Migrating ACT! CRM Attachments

Importing attachments in most cloud-based systems can be a challenge. Use Dropbox instead.

Most cloud-based CRM applications do not allow you to upload mass Attachments and link them to existing records.  So, what happens to the documents you’ve saved? 

Fortunately, ACT! stores its attachments outside the database.  Only a pointer to the file is stored in the History record that created the attachment.  This makes accessing them a bit easier.  You can find them in a folder named Attachments which is a subfolder of the {database name}-database files folder stored with the actual database files (extension .adf and .alf)

After a lot of research, we determined the most viable solution for Attachments is Dropbox.  It’s the only mass storage application that allows access using the user’s filename.  The others, Google Drive, One Drive etc.  build their own coded filename when the file is saved.  Below are the steps to “migrate” your Attachments into most CRMs. 

Dropbox

• Create an account.  The free one will do for testing.
• Create a folder for your ACT! Attachments.  We usually use something like ACT_Archive. 
• Upload the contents of your ACT! Attachments folder from your local system to the Dropbox ACT_Archive folder.

Creating the Link

When an Attachment is created in ACT!, a History record is created that links the Attachment to the Contact, Company or Opportunity.   This data is extracted by the Exporter software and put into the Fields – Attachment_Display and Attachment_FileName in the History.csv or Tasks_History.csv files.

The Attachment Display is the name that the user sees for the Attachment. 
The Attachment_FileName is a unique name created by the ACT! software which is a combination of the Display name and a unique string. 

Here’s an example: 
Attachment Display:  Act! QSNU.pdf   
Attachment FileName: Act! QSNU 70de854b-374a-4afb-9f16-d79b673f9f33.pdf

The Exporter software also builds a URL friendly name and puts the results in the ACT_Attachment_URL.  For the example above, this would be:
ACT_Attachment_URL:  Act!%20QSNU%2070de854b-374a-4afb-9f16-d79b673f9f33.pdf

The next step is to create a linking field (type URL) in the Object where the History records are loaded -- usually TASK. 

Finally, you will need to add the preview text to the data in the ACT_Attachment_URL field.  The easiest way to do this is to use Excel to create a new data column.   The preview text is: 
https://www.dropbox.com/home/ACT_Archive?preview=

When added to the ACT_Attachment_URL it becomes:
https://www.dropbox.com/home/ACT_Archive?preview=Act!%20QSNU%2070de854b-374a-4afb-9f16-d79b673f9f33.pdf

Now when the History record is viewed in the CRM and the user clicks on the link, the document will be previewed. 

Moving forward with your new CRM and attachments

While linking documents to records in the database can be an easy way to locate them, storing them within any database is not a good practice.   There can be significant issues. 

• First, if you ever want to migrate the database again, getting them out is usually difficult. 
• Second, they can only be accessed by database users. 
• Finally, you'll probably start receiving an excess storage fee from your vendor.

If you want to continue to use attachments, we strongly recommend that you continue to use Dropbox for this.  Dropbox has a free application that interfaces with most popular CRM applications.   Here a quick demo for the Salesforce link.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U32Hb5XV6tM