The next generation of Act4mail will be released on June 24th. It will feature the same bidirectional Contact & Calendar syncing introduced last month with Act4outlook v8, but now the great new features will be available for Act! Premium Cloud users.

For clarity, Act4mail is for people with an on-premise version of Outlook, but an online version of Act!, whereas Act4outlook requires both Outlook and Act! to be locally installed. Act4mail reads and writes to Act! Premium Cloud databases through the Act! Web API. With the rise in popularity of web-based access to Act!, users have come to demand Act4outlook features for Act! Premium Cloud, and Act4mail delivers. Users with less powerful computers can now enjoy robust Act-Outlook integration by simply installing Office and Act4mail—no need for a local Act! installation.

What makes Act4mail especially useful is the new Outlook integration for Act! Premium Cloud requires an Office 365 or Gmail account, whereas Act4mail also supports regular IMAP accounts.

This new release is a testament to our commitment to customer feedback. Here’s an overview of the new enhancements you can anticipate in Act4mail:

1. Two-way Contact Sync: Evolving from Act4outlook v8's new features, Act4mail introduces bi-directional contact syncing, which will be executed on a scheduled basis. In contrast to Act!, our add-on can manually sync one or more contacts in either direction. This feature is anticipated to benefit individuals who require their phone contacts to be regularly updated for Bluetooth calls from their vehicles.
   
   
2. Two-way Calendar Sync: Similar to the Contact sync mentioned above, users can now set up automatic bi-directional syncing of activities, with the option to manually push the remainder. This feature is anticipated to be highly beneficial for individuals who schedule appointments or accept invitations on their phone, as well as for those who require their personal calendar to mirror their Act! calendar. Recurring activities have been omitted from this two-way sync process to avoid duplication.

What sets Act4mail apart from Act4outlook?

• Flexible Database Connectivity: Unlike Act4outlook, which is limited to local or network databases, Act4mail connects with hosted databases via the Act! Web API
• Subscription-Based Access: Act4mail is available through an Act! subscription, requiring users to have WebAPI permissions set in their roles.
• MailMerge4actWeb Integration: Act4mail includes an integrated version of MailMerge4act, enabling the creation and dispatch of professional HTML emails without worrying about image loss or format changes upon delivery. The intuitive publisher allows for the crafting of visually appealing emails, complete with personalized merge codes from your Act! database. New features enhance deliverability, speed, HTML file management, and a “Message Details” section to manage history records efficiently.

Act4outlook Features Retained in Act4mail:

• Direct Act! Access from Outlook: Navigate to your Act! contacts right from Outlook.
• Comprehensive Email History Tracking: Automatically attach incoming and outgoing emails to Act! histories.
• Effortless Contact and Activity Creation: Generate new Act! entries from Outlook contacts and activities.
• Synchronized Reminders: Convert reminders from Outlook or your phone into Act! “To Do’s” without time constraints.

The next generation of Act4mail is scheduled for commercial release on Monday, June 24th. There will be no increase in price for this new version, as it will remain at $36.95 USD per seat, per year. Act4mail supports both 32 & 64-bit versions of Office 2013 or higher, and requires the Act! user to have Web API permission.