Act Premium Completely Unusable On 4k Display

[[deleted]]

Wow... I'm dumb founded.  First, installation of Act v17 doesn't seem to be supported on Windows 10 devices and it doesn't seem as though any updates will address this.

Second, I somehow managed to get Act v17.2 installed on my new Windows 10 laptop that is a 4K display.  Despite adjusting the settings in compatability mode in the properties of Act.exe, the window is so dysfunctional.  it doesn't seem to be resetting the DPI to regular standard mode. I've also checked off "run as administrator" and tried rebooting the machine.  

Please tell me there is a work around to this? Salesforce is looking better and better with each passing day.  I'm a loss for words if this is really it.  Any help please??!?!?

[Gary W · Accepted solution]

For anyone new to this thread, there is a current workaround for the display issues on high DPI displays.

Please see this post for info on the DPI fix tool.

This fix will be included in the upcoming Act v18.1 update.

[EUROPOWERGenerators]

Sadly Swiftpage and Sage before it did not, and will not, treat this issue as a priority (even though more and more devices/displays are becoming high DPI). There's a free add-on that might help a bit, but it's no complete fix. http://www.durkincomputing.com/FreeACTAddons.aspx This issue has existed and been known (to then Sage, now Swiftpage) since 2007. But seeing as they haven't fixed it yet it's obvious how much priority is going to this. But hey, we'll always have new useless stuff hardly anyone uses in the new versions, right?

[wellmet]

On the contrary the issue has been discussed on several occasions at Swiftpage and is currently being investigated to determine how long it will take to fix the DPI issues.  Unfortunately the amount of work involved in fixing the DPI issues is considerable so there won't be any quick fix.  I'll update this thread and some of the other threads when we have a concrete plan and a timeline for the fix.

Stan

[SMorrison]

Stan is absolutely right. This is something we're very aware of, and it becomes increasingly important given how quickly display technology is accelerating.

There's some explanation as to the root of the issue in the KB below, but a brief summary is that it requires a change to how the user interface of Act! is written, and adopting a different/updated display platform which handles scaling correctly.

http://kb.swiftpage.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/38201

In recent Act! releases we've addressed a number of display-related defects, and have made improvements where we can. There are also some settings outlined in the KB article above which can improve usability, but these are limited until a more major update can be made. This is significant development work, but certainly not something we're afraid to tackle. As soon as we have news on timelines we'll be sure to post and update any related forum threads (there are a few).

Regards,

Stuart

[ch1p]

Hi Stan, sorry but this is now a consideration that has caused 2 potential clients to go elsewhere. Hope you can get this into V18

[wellmet]

I think it's pretty unlikely that it will be in v18.  I've been looking into a possible solution to the problem but I haven't had an opportunity to test it out myself yet which I should be able to do over the weekend.  It won't be a perfect solution but it might be good enough for most users.  I don't want to get your hopes up but I'm optimistic at the moment.  I'll post back after I've had a chance to play with my new 4K laptop that should arrive some time this evening.

Stan

[[deleted]]

I would definitely be interested in hearing about this.  I'm told by one developer it could be as easy as editing the .EXE file in a resource hacker app that will allow the team to stipulate that the program is not DPI aware.  This will ensure Windows loads the application under a lower resolution compared to the higher DPI setting.  Here's the code that would need to be added:

<!-- Indicate JDK is high-dpi aware. -->
<asmv3:application>
<asmv3:windowsSettings xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/SMI/2005/WindowsSettings">
<dpiAware>false</dpiAware>
</asmv3:windowsSettings>
</asmv3:application>

This is added to the MANIFEST section when compiling the .EXE file.  Again, this was coming from a developer so not sure if this would work but heck, it seems like a really easy fix.

[wellmet]

The problem with that solution is that it changes the resolution of the system the entire time the application is running.  You might as well just change the computer to a lower resolution.  The solution I'm looking at is temporarily lowering the resolution while I'm using Act! and then switching back to a higher resolution when I'm not.  Here is a link to a free program to do it using hot keys.

http://funk.eu/hrc/

I haven't started testing it yet but it should make things a little better if it works as described and quite a few people use it.  I was thinking that I would see if I could change the screen resolution dynamically whenever Act! wasn't in the foreground so if you minimized it the screen would switch and if you opened a window over it like Firefox it would switch.  Not a perfect solution but a workaround.

If you decide to give it a try post back with your results and the best settings for your device.   I'll do the same.

Stan

[[deleted]]

Hi Stan,

Thanks for the reply and info, much appreciated.  Unfortunately, swapping to a different resolution temporarily for my entire system and then back again, even if its automated doesn't really provide for a great solution.  At that point, I would be more inclined to permanently running my system at the lower resolution as I typically have Act running most of the time.

Do you know where things stand with Swiftpage on this matter? I'm so frustrated with the lack of support for high DPI/Resolution monitors/displays since Act is the only application where it does not operate properly for me on my 4k display.  I realize there are other offenders out there, but for me, Act is the last missing piece.

Wish there was a way to adjust/edit the application's DPI setting in isolation from the rest of the system.  I managed to accomplish this using those manifest hacks on a java app I was using.

[wellmet]

I might have a better fix.  I'll try it later tonight on my system and see if it works.  I still haven't taken my new laptop out of the box yet and I have a few hours worth of work to do before I do but in the meantime if you want to give it a try we can test it on your system.  Should only take 15 minutes or so.  Contact me offline if you want to give it a try.

Stan