Adding A Memo Field To An Opportunity and Printing It On Opportunities By Company

[jnpurdy]

ACT 2010: I would like to add a memo field to an opportunity for a longer description of the opportunity and not have to use a notes field. Tools | Define Fields | Opportunities | ... Created a Memo Field I then went to add it to the layout Tools | Design Layouts | Opportunity ... then 1. Selected memo field 2. Placed cross hairs where I wanted the field 3. Placed the field where I want it 4. Exit and save Entered data into the field as needed. Edited a copy of "Opportunity by Company" Added the field as follows: 1. Select field button 2. Placed the cross hairs where I wanted the field 3. Selected "Contact Opportunity" from drop down 4. Selected the new field (unchecked field label 5. Exit and save Printing the results: 1. In companies view: | Reports | Opportunity Reports | Other Opportunity Reports 2. Selected the modified Opportunity by company report 3. Create report for current company radio button 4. Select opportunity tab 5. Date range: "today and future" 6. Click OK Error: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. Does anyone have any ideas?

[Roy_Laude…]

First, did you do a refresh after you added information to the memo field?

Second, unless you left out steps, you added the memo field to the company portion of the report template, not the opportunity subreport.

FYI it's very hard to make sense out of the steps you went through when you run them all together. I had to copy you posting and break it into a list of steps to really get the sense of what you were doing. 

[jnpurdy]

Refresh?  Where do I do refresh?

I did add the memo field to the sub report. 

Thanks for the tip on presenting the steps.  I'll avoid running them together in the future.

[jnpurdy]

Here's some more information.

If I remove the memo field, the report prints just fine.  I don't have any problem seeing the field on the screen or entering data into the memo field.

It's only when I add the memo field to the report do I get that error message when attempting to print it.  It is as if the memo field is not compatible with the report.

Hope that helped a little.

[Roy_Laude… · Accepted solution]

I did some testing and it appears that while standard fields added to the opportunity table can be accessed in the ACT! reports, special fields like the memo fields can't be accessed through the opportunity data source used for the ACT! reports. At present, the data source module used for the opportunities continue to be limited to the fields actually part of the opportunity or product tables. This means that while the opportunities now have links to the activities, notes history, etc. tables the data source module for the opportunity reports in the ACT! reports don't have access to those links or tables. Please make a request in Share Your Ides for the ACT! reports have access to the additional information. 

[jnpurdy]

To receive the answer you posted t his morning, special Kudos have to be served up.  It was obvious that in order to give the answer you expended a considerable amount of effort. 

Thank you for your contribution to this board.

[FILLSTAFF…]

Hello John,

I believe I found the correct 2010 trick to achive your needs for Reporting Opps by Company with a Memo field.

Are you still in need of solution?  Cheers - FSB

[jnpurdy]

Good morning.  Yes, I would still like to add the memo field to the report.

[FILLSTAFF…]

Stay Tuned for more details, will prepare a procedure for you to try. Should work fine. Be back in a few minutes - Cheers - FSB

[FILLSTAFF…]

Sounds like you may need to run ACTDIAG ?

Here are the procedures I just used to confirm. Using vista homeprem, act2010std hfix3

ACT!2010 std   How To  add a Memo field to a Opportunity REPORT.

Note; If things aren't working right, you may need to run  ACTDIAG and use Rebuild options, Schema, Opportunities, etc...

Start here; Click on the ACT!2010 Opportunities Button in lower left portion of your Navigation Bar

Then from Nav bar, click on View All Opportunities.

ASSUMING YOU HAVE ALREADY CREATED YOUR MEMO FIELD
ALSO Assuming you have already created at least one opportunity, From List View, double click on one of your opportunities to open it(Detail View).

Select Modify Layout from Nav Bar on your left.

SELECT THE
  MEMO FIELD OPTION ON LEFT AND PLACE YOUR CROSS HAIRS ON THE LAYOUT IN DESIRE LOCATION. 

SAVE LAYOUT

===  REPORTS   THEN FROM ACT! 2010 TOOL BAR

SELECT:

REPORTS

EDIT TEMPLATE

SELECT YOUR DESIRED REPORT BY DOUBLE CLICKING ON THE LIST OF REPORTS PRESENTED.

 EX;  OPPORTUNITIES BY COMPANY

  YOU WILL SEE  A SUB-REPORT AREA, DOUBLE CLICK ON THAT AREA TO GAIN ACCESS AND THEN

FROM TOOL BAR ON LEFT , SELECT :  FIELD
 THEN PLACE CROSS HAIRS ON THE SUB-REPORT AREA DESIRED

A LITTLE POP UP WILL BE PRESENTED AND THEN
  SELECT FROM THE DROP-DOWN: COMPANY OPPORTUNITY (IF THAT DOESN'T WORK, TRY SELECTING CONTACT OPPORTUNITY)..

THEN BELOW THAT, SELECT THE DESIRED MEMO FIELD YOU PREVIOUSLY CREATED (OR ALREADY EXISTED)..
  AND IT WILL BE PLACED ON YOUR REPORT LAYOUT.
SAVE YOUR WORK AND YOU SHOULD NOW BE OK TO RUN THE REPORT?

BE SURE THERE IS ACTUAL DATA IN THAT MEMO FIELDS WHEN YOU RUN REPORT ON SELECTED OPPORTUNITY'S.

CHEERS. FSB