How To Use the Relationships Tab in ACT! by Sage 2009 (11.1)

Question - You would like to know how to use the new Relationships tab included with the ACT! 2009 (11.1) update.

Answer - The 11.1 update to ACT! 2009 includes a new feature, the Relationships tab. This tab allows you to link your current contact to other contacts in your ACT! database based on a defined relationship, such as a family relationship or belonging to the same professional association. Below are instructions for using this powerful new feature.

Important Note: After applying the 11.1 update, the Relationships tab will not automatically appear on your Contact layout. For instructions on adding this tab to your existing Contact layout, click the link below: 

How to add the Relationships tab to your existing Contact layout

1. From the main menu at the top of ACT!, click Tools, then Design Layouts, then choose Contact. The Layout Designer will open and display your current Contact layout.
2. Go to menu at the top of the Layout Designer and click Edit, then Tabs. The Edit Tabs dialog box will appear.
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4. You will see the Relationships tab in the left pane under "Hidden Tabs". Highlight the Relationships tab and click the right arrow button to move it to the "Show tabs in this order:" pane on the right. You can use the Move Up button to position the tab higher in the tab order if desired.
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   Note: If you have applied the 11.1 update to your existing version of 11.0, then this tab may be named "Related Contacts".
   
   
6. Click the Close button when done.
7. Go to main menu again and click File, then Save. Close the Layout Designer.
8. You will now see the Relationships tab in the tab row of your Contact layout.

Creating a New Relationship

1. From your contact's record, click on the Relationships tab from the tabs section of the record.
2. To create a new relationship with another contact, click Relate Contact in the top left corner of the tab.
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4. The Relate Contact dialog box appears.
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6. Choose the contact or contacts to relate to your current contact, by selecting them from the dropdown in the "Relate (contact name) to:" box. If you would like to relate a single contact then choose from the dropdown. If you would like to relate multiple contacts, your user record, or a new record, then click the Contacts button.
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8. Under the Define Relationship section, first choose the relationship of your contact to the contact(s) you are linking them to. Then choose that contact's relationship to your current contact. If you have selected multiple contacts, then a + sign appears before the first contact name. To view the contacts you selected, hold your mouse pointer over the name. You can choose different relationship values for your current contact and the linked contact(s). If choosing to link with multiple contacts, then you can choose only one relationship value for all the contacts. However, when you save the relationship, it will create an individual relationship for each, so you may edit them if needed.
   
   Note: The relationship-type list contains pre-defined relationship types, but you may change or add to these values by clicking Edit List Values at the bottom of the list. You may also just type the relationship description directly into the field.
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10. You can type in any notes or details regarding this relationship in the Details section.
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12. Click OK when finished.
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Managing Relationships
Once you have a created a relationship, you can edit them as needed and use the links to quickly go to the related contacts.

1. Under the Relationships tab for your contact, you will see a list a related contacts. The contact will be hyper-linked, so you can quickly go to that contact by clicking on their name.
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3. You can also edit the relationship by double-clicking on the line item for that relationship, or highlighting it and clicking Edit Relationship.
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5. By right-clicking on a related contact, you will have the following options:
   
   
   • Relate Contact - create another relationship to your current contact
   • Edit Relationship - edit the relationship details for the currently selected related contact
   • Remove Relationship - delete the relationship (removes from both contacts)
   • Create Lookup - create a lookup of all contacts under the relationship tab of your current contact
   • Goto Contact - takes you to currently selected related contact
   • Customize Columns - add/remove columns (fields) to the Relationship tab to view data for the related contacts
   • Print Relationships - does a quick print of the items under the Relationships tab