How to Run Sage ACT! Pro as a Windows Service with AlwaysUp

Sage ACT! Pro is a well established Customer Relationship Management (CRM) package.

To configure Sage ACT! Pro 2013 with AlwaysUp 8.0 and later:

1. Download and install AlwaysUp, if necessary.

2. Download, install and configure ACT!, if necessary. Ensure that it operates as you expect and starts up with the database of your choice.

3. Start AlwaysUp.

4. Select Application > Add to open the Add Application window:

   

5. On the General tab:

   • In the Application field, enter the full path to the Sage ACT! executable. Since we installed Sage ACT! in the default location, C:\Program Files\ACT\Act for Windows, we will put in:

     C:\Program Files\ACT\Act for Windows\ActSage.exe

   • In the Name field, enter the name that you will call the application in AlwaysUp. We have used Sage ACT! but you can specify almost anything you like.

   

6. Click over to the Logon tab and enter the username and password of the account in which you installed and use Sage ACT!. Sage ACT! must run in this account so that it can find its settings.

   

7. Click over to the Startup tab and:

   • Check the Ensure that the Windows Networking components have started box. This informs AlwaysUp that Sage ACT! needs the TCP/IP networking stack to operate.

   • Check the Ensure that the following services have started box and choose the SQL Server (ACT7) service on the list. This will ensure that the SQL Server database used by ACT! starts prior to ACT! itself.

   

8. If ACT! requires you to log in, it will show a window like this when it starts:

   

   If you click the OK button, ACT! to proceed, but you won't be there to do so when ACT! is running in the background as a Windows Service. To have AlwaysUp automatically click the OK button for you:

   • Ensure that you have clicked the Remember password box on the Log on window (see above).

   • Download the SendEnterKeyToWindow utility from our web site and save it in the location where you installed AlwaysUp (C:\Program Files\AlwaysUp, or C:\Program Files (x86)\AlwaysUp on 64-bit systems).

   • Go back to AlwaysUp and click over to the Automate tab. Check the When the application starts... box and enter the command that will dismiss the logon window:

     "C:\Program Files\AlwaysUp\SendEnterKeyToWindow.exe" "Log on to YOUR-DB"

     where YOUR-DB is the name of your Sage ACT! database (which is TestDB in our case). Please be sure to adjust the path if necessary!

   • Check the Only box and leave the default value at 10.

   

9. Click the Save button. In a couple of seconds, an application called Sage ACT! will show up in the AlwaysUp window. It is not yet running though.

   

10. To start Sage ACT!, choose Application > Start "Sage ACT!". After a few seconds, the state should transition to Running:

    

    On Windows 8, 7, Vista, Server 2012 or 2008, ACT! will be running in Session 0. Select Tools > Switch to Session 0 to transport yourself to the austere Session 0 desktop where ACT! will be visible (after the Log on window has been dismissed):

    

11. That's it! Next time your computer boots, Sage ACT! will start up immediately, before anyone logs on. We encourage you to edit Sage ACT! in AlwaysUp and check out the many other settings that may be appropriate for your environment.

Sage ACT! not working properly as a Windows Service?

• From AlwaysUp, select Application > Report Activity > Today... to bring up a HTML report detailing the interaction between AlwaysUp and your application. The AlwaysUp Event Log Messages page explains the more obscure messages.
• Consult the AlwaysUp FAQ for answers to commonly asked questions and troubleshooting tips.
• Contact us and we will be happy to help!