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Contacts:

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1. What Contacts are?
2. How can I quickly access or find records?
3. How can I view details or edit records?
4. How can I delete records?
5. How can I print records?
6. How can I import or export records?
7. What are Quick Links?
8. Other tips for Contacts?

Answers:

1. What Contacts are?
   As you may guess these pages manage your company contacts, grouped in any categories you want or per company. Besides names, address, email, web site and phones (5 of them) you can keep other information like messenger IDs (Yahoo / MSN / AOL / ICQ), birthday, company details (department, job title) and notes. We wanted to keep this list at minimum, for most used fields, not asking too much information, never used.
   You can easily group similar contacts together for easy access changing their group field to something defined previously (add a custom group in Groups section)
   For any contact you can have events or tasks associated, with direct links to them.
    
2. How can I quickly access or find records?
   There are a few effective solutions to help you find quickly any record:
   
   • Display them all, in multiple pages;
   • Browse or search by first letter;
   • Browse or search by company selecting one from the list;
   • Browse or search by group selecting one from the list;
   • Search by parts of first name or last name;
   The power of this system resides in combining searching and browsing with results displayed on multiple pages. You can refine your search or go to a specific page, using previously used selections.
    
3. How can I view details or edit records?
   There are 2 distinct operations: view a contact record or edit it. To view it you can click on its name. To edit it use link (see the tooltip if you keep mouse over the icon for 1-2 seconds). When you chose to view a record you have an Update button on the bottom of the page to quickly access edit page.
   Links to open instant messengers for selected contact are available only from view page (you must have those instant messengers installed in order to work correctly).
   After viewing or editing a contact you can go back to previous page hitting Back button on the bottom.
    
4. How can I delete records?
   There are 2 ways to delete a contact: one by one, when click on icon on the left of the name. Or multiple records at once when selecting them and hit button on the right-bottom of the page (With selected:). In both cases a confirmation box is displayed (required, this can't be changed from your profile). Records are physically deleted from database, so can't be recovered.
    
5. How can I print records?
   You can easily print contacts by selecting them and use icon from the right-bottom corner (With selected:). A new printer-friendly page is open with a dialog to print that page. All you have to do is to confirm that dialog box. This is by design in all web browsers, they can't directly print any page without your confirmation because of security reasons.
   You even can cancel that dialog and have a simpler page with selected records, without printing them, for any purposes.
    
6. How can I import or export records?
   iAssistant.NET supports at this time contacts import and export from/into MS Outlook and MS Outlook Express. Let's see all operations, one by one.
   
   Export to MS Outlook (default export option):
   
   • Find records you want to export;
   • Select them using right-side check-boxes (select all of them using header check-box);
   • Click export button from right-bottom corner;
   • You will be asked to Save or Open file - choose Save;
   • Choose destination and confirm or change file name;
   • Done. Your file is saved locally as *.csv file (comma separated values).
   
   Export to MS Outlook Express
   • Change or make sure in your profile that MS Outlook Express is your current export option (click on your name in top left side frame);
   • Follow the same steps as for MS Outlook.
   You might ask what's different between MS Outlook and MS Outlook Express? They are two different applications, first one offering a complete solution for collaborative problems (email, calendar, tasks, journals and much more) and second one offering only email capabilities (no calendar, tasks, etc.). The format of CSV files depends on the destination application.
   
   Import from MS Outlook or MS Outlook Express (are the same):
   
   • Open Import page from top left side frame (see on top);
   • Select local file previously exported from each application (MS Outlook or MS Outlook Express);
   • Select Contacts destination;
   • Click Import button. Import page dynamically see if is an MS Outlook or MS Outlook Express file and import appropriate fields.
   
   Export from MS Outlook: (these operations are done in MS Outlook, not iAssistant.NET):
   • Go to File -> Import and Export ...;
   • Select Export to a file;
   • Choose Comma Separated Values (DOS) or Comma Separated Values (Windows);
   • Select the folder to be exported, Contacts in this case;
   • Select a local file and folder (Save exported file as).
   
   Export from MS Outlook Express: (done in MS Outlook Express, not iAssistant.NET):
   • Go to File -> Export -> Address Book...;
   • Select Text File (Comma Separated Values);
   • Select a local file and folder (Save exported file as);
   • Important: Check all fields available for export. It's not working only with some of them;
   • Click Finish.

   Import files into MS Outlook: (done in MS Outlook, not in iAssistant.NET)

   • Go to Files -> Import and Export ...;
   • Select Import from another program or file;
   • Choose Comma Separated Values (DOS) or Comma Separated Values (Windows);
   • Select local file previously exported from iAssistant (*.csv);
   • Select the folder destination, Contacts in this case;
   • Finish operation.

   Import files into MS Outlook Express: (done in MS Outlook Express, not in iAssistant.NET)

   • Go to Files -> Import -> Other Address Book;
   • Select Text File (Comma Separated Values);
   • Select a local file and folder (Choose a file to import);
   • Confirm fields mapping;
   • Finish operation.
   
    
7. What are Quick Links?
   Last column in Contacts display form is called Quick Links. It has some useful icons to quickly access different pages depend on current record. It may be records in the same group or company, related information regarding current record, or details of other pages. Use tooltips available for them to see operations executed (keep mouse over icon for 1-2 seconds). It also has check-boxes to select multiple records for multiple operations (delete, export or print).
    
8. Other tips for Contacts?
   
   • You can order contacts list using up or down icons in header;
   • Can send an email clicking on email icon;
   • Can open contact web site, if available, clicking on home icon (next to name);
   • Can have names that start with non-alphanumeric characters;
   • You can change group or company for a contact in edit page;
   
    

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