As with most of the boxed applications in this review, most of the initial configuration is completed as part of the installation process, even to the extent of creating several individual GoldMine users or selecting whether to use one single database for all the users on the system.
Once the installation is complete, a wizard takes you through the final configuration and personalisation of the application. Part of the wizard includes standard "pre-configured" templates.
There are 10 different application data sets that GoldMine can import from: ACT for DOS 2.xx, ACT for Windows 1.1, ACT for Windows 2.0 and Higher, Ecco 3.0, Lotus Organizer 6.0, Maximizer for Windows, Organizer 2.xx, Outlook 2002 (XP), SaleMaker, and TeleMagic. The GoldMine Process monitor lets the operator know the status of the importation. All our records were imported correctly after we had gone to the trouble of converting them.
Exporting was just as straightforward, however there are only three export data sets supported: dBASE, ASCII file, and SDF file. We exported our contacts with no trouble.
Whenever an operator adds a new contact it can be set to scan for duplicates in the following fields: phone number, contact name, e-mail address, and company name. We found that every time we tried to create a conflicting record the system quickly picked this up and gave us the option to merge the records.
There is also a very powerful merge/purge tool included with the application.
GoldMine has a neat e-mail client built in and it supports faxing. There is a good calandar feature set that can synchronise between Outlook and GoldMine should you wish.
GoldMine also allows you to use a MS-SQL server database for storing all your data in one central server-based location.
| Product | GoldMine 6.0 |
| Price | AU$379.50 for a single user, AU$1534 for 5 users, AU$2964 for 10 users |
| Vendor | FrontRange Solutions |
| Phone | 02 8080 3300 |
| Web | www.frontrange.com.au |
| Interoperability |  ½ |
| Limited to Microsoft office applications; good support for most accounting applications; supports MS SQL and dBase databases. | |
| Futureproofing |  |
| Should work well for quite some time. | |
| ROI |  |
| Quite a refined package at a fair price. Ideally suited to small to medium businesses. | |
| Service |  |
| No warranty, and fairly poor support from manufacturer; directs users to resellers for individual support contracts. | |
| Rating |  |
It seems like now ACT! 6.0 also includes the PocketPC sync tool in the package (which is available for $229,- with a $20 discount for the download version at their website in the US store).
"With ACT! Link for Pocket PC and ACT! for Palm OS now included, you can access your data in the office or on the go."
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