Importing additional ACT history data to existing BCM 2003 DB?

[SusanG]

When I first created my BCM (MSDE version) DB, I imported from ACT contacts
only email, and not all the history, as a test, and also to limit the size of
the DB. But now I'd like to import the rest of the contact history.

Is there a programmatic way to import the remaining Contact history into my
current BCM DB - that has been cleaned up, verified, added to, etc.? I want
to merge the ACT history to whichever Contacts remain in my current DB, not
overwrite or replace the data and not allow duplicates.

I created some *.bcm files of the original ACT data without email and the
history (notes, logs, activities) did import OK to a *.bcm file, it's just a
matter of getting it into the database without overwriting any of the
existing data or allowing duplicates.
If there is a way, and it involves an MSDE database tool, I apologize in
advance, but I need explicit steps. Or if it requires a consultant, please
tell me that, too. Thanks!

 

[Leonid S. Knyshov]

When I first created my BCM (MSDE version) DB, I imported from ACT
contacts
only email, and not all the history, as a test, and also to limit the size
of
the DB. But now I'd like to import the rest of the contact history.

Is there a programmatic way to import the remaining Contact history into
my
current BCM DB - that has been cleaned up, verified, added to, etc.? I
want
to merge the ACT history to whichever Contacts remain in my current DB,
not
overwrite or replace the data and not allow duplicates.

I created some *.bcm files of the original ACT data without email and the
history (notes, logs, activities) did import OK to a *.bcm file, it's just
a
matter of getting it into the database without overwriting any of the
existing data or allowing duplicates.
If there is a way, and it involves an MSDE database tool, I apologize in
advance, but I need explicit steps. Or if it requires a consultant, please
tell me that, too. Thanks!

Hi Susan,

The BCM developer's guide has been posted on MSDN. Any Office platform
developer should be able to assist. This is something we'll be working on,
but not quite there yet.
--
Leonid S. Knyshov, CEO
Crashproof Solutions, LLC - http://www.crashproofsolutions.com
MCP Exchange 2003/Small Business Server 2003
Microsoft Small Business Specialist Partner
See the tips and tricks section on my website for video tutorials on BCM
Send a smile to Microsoft (Office 2007 Beta feedback tool)!
http://tinyurl.com/m4omy

 

[SusanG]

Thanks, I saw that file and will download. But for now, in BCM 2003, on MSDE
backend, I solved it. It's a little tedious, but surefire as far as I can
tell - I got everything and lost nothing.

Steps for importing an ACT DB into an existing BCM where that original
ACT-to-BCM data has been edited/modified. In my case, I did not import all
the history when I first created the BCM DB, just email, but now they want it
all ported over - notes, phone logs, doc links, etc. This situation assumes
that you want to overwrite the same ACT data you started out with, a second
time, but with more current BCM data, only this time you want all the history
to port over. We can do this because the BCM import tool checks and updates
dups on the File As and Email fields, but not the history contents.

FIRST - export and/or back up your current BCM database file using BCM tools.
Next - go to Folders|BCM|History view and note the earliest record from the
Created field, and the latest. This is one way to verify you did it right.

Using BCM, import into a new, empty BCM DB, the ACT DB, converting it to a
*.bcm file in the process. Check the data import, then export it to a *.bcm
file. This will be the foundation of new merged BCM DB. Again, go to
Folders|BCM|History view and note the earliest record from the Created field
(not Created/Due By), and the latest.

Next, select your existing BCM DB, and globally add a fake category to all
your Contacts and all your Accounts (highlight all, right-click Categories
and create a Category called A1 - or create something that will fall to the
very top of the list, like 111 or AAA, you need to see this in a view). This
also forces the BCM DB to be the last modified. You want to tag all the
items you want to keep in the merged database. If you did not do this, you'd
end up with old ACT records that are not dups, therefore won't be
updated/merged, but will be added to your database as new records and would
have to be culled again. Not good.

Export the tagged BCM file to a new *.bcm file.

Import the ACT *.bcm file into yet another new BCM DB. Import the BCM
tagged *bcm file into that same DB, choosing Update Duplicates and Include
Business History.

Then sort on Business State for example, but add Categories to the view from
the Field Chooser list to see all the Categories, beginning with your A1.
Remove/delete any records that don't have the A1 category pick. It means the
record is from ACT, but since you'd already deleted from the BCM, it's not a
record you wanted to keep. And having that category pick tells you which to
keep and which to chuck.

All your other BCM records will be updated with entire history, but nothing
else from the past will have overwritten the present. If you screw up,
restore the deleted record(s) from the BCM Deleted Folder.

That's it. Took a couple of hours, but my test was good. But I stress doing
this as a test first, before you screw up forever your BCM live DB.