Any Administrator or Manager user can create a regular schedule for creating backups. The computer must be running at the scheduled time of backup, however, the ACT! program does not need to be open. Follow the steps below to use the ACT! Scheduler to automate your database backup task.

Note: The ACT! Scheduler is only available in the Premium versions of ACT! by Sage 2006, ACT! by Sage 2007 and ACT! by Sage 2008. The ACT! Scheduler is available in both the Standard and Premium versions of ACT! by Sage 2009.

Special Note for ACT! by Sage 2009 (11.0) users: ACT! 2009 users now have the option to reduce the size of backup files by excluding attachments from ACT! database backups, allow backups to complete more quickly, particularly if you have a large number of attached documents. This option can be done by un-checking the Include Attachments box on the ACT! Scheduler dialog box.

1. Click the Tools menu, and then click ACT! Scheduler . The ACT! Scheduler - Create, Edit or Delete a Task panel appears
2. Click Create a task from the Schedule Tasks box. The ACT! Scheduler - Select a Database dialog box appears
3. Click the Browse button. An Open dialog box appears. Navigate (if necessary) to, and then Open the desired database (.PAD) file. The ACT! Scheduler - Select a Database dialog box reappears
4. Enter the User name and (if necessary) the Password for this database, and then click Next . The  ACT! Scheduler - Select a Task dialog box appears
5. Click Database Backup from the Task drop-down list, and then click Next . The ACT! Scheduler - Database Backup Options dialog box appear
6. Click the Browse button (if desired) to change the location of the backup (.ZIP) file. Be sure that you have full read/write permissions to the location you are designating for the backup to be created
7. Type in a default name for the back up. If desired, check the Password protect the file (optional) option and enter the password into both the Password and Confirm password fields. Click Next . The ACT! Scheduler - Set a Schedule dialog box appears
8. Choose the desired number of backups to store to save disk space. After the selected number backups is reached, the oldest backups will be deleted to maintain that number
   
   Note for users of ACT! 2007 (9.x) and below: The date and time will be added to the name of your back up to allow for incremental copies. You may need to remove the older back up files to free hard drive space. It is recommended that you transfer these files to CD or some other type of media.
   
   
9. Enable an Occurs option of Hourly , Daily , Weekly or Monthly , and then enable the appropriate parameters corresponding to that option as follows:
   
   Note: Your computer must be running at the time that these tasks are scheduled for. However, the ACT! program does not need to be running.
   
   

   Hourly - Between a starting hour and an ending hour that you specify. Daily -  Every weekday (M - F) or  Every (number of) days that you specify, up to 31 days. Weekly - Every (number of) Weeks on a weekday that you specify. Monthly - Every Month or Every other month scheduled on a specific day of the month or the First , Second , Third , Fourth or Last specific day of the week.

10. When your backup schedule is specified, click Finish . The  ACT! Scheduler - Create, Edit or Delete a Task panel reappears with your scheduled task(s) displayed
11. Ensure that the ACT! Scheduler service is running. You can identify if the services is running by the state of the ACT! Scheduler icon in the system tray.
    
    To Start the ACT! Scheduler Service:
    1. Launch ACT!.
    2. Click the Tools menu, and then click the ACT! Scheduler option. The ACT! Scheduler - Create, Edit or Delete a Task panel appears.
    3. Click the Start Service option from the Other Tasks section.
    4. Click Exit to close the ACT! Scheduler - Create, Edit or Delete a Task panel.
       

    To Stop the ACT! Scheduler Service:

    1. Launch ACT!.
    2. Click the Tools menu, and then click the ACT! Scheduler option. The ACT! Scheduler - Create, Edit or Delete a Task panel appears.
    3. Click the Stop Service option from the Other Tasks section.
    4. Click Exit to close the ACT! Scheduler - Create, Edit or Delete a Task panel.
       
12. Click Exit to return to the database or select your task, and then click Edit a task to change the task or click Delete a task to delete the task.

For detailed insturctions with examples, click here.