The Tools menu in Stonefield Query contains two items which allow you to add menu items to ACT! itself. These items allow you to launch Stonefield Query, or run a specific Stonefield Query report directly from the ACT! menus.

The first of these Query menu items, Add Stonefield Query to ACT! menu, simply adds a menu item to ACT! for launching the Stonefield Query program. There are no options for this ACT! menu item; it simply launches Stonefield Query. It can be used like your Stonefield Query desktop shortcut or Windows Start Menu item.

The second Query menu item, Add Selected Report to ACT! menu, adds a menu item to ACT! to run a specific report. To add a Query report to your ACT! menu, select the report in Query's list of reports, and then select this menu item. This brings up the Add Report to ACT! Menu screen, where you can select the settings for running this report.

There are three settings on this screen, allowing you to specify the behaviour of the report when its ACT! menu item is selected.

  • Choose Report Output Settings: this option allows you to select whether the report will be output to the Stonefield Query preview window, to the printer, to a file, or to an email. The options here are the same as those on the Output Options tab in the Reports Explorer.

  • Choose ACT! Database: this option allows you to select the ACT! database that this report will run against when its ACT! menu item is selected. The default setting, The report runs against the database open in ACT!, means that the report will use whatever database is open in ACT! when the ACT! menu item is selected. The second option, The report always runs against the [database.pad] database, means that the report will always run against this database, regardless of the database open in ACT! when the ACT! menu item is selected.

  • Enter ACT! User Information: this section requires you to enter the ACT! logon information that the report will run under when this ACT! menu item is selected. The default setting, Use the ACT! database user information stored in Stonefield Query, means that the report will attempt to use Query's stored logon information for the ACT! database. This logon information is stored by Query if you select the Save ACT! Password item on the ACT! Login Information screen. The second option, Use a Specified ACT! ID, requires that you enter in the ACT! logon information for this report to run under when its ACT! menu item is selected.

Once you have added at least one Stonefield Query item to the ACT! menus, a new Stonefield Query item will appear in the ACT! Tools menu. Any Query items you add will appear under this item.

The settings for these menu items are stored in a text file called SFQueryActSettings.txt, in your ACT! plugins directory. The default location for this directory is C:\Program Files\ACT\Act for Windows\Plugins. If you need to change or remove any of these menu items, you can edit this file using a text editor such as Notepad. There are three types of entries in this text file; a sample is below:

BASEURN,act-ui://com.act/application/menu/tools/
LAUNCH,"c:\PROGRAM FILES\STONEFIELD QUERY SDK\sfquery.exe",Launch Stonefield Query
REPORT,"C:\Program Files\Stonefield Query for ACT!\sfquery.exe","database=--INSERTDATABASE--" "parameters=C:\Program Files\Stonefield Query for ACT!\data\Schedules\ActMenuItem20090506114639.xml",Run Report: History by Contact

The three types of entries for in this file are as follows:

  • BASEURN: this item determines which ACT! menu houses the Stonefield Query menu items. The default base urn places these items in the tools menu; other options include:

    BASEURN,act-ui://com.act/application/menu/file/
    BASEURN,act-ui://com.act/application/menu/edit/
    BASEURN,act-ui://com.act/application/menu/view/
    BASEURN,act-ui://com.act/application/menu/report/

    These options place the Query items into the File, Edit, View, and Reports menus, respectively.

  • LAUNCH: this item adds an ACT! menu item to launch the Stonefield Query program. The settings for this item are the location of the Stonefield Query program file, and the menu text to be displayed for this menu item in ACT!.

  • REPORT: this item adds an ACT! menu item for running an individual Stonefield Query report. The settings for this item are the location of the Stonefield Query program file, the options for running the report, and the menu text to be displayed for this menu item in ACT!. The available options for running the report are the same as those given in the Running from Other Applications topic, with the additional option of using "database=--INSERTDATABASE--" to have the report run against the database open in ACT!, rather than a specific database hard-coded into the command.