The GoldMine Blog

How Many...

How many records in your filter?

... this is quickie as its been a long long day.  Let me assure you, that while I am a big fan of Microsoft CRM, it does have its share of quirks just like GoldMine.  Fortunately I left the customer in a happy state after applying a fix roll up and finding a couple of work-arounds.  Implementing both GoldMine & Microsoft CRM keeps me grounded.  When I get down on GM for this or that I can realize that software, like myself, is never perfect.

Now for our quick tip!

Filters in GoldMine let you segment your database based on any criteria in the top-half of the screen, fields tab, or summary tab, with the exception of e-mail and web site.  This feature lets you do targeted marketing via email, letters, calls, etc. as well as global replaces, deletes, etc. against a subset of the database.

Here's a little tip if you want to know how many records are in a filter.  Once the filter has been created and you are back at the Filters tab of Filters & Groups...  Do a Right-Click | Count on the filter of interest.

After doing a count GoldMine will tell you:

1) How many records are in the filter; and

2) What % of the database the filter represents!

Happy GoldMining,

Chad

Please Note: The GoldMine Blog has moved to http://www.thegmblog.com

Increase Your Follow-Up & Increase Business

Simple.  Powerful.

What could be better?  GoldMine's scheduling and calendaring capabilities help keep you organized for appointments, calls, and, in general, what you need to be doing.

Whenever you complete an activity, whether it be a phone call, an appointment, or a next action GoldMine gives you the option to schedule a follow up activity. 

You visit a client or prospect, come back to the office, and complete the activity.  Great!  You've marked it as done.  You've automatically moved the activity to the History tab.  You've helped build the 'Corporate Memory' of all interactions with that particular contact.  As you're completing, why not:

• Schedule yourself a reminder to call them back in two weeks, or
• Schedule a next action to create a quote or proposal for them, or
• Schedule a forecasted sale on business you discussed?

Below is a screen shot of the standard completion window.  Notice, in the lower left, the Checkbox for "Schedule a Follow-Up".

Check that box then select the type of activity to schedule from the drop down tot he right.  After clicking OK you'll automatically be taken to the standard schedule an activity window.

If you'd like to 'Carry Over' the reference and notes from the completed activity to the activity you're scheduling that can be done via Edit | Preferences then the Schedule tab.

Please Note: The GoldMine Blog has moved to http://www.thegmblog.com

Record Cycling

It happens every day... 

You'll be on someone's record in GoldMine, not finished on the work there, and need to go to a different record, then flip back to the original record to complete some work.

To make the process of moving back to the original record a little quicker you can cycle through the last 5 records you were on by holding down the Control key then pressing Page Up or Page Down.

Get notified of the newest Blog postings as they happen!

Go to: http://www.thegmblog.com/notify and fill out the form.  Whenever I update the Blog you'll be notified so you can check out the new post.

Please Note: The GoldMine Blog has moved to http://www.thegmblog.com

Date Stamp your Group

First, I hope you had a very enjoyable Holiday, this might be the last post for this year!  Here's to a prosperous 2007!

If you're a user of Groups in GoldMine you'll find this a very handy tip.  Groups, unlike filters or SQL Queries are static, meaning they represent the database when the group was created, a snap-shot, if you will, of the database at a particular point in time.

(For more information on the differences between Filters, Group, and SQL Queries check out this posting: http://goldmineblog.typepad.com/the_goldmine_blog/2006/10/filters_groups_.html)

Since groups are static I find it convenient to 'Date Stamp' the group so I know when it was created.  To do this we can use the 'Code' field for a group.

To make this process even easier we can add a dBASE macro to insert the data automatically for us.  The value should be:

~date()

That code will automatically insert today's date into the field!  Neat eh?  The Code field is limited to 8 characters so we have to stick with the DD/MM/YY format. 

If, when you use this macro, you get '12/26/20' for example you'll need to change your Window's short date setting to use the DD/MM/YY format.  This can be done in the Windows Control Panel under 'Regional and Language Options'.  Once in that Control Panel click 'Customize' then change the short date setting under the Date tab. 

Get notified of the newest Blog postings as they happen!

Go to: http://www.thegmblog.com/notify and fill out the form.  Whenever I update the Blog you'll be notified so you can check out the new post.

Please Note: The GoldMine Blog has moved to http://www.thegmblog.com

Default Alarm Lead Time

Here's another question that came up in Toronto's GoldMine training...  BTW --- I've been doing GoldMine training for 6 years, even certified by FrontRange to do GoldMine training, so if you're looking for GoldMine training whether it be GoldMine 101 or GoldMine administration drop me a line at csmith@plain-english.com

... big discounts if it's somewhere south of the Mason-Dixon line during the Michigan winter! ;-) 

By default, when you alarm an activity the "Alarm Lead Time" will be 10 minutes prior to when the activity is scheduled to take place.  You schedule an activity for 9:30, check the alarm box, and the alarm will be set for 9:20.  This can be changed at that time, but that's the default...

Often times, especially for appointments you'll want to increase this time which can be done on an activity by activity basis by simply changing the time.  If you'd like to increase the default lead time first go to Edit | Preferences then click the Alarms tab.

In the upper-right of the alarms tab is, "Alarms default lead time".  Change that to however many minutes you'd like the default alarm lead time to be!

PS Get notified of the newest Blog postings as they happen!

Go to: http://www.thegmblog.com/notify and fill out the form.  Whenever I update the Blog you'll be notified so you can check out the new post.

Please Note: The GoldMine Blog has moved to http://www.thegmblog.com

Customizing your calendar display

Evening!

Just returned late last night from doing some GoldMine training in beautiful, but cold, Toronto, Canada!  Here's a tip I shared with them that went ovr very well, and I think you'll like it too!

On the GoldMine calendar it, by default, shows the contact name and reference of a scheduled activity:

Wouldn't it be nice to also see the company the activity was scheduled with?  If so here's how you do it.  First, go to Edit | Preferences then to the Calendar tab then click More Options.  Choose "Show results of a xBase Expression" and type in this:

iif(trim(cal->accountno) > ' ', trim(contact1->company) + " " + trim(cal->company) + ": " + cal->ref, cal->ref)

Then Click OK.

Voila!

PS Get notified of the newest Blog postings as they happen!

Go to: http://www.thegmblog.com/notify and fill out the form.  Whenever I update the Blog you'll be notified so you can check out the new post.

Turn a field label red if a field is empty

There are many ways to encourage users to fill out fields...  Here's a very non-draconian and non-invasive way to encourage the users to fully fill out a record.  This method will make the field label red if the field is left blank, therefore drawing attention to the field!

In our example we'll use the Company field; however, this can be done for any field in the top-half of the screen or the Fields tab.  First, do a Right-Click | Properties on the company field while logged in as a user with 'Master' rights.  Then go to the Color tab.

Click on the Expression radio box under Label Color and enter this:

iif(trim(company) < ' ', 255, -1)

If you are using a different field you'll need to substitute that field name for 'company'.  The 255 is the color red while the -1 is the default label color.

Then OK.   

So now it's red:

Now it isn't!

Happy GoldMining!

Please Note: The GoldMine Blog has moved to http://www.thegmblog.com

4 Reasons Not to use the Notes Tab

I was with a new client today who did a self-implementation of GoldMine and now needs some support...  I noticed they were making heavy use of the Notes tab to record call conversations, meeting notes, etc, instead of using the History tab. 

I explained the 4 reasons why not, in my opinion, to use the Notes tab, and I thought I'd share.

1) Storage Limitation.  After about 65,000 characters (8 pages) information will simply start to disappear.

2) Doesn't Sync well.  A new note inserted via Contact | Insert a Note will sync, but changes to that note, or notes not added via that method will not sync.

3) No Security.  Anyone with access to the tab can go in and delete everything there.

4) No Analysis.  If you want to find out how many calls, appointments, or actions were taken by date or GoldMine user then you are out of luck with the Notes tab.

Of course, the solution is to use Pending and/or History rather than notes... and some simple GoldMine macros and shortcuts on the Tool-bar make this process no more time consuming than using the Notes tab.  Also, if you're currently using notes GoldBox has a greate feature built-in that will convert them to history entries!

Of course, if you need help with the GoldBox operation or customizations drop me a line at csmith@plain-english.com.

Happy GoldMining!

P.S. Get notified of the newest Blog postings as they happen!

Go to: http://www.thegmblog.com/notify and fill out the form.  Whenever I update the Blog you'll be notified so you can check out the new post.

Please Note: The GoldMine Blog has moved to http://www.thegmblog.com

Publisher could not be verified error message

Because of some new security features in Windows, when you launch GoldMine you may receive this error message:

Not a big deal you can just click "Run" and GoldMine will operate normally, however, if you want to eliminate this message, here's how:

1) Choose Start | Run in Windows then type gpedit.msc and press OK.

2) Go to User Configuration | Administrative Templates | Windows Components | Attachment Manager

3) Double-click on "Inclusion list for low file types" and change the settings to the following:

Note: Where it reads, "K:\goldmine\gmw6.exe", should be changed to where your GoldMine is currently installed.

4) Close the Group Policy Editor then try to run GoldMine again.

PS Get notified of the newest Blog postings as they happen!

Go to: http://www.thegmblog.com/notify and fill out the form.  Whenever I update the Blog you'll be notified so you can check out the new post.

Please Note: The GoldMine Blog has moved to http://www.thegmblog.com

Customize Search Center Columns

In GoldMine 6.0 and above, you have the ability to customize the columns you see in the Contact Search Center.  The Contact Search Center is simply the formal name of the window that pops up when you are trying to find a contact....  Here it is:

It should look familiar.  By default, you will see the Company, Contact, City and Phone1 fields.  However, this can be changed!  In the Contact Search Center toolbar (The icons just above "Lookup") all the way to the right you'll see an icon that looks almost like an Excel spreadsheet.  I've put a red box around it in the screen shot above to draw your attention to it. 

That's the "Select Browser Columns" button.  Click it, and a window like this will pop up:

Too add a column simply find the column on the left, they are in alphabetical order, and double-click on it, or single click on it and use the right-arrow button.  It'll then move to the right-side of the screen.  The order of the columns can be changed by clicking on a field on the right and using the up or down buttons. 

Click "OK" and you'll see your Contact Search Center with your customized fields.  Any field from the top half of the screen (except for email or website), the summary tab, or the fields tab can be added.  Also, the column widths can be adjusted in the Contract Search Center by dragging the dividers between the column headers, just like in Excel.

When you change the columns you see or their widths this is a 'Sticky' setting.  So once it's set it does not change when you Exit GoldMine, close the Search Center, etc.  Also, it affects only you, no one else.

Happy GoldMining!

Chad

Please Note: The GoldMine Blog has moved to http://www.thegmblog.com