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From the monthly archives:

November 2006

Turn a field label red if a field is empty

November 28, 2006

in GoldMine Tips

There are many ways to encourage users to fill out fields…  Here’s a very non-draconian and non-invasive way to encourage the users to fully fill out a record.  This method will make the field label red if the field is left blank, therefore drawing attention to the field!

In our example we’ll use the Company field; however, this can be done for any field in the top-half of the screen or the Fields tab.  First, do a Right-Click | Properties on the company field while logged in as a user with ‘Master’ rights.  Then go to the Color tab.

Click on the Expression radio box under Label Color and enter this:

iif(trim(company) < ‘ ‘, 255, -1)

If you are using a different field you’ll need to substitute that field name for ‘company’.  The 255 is the color red while the -1 is the default label color.

Then OK.   

So now it’s red:

Now it isn’t!

Happy GoldMining!

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Improved in GoldMine 7.x – Editing/Deleting of Activities

November 19, 2006

in GoldMine 7.x

With this post we’re adding a new category called GoldMine 7.x to the blog, in which we’ll showcase new features, changes, fixes, etc. that were added in GoldMine 7.0…

Previously in GoldMine when we changed, deleted, or completed a recurring activity, an activity scheduled against multiple contacts, or an activity scheduled for multiple users we would see a cryptic "Cautionary Notification" with a Yes/No answer.  Yes would change, delete, or complete all of the activities while no would change, delete, or complete just the current activity.

In GoldMine 7.0 FrontRange has improved this message so it’s obvious if you are going to be performing your action against a single activity or all the activities.

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4 Reasons Not to use the Notes Tab

November 13, 2006

in GoldMine Tips

I was with a new client today who did a self-implementation of GoldMine and now needs some support…  I noticed they were making heavy use of the Notes tab to record call conversations, meeting notes, etc, instead of using the History tab. 

I explained the 4 reasons why not, in my opinion, to use the Notes tab, and I thought I’d share.

1) Storage Limitation.  After about 65,000 characters (8 pages) information will simply start to disappear.

2) Doesn’t Sync well.  A new note inserted via Contact | Insert a Note will sync, but changes to that note, or notes not added via that method will not sync.

3) No Security.  Anyone with access to the tab can go in and delete everything there.

4) No Analysis.  If you want to find out how many calls, appointments, or actions were taken by date or GoldMine user then you are out of luck with the Notes tab.

Of course, the solution is to use Pending and/or History rather than notes… and some simple GoldMine macros and shortcuts on the Tool-bar make this process no more time consuming than using the Notes tab.  Also, if you’re currently using notes GoldBox has a greate feature built-in that will convert them to history entries!

Of course, if you need help with the GoldBox operation or customizations drop me a line at csmith@plain-english.com.

Happy GoldMining!

P.S. Get notified of the newest Blog postings as they happen!

Go to: http://www.thegmblog.com/notify and fill out the form.  Whenever I update the Blog you’ll be notified so you can check out the new post.

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Some Changes in 7.0

November 11, 2006

in GoldMine 7.x

Here are some under the hood changes to GoldMine 7.0… 

Datadict.dbf is out, replaced with datadict.xml.  Datadict is the data dictionary, field definitions, etc.

Flags.dbf is out, replaced with flags.dat.  Flags keeps track of how many people are logged into GoldMine.

License.dbf is out, replaced with license.bin.  Keeps track of your license information.

Users.dbf is out, replaced with a users table.  The user list is now a part of the SQL Database!  This will be very nice for reporting.

Users_info.bin stores SQL login information.

DBAlias.ini is new.  This stores database information (server name, database, login, etc. the GoldMine and Contact Set tables.)

There were also some structural changes to the tables:

cal.number2 changed from an INT to a float.
opmgr.f3 is now 20 characters.
syslog.siteid is now 40 characters.
gssites.siteid is now 40 characters.
conthist.units is now 20 characters.

GoldMine® Plus Accounting for QuickBooks® Released

November 1, 2006

in Misc.

Version 4.0 of GoldMine® Plus Accounting for use with QuickBooks® supports integration between GoldMine® Standard Edition and GoldMine® Corporate Edition (works with all builds of 6.7 and 7.0) along with the following QuickBooks products:

· QuickBooks Pro/Premier 2003-2007
· QuickBooks Simple Start Edition 2006-2007
· QuickBooks Vertical Editions 2003-2007
· QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions version 4.0-7.0
· QuickBooks Pro/Premier 2004-2007 for Canada
· QuickBooks Premier 2005-2006 for the UK

This version includes important feature additions, usability enhancements, and bug fixes that result in an improved user experience.

Pricing has changed to a server based model of $399 plus $99 for maintenance.  Maintenance is required for Corporate Edition customers but optional for Standard Edition customers.  Anyone who purchased a prior version of GoldMine Plus Accounting and is current on maintenance will receive the new product at no charge.  There is no upgrade pricing if your maintenance has expired.

If you’re interested in purchasing or to discuss further drop me a line at chad@thegmblog.com

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