With the emergence of Act! Premium Cloud as a strong "web-only" option for just $360/year; many of our customers are asking about switching from the Windows version of Act! to the Web-only APC. And while there are some specific feature differences between Web & Windows, a common question is how their add-ons will work in a browser-based environment. After all, one of the strengths of Act! is its rich ecosystem of add-on applications.
It's a fair question because there is a fair bit of confusion on this point. For instance, consider the following three categories of add-ons that cannot work with Act! Premium Cloud:
- SDK Plugins: SDK plugins that change the look and feel of Act! are not compatible. SDK add-ons, which stands for "Software Development Kit", are add-ons like Qsales, Call-Aid, Mapper, Dash, Automator, and others that get loaded with Act! during the program launch, and add buttons and menu features to the Act! user interface. These plugins have been developed strictly for the Windows environment, and cannot work in a browser.
- Local data Addons: Some addons don't load with Act!, but connect to the database locally. Examples include Handheld Contact Classic, Act4outlook, Reporting4act, Knowtifier, and Project KickStart. If the database cannot be accessed locally or across the network, these applications cannot work because they can't read the data.
- Web addons: Some addons like Quoting4act can work in a browser, but require the hosting provider to load these DLL's on their server to be available in Act! for Web. These are great options for self-hosting setups, or with 3rd party hosting providers that support them, but Act! Premium Cloud doesn't.
At present, the only DLL that Act! loads with their APC offering is custom tables, and in this case, only the one provided to them by Keystroke.
The Act! Web API
For these reasons, “Cloud Compatible” for APC purposes does not simply mean “work on the web”, but rather those apps that can work with APC by connecting to hosted databases using the Act! WebAPI. Click HERE to learn more about how Web API connections work with Act!, or review one of the following links:
- Understanding how the Act! Web API works
- The Act! Web API connects you with your data and your customers
WebAPI addons do not change the look or feel of Act! like SDK add-ons, as they are designed to work with the data only. The best example of this is our Linktivity Suite. Linktivity apps connect to the databases via the Act! WebAPI, and then use the data for different purposes like quoting, online forms, appointment setting, History updates, and more.
WebAPI addons work with Act! Premium Cloud because no changes are required by the hosting provider to their hosting environment since only data connections are being made. And since the Act! WebAPI is already being used by Act! for Act! Marketing Automation and Act! Companion, software developers like Keystroke can piggyback on that existing connection method for their purposes.
Our Web API Add-ons
Keystroke started focussing on Web API development years ago, and as a result, we have the largest selection of API add-ons on the market. The following is a full list of our add-ons that can work with Act! Premium Cloud using the Act! WebAPI:
| Linktivity: | Handheld Contact
Other Products |
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The Future
The future for Act! Premium Cloud is still being planned out, but we believe that Act! intends to open its architecture to a broader selection of add-ons. While they don't currently support plugins with APC, there is talk of doing so by the end of 2024, which is exciting.
For our part, we aim to continue developing Web API add-ons, including adding functionality for the Knowtifier in the coming months, along with expanding the functionality of Handheld Contact. Stay tuned.
