Creating contacts if they don't exist when sending/replying to email

[pdibuffalo]

Is there a way to have ACT create a contact if it's not found when sending or replying to emails? I know you can when quick attaching, But it would be great if you could also when sending or replying to emails.

[gmartin · Accepted solution]

Assuming you are using Outlook, you won't be able to create the contact while you are composing the email message (new or response).  Depending on the version of Act! you are running, there may be an icon for 'Create Act! Contact' on the Outlook toolbar that can be selected after highlighting a message in the Inbox or Sent Items folders.

[gmartin · Accepted solution]

Assuming you are using Outlook, you won't be able to create the contact while you are composing the email message (new or response).  Depending on the version of Act! you are running, there may be an icon for 'Create Act! Contact' on the Outlook toolbar that can be selected after highlighting a message in the Inbox or Sent Items folders.

[gleo]

The best practice is to always create the contact in ACT! prior to sending the email. Then by clicking on the email address field within the contact will initiate the send email process through Outlook and importantly ensure the email is attached to the contact as desired.

If retaining an unbroken chain of sent and received emails is important to you while working from Outlook, watch out for changed email addresses in the received email. If the recipients email address is not in ACT! then the reply you send will not be attached to the record.

What I advise is that you have two additional email fields in ACT! contact layout to place alternative email addresses in for the contact, then irrespective of the source email address of the sender you will capture the complete history.