Synchronize contacts and events between locations
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Ever wish you
could move your Contact
Plus Professional data
between your laptop and
your desktop computer
easier? How about being
able to share your
Contact Plus data with
your assistant without
duplicating
records?
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Smart Merge Pro is the data synchronization
tool that will "merge" all of the changes you've made to
your data along with the office changes - even when
you're away from the office! Smart Merge Pro is so smart
it won't even duplicate records!
Here's how it works:
First, start with the exact same version of
Contact Plus Professional on both the Office and the
Field computer(s). Then start with the exact same
database - both in the Office and in the Field. (Be sure
the database is flagged as a Smart Merge Pro database.)
Make changes as needed to both the Office and Field
copies of the database. Then the Field "transfers out"
the changes to a compressed zip file using Smart Merge
Pro. This file is sent as an attachment to an email or is
sent on floppy diskette to the Office.
Second, the Office receives the file(s) from
the Field computer(s) and then performs the Smart Merge
Pro. All of the changes from the Field computer(s) are
merged into the Office database. Changes include letters,
notes, to-do items, phone calls, etc. Records added in
the Field are added to the Office database. If both the
Office and the Field make changes to the exact same
contact record and the exact same user field, for
example, Address 1, then the newest change is the one
recorded.
The Office can choose to not allow any
deletions of records, to allow only deletions based upon
the Who field on the contact record, or to allow any
records to be deleted. For example, the Office may elect
user JLK to have the ability to delete HIS records only -
not any records belonging to another user. If the Office
does not allow any Field computers to delete records then
any records that may have been deleted by the Field
computers will be added back in as the Smart Merge Pro
process is completed. The Office can choose to create a
text file of the changes which were performed.
Finally, the Office transfers back the
information to the Field computer(s). Then the Field
computer(s) perform the Smart Merge Pro so that all the
Office changes as well as any other Field computer(s)
changes are automatically merged. This time the Field
computer acts as the Office and performs the Smart Merge
Pro.
Smart Merge Pro FAQ
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What is the cost for Smart Merge
Pro?
Smart Merge Pro is $ 199 per User ID to
be included in the merge process.
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How many different Field computers can be used in
Smart Merge Pro?
The maximum number of Field computers
which can be included in Smart Merge Pro is limited to
the number of Smart Merge Pro licenses purchased. For
example, a customer with a 5 user license for Contact
Plus has one user in the field, so he purchased a 1
user license for Smart Merge Pro. He can run Smart
Merge Pro on his in-house server machine and ONE field
computer.
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How often should Smart Merge Pro be done?
This is dependent upon how important it
is to merge the data depending upon how often changes
are made to the data. Some users will find once a week
is adequate - others may find the need to run Smart
Merge Pro for Windows daily. By default, 30 days of
data is sent with each transfer, so we recommend
running Smart Merge Pro at least once a month.
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How long will the merge process take?
This is dependent upon the amount of
data being merged. Generally the merge process only
takes a few minutes. However if thousands of changes in
both the Office and the Field are recorded, then the
merge process will take longer.
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Can I use Smart Merge Pro with Contact Plus
Personal?
Inherent in the Smart Merge Pro is the
ability to tell who made what change to what record.
Contact Plus Personal does not use User ID's and
therefore cannot be used with Smart Merge Pro. Only
Contact Plus Professional and Contact Plus Professional
have this feature.
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Can I use Smart Merge Pro with other
databases?
Only Contact Plus Professional
databases can be used with Smart Merge Pro. However -
you can always import other database files into a
Contact Plus database. Supported database files include
Dbase, ASCII comma delimited, or Paradox files. Most
database programs will export files in one of these
common file formats.
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I don't share data with anyone but I want to keep my
database on my laptop and desktop computer. Will Smart
Merge Pro help me?
Yes. By using Contact Plus and Smart
Merge Pro you can take your changes from one computer
to another quickly and easily. Best of all, you'll
never lose information in the process.
System Requirements:
- Contact Plus Professional
- Windows XP/
- Pentium class CPU
- Professional Mb RAM
- Program files require 1 Mb Available hard drive
space
- Smart Merge Pro Data file sizes vary depending upon
the amount of records changed between Smart Merge Pro
sessions. In most cases the data files will be less
than 1 Mb.
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