the lookup will be performed. See the ACT! Database File Formats Reference appendix for lists of field IDs and names (Field constants).

szKeyword             A string that specifies the search criteria.

iLookupType          A short integer that specifies the type of lookup. Specify 1 to replace the lookup, 2 to add to the lookup, or 3 to narrow the lookup.

Return type   Void

Comments     Lookups are not exact searches. Instead, they treat the keyword like a Begins With style search. For example, if you specify the keyword “B” on the Contact field, the lookup will return all records whose Contact field begins with a B.

See also         Error, IsBOF, LastError, RecordCount

Example        

 

Description    Looks up the specified keyword and returns the records containing the keyword.

Objects          Contact, Email, Group, NoteHistory

Syntax            object.LookupKeyword szKeyword

Parameters    szKeyword             A string specifying the keyword.

Return type   Void

Example         'The following code does a keyword search for "SDK " and then enumerates

'through all the Contact records that meet this criteria.

 

Dim objDatabase as object

Set objDatabase= CreateObject("ACTOLE.DATABASE")

objDatabase.Open dbName

 

'Assign the correct table object

Set objContact = objDatabase.Contact

If objDatabase.IsOpen Then

   'Look up all Contact records in which there is "SDK" in the

   'Contact table.

   objContact.lookupKeyword "SDK"

   List1.AddItem objContact.recordCount & "  contacts Found!"

 

   'Enumerate all the duplicates in the Contact table

   objContact.MoveFirst

   While Not objContact.IsEOF

       List1.AddItem "CONTACT: " & objContact.Data(CF_Name)

       List1.AddItem "TITLE: " & objContact.Data(CF_Title)

       List1.AddItem "COMPANY: " & objContact.Data(CF_Company)

       List1.AddItem objContact.Data(CF_City) & ", " &

          objContact.Data(CF_State)

       objContact.MoveNext

   Wend

   Set objContact = Nothing

   objDatabase.close

End If

 

Set objDatabase = Nothing

Description    Goes to the first record in a table.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Email, Group, Members, NoteHistory
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.MoveFirst

Return type   Void

See also         RecordCount

Description    Goes to the last record in a table.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Email, Group, Members, NoteHistory
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.MoveLast

Return type   Void

See also         RecordCount

Description    Goes to the next record in the table. An error is not generated for an EOF condition. Call IsEOF after calling this method.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Email, Group, Members, NoteHistory
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.MoveNext

Return type   Void

See also         IsEOF, MovePrevious, RecordCount

Example         tableObject.MoveNext

If tableObject.IsEOF Then

   MsgBox "End of table"

End If

Description    Goes to the previous record in the table. An error is not generated for a BOF condition. Call IsBOF after calling this method.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Email, Group, Members, NoteHistory
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.MovePrevious

Return type   Void

See also         IsBOF, MoveNext, RecordCount

Description    Returns the name of the current table object. Use this property to determine which table is the current object.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Email, Group, Members, NoteHistory
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.Name

Value type      String, Read Only

Example         objDatabase.name

Description    Returns the current record position in a table.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Email, Group, Members, NoteHistory
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.Position

Value type      Long Integer, Read Only

Description    Gets and sets the string for an ACT! formatted query.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Email, Group, Members, and NoteHistory
 Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.Query = "Contact Contains ""szString"""
or
object.Query = "Group Contains ""szString"""

Parameters    szString                  A string that specifies the query criteria.

Value type      String, Read/Write

Comments     Queries start by first resetting the scope to all records, then executing the query. After executing, a query returns a subset of records. To clear an existing query and reset the scope to all records, pass in an empty string, then call the Execute method. See the ACT! User’s Guide for information on the ACT! query language. You can also use the advanced Query Helper to create and test query strings. Unique ID type fields cannot be used in queries.

See also         Execute

Example         See the example for the Execute method in this section.

Description    Rebuilds a table, which reloads the table information. Rebuild a table after modifying the table definitions.

Objects          Activity, Email, Group, Members, NoteHistory
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.Rebuild

Return type   Void

Description    Returns the number of records in a table.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Email, Group, Members, NoteHistory
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.RecordCount

Value type      Long Integer, Read Only

Example         objContact.RecordCount

Description    Sets specified values for each field specified in an array of fields.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Email, Group, NoteHistory
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.SetDataEx iFieldArray, szValueArray

Parameters    iFieldArray            An array of short integers (or pointers to short integers in VISUAL C++) that represent the field IDs of fields for which to set the specified data. See the ACT! Database File Formats Reference appendix for lists of field IDs and names (Field constants).

szValueArray         An array of strings (or BSTRs in VISUAL C++) for the data to set to the specified fields. The same number of elements must be specified for the iFieldArray and the szValueArray parameters.

Return type   Void

See also         GetDataEx

Example         'This example demonstrates updating multiple fields in one operation.

Dim database As Object

Dim contact As Object

Dim fieldarray(2) As Integer  'Must be a short integer

Dim dataarray(2) As String    'Must be a string (BSTR)

 

'Open the currently open database.

Set database = CreateObject("actole.database") database.OpenEx ("")

Set contact = database.Contact contact.MoveFirst

 

'Each value in fieldarray must have a corresponding value in dataarray.

fieldarray(0) = 25

fieldarray(1) = 26

dataarray(0) = "Chris"

dataarray(1) = "13 East 54th Street"

 

'Start editing.

contact.Edit

'Set the data on the record.

contact.SetDataEx fieldarray, dataarray

'If there is not an error, update the record.

if contact.Error = FALSE then

contact.Update

End If

 

Set contact = Nothing

database.Close

Set database = Nothing

Description    Sets field IDs for the duplicate checking criteria for the Contact table or Group table.

Object            Contact, Group

Syntax            object.SetDuplicateCriteria (iFieldID1, iFieldID2, iFieldID3)

Parameters    iFieldID1               A short integer (or pointer to a short integer in VISUAL C++) specifying the field ID for the first field for duplicate checking (find a match for data in this field).

iFieldID2               A short integer (or pointer to a short integer in VISUAL C++) specifying the field ID for the second field for duplicate checking (then find a match for data in this field).

iFieldID3               A short integer (or pointer to a short integer in VISUAL C++) specifying the field ID for the third field for duplicate checking (then find a match for data in this field).

See the ACT! Database File Formats Reference appendix for lists of field IDs and names (Field constants).

Return type   Void

See also         FindDuplicates, GetDuplicateCriteria

Example         Set objDatabase = CreateObject("ACTOLE.DATABASE")

'Open the database

objDatabase.Open dbName

 'Assign the correct table object

Set objContact = objDatabase.Contact

 If objDatabase.IsOpen Then

   'Get the current duplicate criteria

   objContact.GetDuplicateCriteria DupCriteria1, DupCriteria2,

       DupCriteria3

   List1.AddItem "Duplicate criteria is :  Match on   " & DupCriteria1 &

       " and then on  " & DupCriteria2 & "  and then on " & DupCriteria3

    'Set the duplicate criteria as match on User1 then Department and then

       'on Title

       objContact.SetDuplicateCriteria CF_User1, CF_Department, CF_Title

        Set objContact = Nothing

       objDatabase.close

   End If

    Set objDatabase = Nothing

Description    Executes a sort on up to three fields in a table. Only one sort may be active at once. An error is generated if any of the specified fields do not exist in the table.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Email, Group, Members, NoteHistory
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.Sort iField1ID, iDirection1, iField2ID, iDirection2, iField3ID, iDirection3

Parameters    iField1ID               A short integer that specifies the field ID type for the field that specifies the first field in the sort order.

iDirection1            A short integer that specifies the sort direction for the first field. Specify a value of 0 for ascending order or 1 for descending order.

iField2ID               A short integer that specifies the field ID for the field that specifies the second field in the sort order. Specify 0 if you do not want to sort on this field.

iDirection2            A short integer that specifies the sort direction for the second field. Specify 0 for ascending order or 1 for descending order.

iField3ID               A short integer that specifies the field ID for the field that specifies the third field in the sort order. Specify 0 if you do not want to sort on this field.

iDirection3            A short integer that specifies the sort direction for the third field. Specify 0 for ascending order or 1 for descending order.

See the ACT! Database File Formats Reference appendix for lists of field IDs and names (Field constants).

Return type   Void

See also         Error, GetSort, IsBOF, LastError, RecordCount
IsSortable in Fields object

Example         'This example demonstrates how to perform a sort on the contact table.

 

dim objData as object

Set objData = CreateObject("ACTOLE.DATABASE")

objData.Open dbName

 

'Set sort order for all 3 fields

objData.CONTACT.Sort CF_Company, 1, CF_Title, 1, CF_Name, 1

 

'Set sort order for only the 1st field

objData.CONTACT.Sort CF_Company, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1

 

objData.Close

set objData = Nothing

Description    Saves a new or edited record to the table. This method returns a string that contains the Unique ID of the record that has just been added or updated.

Objects          Activity, Contact, Email, Group, NoteHistory
Also applies to ListTable and Sales objects in ACT! 2000 or later

Syntax            object.Update

Return type   String

Comments     Make a call to Add or Edit before calling this method. This method commits a newly created or edited record to disk and removes the record lock. After updating, the current record position is determined by the alphabetical sort order of the field. After updating or adding a new record, call GoTo szUniqueID, where szUniqueID is the Unique ID returned from this method.

See also         Add, Data, Edit, GoTo, Move…

Activity object properties and methods

The Activity object contains scheduled activity information for the active database object. The following properties and methods apply only to the Activity object. See “Common properties and methods” in this section for additional properties and methods that apply to the Activity object.

Properties

Property name	Parameter(s)	Parameter type(s)	Value type	Access
ExceptionInfo	None		Object/ LPDISPATCH	Read/Write
FirstScheduledWith	[szUniqueID]	String	String	Read/Write
NextScheduledWith	[szUniqueID]	String	String	Read/Write
RecurringChangeMode	[True|False]	Boolean	Boolean	Read/Write
recurringType	None		Short Integer	Read Only

Methods

Method name	Parameter(s)	Parameter type(s)	Return type
Clear	None		Void
ClearClearedFilter	None		Void
ClearContactScope	None		Void
ClearDateScope	None		Void
ClearGroupScope	None		Void
ClearPriorityFilter	None		Void
ClearRecurring	None		Void
ClearTimedFilter	None		Void
ClearTimelessFilter	None		Void
ClearTypeFilter	None		Void
ClearUnclearedFilter	None		Void
GetDaysOfMonthBits	None