I've run into a weird problem with Act! 2012. Client asked me to add some phone fields to a database. I run the new field wizard and add the fields of type Phone. But they aren't in the field list to add to the layout. Fields of other types can be added without a problem. Any ideas what's wrong?
Hello stephillassociates, Welcome to the Sage ACT! Community. Can you confirm that the phone fields are in the field list in Tools > Define Fields? Also, make sure the type of layout you are attempting to add them to matches the type of field (i.e., contact, group, company, opportunity).
Greig Hollister
Note: Effective 6/1/13, Sage no longers provides support for the Act! software. This is now provided by Swiftpage.
Hi, thanks for responding so quickly! I don't see the fields I created in the Tools, Define Fields dialog. I sorted by field type to be sure. I did verify the layout type is Contact.
For example, I created a field of type phone called Direct-Phone. There was already a field of type Character called Direct. The client uses Direct as a phone field, but he wants it formatted so the phone number is automatically entered with a parenthesis around the area code and dashes inserted in the rest of the phone number. That occurs in the Phone type fields. Since I still don't see Direct-Phone in Tools, Define Fields or in the layout field picker, I tried creating it again. I get an error message as follows;
TBL_PICKLISTITEM_TRI1: This field exists in another view. Address, email, and phone fields must be unique. To continue, give this field a new name. The transaction ended in a trigger. The batch has been aborted.
In the Tools, Define Fields dialog, I checked the Groups field list just to be safe. Nothing there, either.
So this is really driving me nuts. The fields I added are there, but I can't get to them!
If that field does not already exist for in the field list for Contacts, Groups, Companies, Opportunities, or Products, then try running database maintenance (Tools > Database Maintenance > Check & Repair) - run it a couple of times in a row.
Greig Hollister
Note: Effective 6/1/13, Sage no longers provides support for the Act! software. This is now provided by Swiftpage.
I added a new field called Direct-Phone-2 of type Phone. The Tools, Define Fields New Field wizard completed without error. yet the new field didn't appear in the Tools, Define Fields field list. Same as all the other Phone fields I added.
I ran the maintenance command three times with no errors. No change in the behavior. <sigh>
I've been unable to reproduce this issue. I've added the same phone field names you reported with no issue, then successfully added them to the layout.
Are there any add-ons installed for ACT!? Can you test this in the demo database (or a new database) to see if occurs there as well?
The demo database works fine, so I guess there's something corrupt in the main database that the Maintenance command won't fix. This isn't a problem, the database hasn't yet gone into production, so I'll recreate it and import the records over again. Thanks for the suggestions.
I am having this exact same problem. Tried everything you mentioned above with no positive result. My database however is in production so I can not just start over. Do you have a fix for this issue?
I can not create ANY new phone fields regardless of the name of the field. The process completes correctly as long as the name is not a duplicate but the new field does not show up in the "Define Fields" list under any category. IE Contact, Company etc...
