GoldMine regularily polls the Calendar table to ensure that the calendar is always up to date. This polling interval can be increased to lower the amount of network traffic.

Go to Edit -> Preferences (Tools -> Options in GMPE) and in the dialog box select calendar.

Change the ‘calendar refresh rate’ to a higher value.
Press OK to close the dialog box.
Close GoldMine

Login for the changes to take effect.

Note: This is only effective for the current user.

By default, GoldMine’s history tab does not show the activity’s activity code, which is a code of up to three letters used to categorise activities (e.g. NEW if it is a ‘new’ sales enquiry or TS if its a ‘technical support’ activity).

If you want this to show, open up your username.ini file, (e.g. tim.ini in your GoldMine folder if your username is ‘tim’) and find the [ActvObj] section. Then add this line right after the section header:

ShowHistActvCode=1

Your History Tab will then show Result Code and Activity code together.

Have you ever looked through the history of a contact record and said  “I would just like to be able to read over the emails I sent to Kevin”.

GoldMine is structured in such a way that all history activities for the Primary and Additional contacts are displayed together in the history tab in date order, but it does not display the contact name the activity is for.  Normally you would have to read each activity to see which contact the activity belongs to.

To get around this issue, use the following steps…

1. Right click in the History Tab.
2. Choose Options -> Filter…
3. Tick the “Activate Filter” checkbox.
4. Tick the “Reference Text” checkbox.
5. Then in the Reference Text enter the name of the contact you wish to display history for.
6. Click “OK” to activate the filter.

To Release the filter (so you can see everything again)

1. Right click in the History Tab.
2. Choose Options -> Release Filter…

Sharpen Your GoldMine Knowledge

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Thinking of leaving GoldMine? Here’s a checklist of items to consider BEFORE making your first move!

There are quite a number of CRM systems vying for your attention these days and, as the old saw goes, everybody “hates” the CRM they’re on and haven’t learned to hate the one they’re moving to… yet. Before you make a move toward changing out the “nervous system” of your company, consider this brief checklist of possible pitfalls:

First, think about what you already have invested in your GoldMine system. It’s probably more than you think at first blush. This includes, of course, your cost of the software and the hardware it’s installed on, but usually the real investment is in more intangible things.

 System Configuration: Over the years, since you got GoldMine, you have either hired out or internally worked out how to use GoldMine to “mirror” the real-world processes of your company. If it was done correctly, this was a very labor-intensive and detailed process. If it was not done properly, or if your business processes have changed so drastically that a ground-up redesign is needed, then maybe what’s really called for is system configuration work on your existing GoldMine or an easy upgrade. Chances are, this kind of mismatch is the most important reason you are giving up on GoldMine. So ask yourself: “If we aren’t prepared to invest in a detailed system configuration, why bother changing CRMs at all? And if we are prepared for this investment, have we really exhausted the possibilities with GoldMine?”

Training: Don’t underestimate the training time that has gone into making everyone functional in your current system. This is not just GoldMine “technical” training, but the vast amount of low-level business process training that got everyone entering data in the correct way, using commonly agreed codes and entering the key information in the right places. Every time you added a new sales rep, you invested more in this kind of training, and this is an asset to your company that will have to be re-created from scratch if you go to a new system.

Support Costs: Every CRM system requires active maintenance by knowledgable technicians who know both your business AND your CRM system’s technical back end. Getting this combination together is difficult and expensive. You’ve already done this.

 Now, second, think about the one-time costs you will face in converting to a new CRM system. I’ll simply list these potential costs:

 1. Software (the CRM itself). This is the one you’re probably already thinking of. Sure, it’s significant, but the list goes on a long way from here.

2. Cost of hardware upgrades to support new technology.

3. Data Conversion. “Connectors” often help, but they are never automatic and rarely easy as the salesman told you. This is often an expensive proposition and, again, full of hidden costs when you decide that your old information is not really as “junky” as you thought.

4. Cost of replacing add-ons and your custom-built solutions that tie into your current CRM. Rebuilding these, if they are not available off the shelf, can add a lot to your bill.

5. Configuring the CRM to match your business processes. This is not just a technical problem. It requires you, the people who know your business the best, to work closely with a system configuration expert, to completely describe all the moving parts of your company. You cannot successfully hire this out without also participating deeply in the process. We mentioned this above, but remember that whatever you invested before will have to be re-done from scratch for the new CRM System, as it has a different data structure and a different way of handling each process.

Finally, ask yourself if you are considering a move away from GoldMine because of one of the following:

 1. GoldMine doesn’t appear to be able to do what we need it to do.

2. GoldMine maintenance is due, and I’m tired of paying for “nothing.”

3. We can’t get the information out of GoldMine that we need, so people don’t put in the work to enter data properly.

4. The original people who set up the system have moved on. No one knows how it’s supposed to work, so it doesn’t work.

5. GoldMine is a “rudderless project,” because we don’t have a dedicated GoldMine administrator, either internally or external to the company.

The answer in each of these cases is NOT to go to a new CRM system. The answer is to get together with your GoldMine partner and really look closely at the situation, asking if the issue can be resolved with better planning, training, support, or add-ons.

Every CRM has its flaws and limitations. Like it or not, your commitment to GoldMine is real and more expensive than you may think. It’s a shame to find out about the limitations of your new system and the hidden benefits of your old system ONLY after you’ve thrown the baby out with the bathwater.

Source: Rob Machalek, MasterMine Software, Inc.
www.masterminesw.com

In GoldMine Premium Edition, the GoldMine Calendar has a shortcut button for performing various functions.   While you can drop down and select any of the options on the “local menu,” the button is “sticky” meaning it will stay set to your last choice.  The default setting/option is “Today” which when pressed will bring you to the current date range.  But you can change it to any of the other options. 

Go to Date – will let you select a specific date to jump the GoldMine calendar view to.

Email – will launch an email to the primary contact email for the contact record associated with any selected GoldMine Calendar Activity.

Reply – will launch an email to the Primary Contact and offer to carry over the GoldMine Activity Reference notes into the email as well as to complete the activity itself.

Zoom – will zoom in on the GoldMine Activity to display for your all the details pertaining to the selected GoldMine Activity

Go to Contact – will take you to the associated GoldMine Contact Record

Publish Calendar and Publish Free/Busy Times – I suggest you either read more about this topic or contact First Direct if you’d like additional information or assistance with either of these options.  I would suggest you DO NOT use this feature until you have a full understanding of how it functions!

There are many other time savings and time management features and tricks related to GoldMine Scheduling and Calendar views!   This is just scratching the surface.

With the release of GoldMine Premium 9.x there will be a signficant improvement in the integration between GoldMine and Outlook.  And, FrontRange expects more users to use Outlook clients in conjunction with their GoldMine CRM.  As part of this progression, FrontRange Solutions has new licensing requirements for users of this integration.

In previous versions of GoldMine, O licenses were used to extend minimal GoldMine functionality (known as “GISMO”) to Outlook users without using a GoldMine E license. In version 9.0, FrontRange Solutions is greatly increasing the GoldMine functionality inside Outlook, with additional linking options and ability to display GoldMine data in the context of Outlook e-mail messages, contacts, and calendar items. This functionality will consume an E license when used within Outlook.

In version 9.0, users will have the option of using Outlook without consuming a GoldMine license, by unchecking the “Enable GoldMine integration” box that is shown within GoldMine Plus for Microsoft Outlook.

Because of this new approach FrontRange will no longer be selling GISMO unlimited user licenses effective immediately.  In addition, they  will no longer be renewing the maintenance on the product upon expiration of the current maintenance period.  There will be no refunds issued as they will continue to support the product.

GoldMine Premium still ships with licenses for the Outlook Link.  And, you can install the GISMO link on users workstations even if they are not going to be logged into GoldMine in order for those users to link incoming and outgoing emails to records in the GoldMine database.  Previously, users would not use up a GoldMine license unless they actually logged into GoldMine.  FrontRange has changed the licensing with GISMO and now all users of GISMO will take up a GoldMine license.

There is a limit of 255 characters for a filter expression in GoldMine. When doing a large OR comparison the 255 character limit can be reached quite easily. For example, you may want to filter based on a group of contact records whos state is CA, MA, NY, KY, OH, and so on. A better way to do this would be to use a  shorter dbase expression using the  $ (the “contains” operator). For example, use the following: contact1->state $ “CA MA NY KY OH”

NOTE:  Be sure to check the “dBase Exp”  check box and then type contact1->state $ “CA MA NY KY OH” into the dbase expression window. If you need help with more complex filters/dbase expressions please contact First Direct Corp. directly.