Advanced Query or Dynamic Groups not working

[650nmWolf]

I originally found this problem while trying to add dynamic members to a group, but the problem is the same as doing an advanced query.  Here is the situation.

• ACT Pro 2011 running on Windows 7

• Using the ACT Demo database for testing (but obviously want this for my own database)

• Advanced Query "A" works (produces 131 contacts) = 

     -  Search for: Contact

     -  Type: Opportunity,

     -  Field Name: [Product] Item #

     -  Operator: Contains Data

• Advanced Query "B" works (produces 88 contacts) =

     -  Search for: Contact

     -  Type: Opportunity

     -  Field Name: Probability of Close

     -  Operator: Greater Than

     -  Value: 50

• But when you combine A & B, the query results in nothing .  The ACT Demo Database certainly has contacts that have both an Item # and a Prob of Close.

Any thoughts here?  Am I doing something wrong?  I would think this is a pretty common use of Dynamic Groups and I would really really really like it to be working.  Thanks!

[Hammatime]

I've heard that products don't work very well in advanced queries.  I believe this may be a product defect unfortunately.

The only way I have done this before is using an addon product.  I know Topline Dash will do this.  http://toplineresults.com/addons/topline-dash.aspx

[mscott821]

This may not be a solution you are interested in, but food for thought:

We have a client where their ACT! 2011 database wasdoing something similar to what you mention - yes it is related to using queries running against the Products table (am thinking that it is the inherent complexity of the relations:  many to many in contacts and opportunities and again another many to many in products to opportunities - the query engine does not parse the data correctly).

Anyway, we scripted a simple OLE DB link to Excel which included some basic filtering.  They then just open the spreadsheet and use the Excel sorts and filters to create the "report" they need for the given day.

[650nmWolf]

Thanks for the info guys. I have already started proceeding down the excel rout. It really stinks that I cant do this with the internal ACT program, but I am going to make it work one way or the other. I have built all my company databases on the premise that I could do this.

[Hammatime]

That is a very creative way of doing it, Scott!

I'll have to try that trick myself.

[mscott821]

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@650nmWolf wrote:

...It really stinks that I cant do this with the internal ACT program, but I am going to make it work one way or the other. I have built all my company databases on the premise that I could do this.

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I agree, it is a real bummer, haven't test in 2012 to see if they have reworked what goes on in the query builder.

Interestingly, it seems that it works in databases created by 2011, but my casual observation is that databases that were converted from earlier version it no workee.  Further - if you have queries running that way that were built in the earlier versions of ACT! and were converted, the queries work - UNTIL you go to edit them - then they break and will never work again.

Cool, right?

[mscott821]

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@Hammatime wrote:

That is a very creative way of doing it, Scott!

I'll have to try that trick myself.

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Hey Hamma - go get your own thread!