Using BCM to Plan the Day

[Bill Sanders]

I want a program that will allow me to look at my daily calendar and see:

1. Phone calls I need to return
2. Appointments
3. Tasks

I would like to be able to see this this for each day, each day of the week
and each day of that month.

Is this possible with BCM V2? Thanks!

 

[Luther]

I think what you are looking for is basic Outlook Calendar
functionality.

What BCM provides is the ability to link Calendar appointments and
Tasks to Contacts in BCM so that when you view a BCM Contact, the
associated activities show up in that Contact's history grid.

 

[Bill Sanders]

Thanks but will Outlook 2003 allow me to view:

1. Phone calls I need to return
2. Appointments
3. Tasks

All from the Calendar view? How see all of this when I first arrive in my
office and plan out my day?

 

[Guest]

Sorry, I guess I misunderstood the question.

To see all Tasks and Appointments in a unified view, click into the Calendar
folder and then set the current view to the Day/Week/Month view. Then click
the button to show a single day. You will see your appointments in a
timeline and a list of Tasks in a pane to the right.

This is the best native Outlook can do, and BCM doesn't do anything more
either.

Hope this provides you with the answer, even if it is not what you want to
hear.

 

[Guest]

Yes, it is possible, Bill. You just use your calendar as you always do and
then in the Contacts area at the bottom of the Appointment form click the
button and link the calendar item to any BCM Account or BCM Business Contact.

Then you can look at your calendar using any view you like, open the
calendar item, and then double-click on the underlined Contact name at the
bottom to quickly jump to that record in BCM.

Tip -- You have to make sure that the BCM Account and BCM Business Contacts
folders are flagged as Outlook Address Books for this to work so that you can
browse these folders in the Outlook Address Book.

To Enable the BCM Accounts / Business Contacts folders in the Outlook
Address Book:

1. Right-click the Accounts folder in the BCM folders.
2. Select Properties from the popup menu.
3. Click on the Outlook Address Book tab.
4. Check the checkbox to use as an Outlook Address Book.
5. Click OK to apply the changes and close the Properties dialog.
6. Repeat steps 1-5 above for the Business Contacts folder in the BCM
folders to enable the Business Contacts folder to be used as an Outlook
Address Book.

Hope this helps!

 

[Guest]

BTW, I focused on the Calendar and exposing the BCM Accounts / Business
Contacts folders in the Outlook Address Book I forgot to mention Tasks and
Phone Calls.

Phone calls should be considered either a Task to make a call or an
Appointment to make a call. If you want to schedule specific times for calls
and have them show on a Calendar (Daily, Weekly or Monthly view) then the
Appointment is the way to go. The "Location" field can be used to indicate
it is a phone call by typing "Telephone", "Conference Call", "Phone Call" or
whatever you like in that field. You can also use the Categories since Tasks
and Appointments both offer the same, customizable list of Categories to
choose from.

Tasks seem to work better when you need to "assign" the phone call to
someone else or need to put an "action item" on your list of things to do
that does not have a specific timeframe. Tasks also support a "Due By"
property that can be used as an "overdue" date. Both Tasks and Calendar
items support Outlook Reminders.

In either case, if you want a clickable link to a related BCM record, you
will need to create the Task / Appointment in your Tasks / Calendar folders
in your Mailbox and then use the Contacts button to link the Task /
Appointment to the proper record(s). This requires displaying / browsing the
Outlook Address Book, and thus, the BCM Accounts and Business Contacts
folders will need to be flagged so they are available in the Outlook Address
Book according to my previous post.

Happy scheduling!

 

[Guest]

You are totally correct, Luther. It is basic Outlook Calendaring
functionality that ends up addressing the issue I thought was raised. As
pointed out by Frustrated To The MAX pointed out, I may not have understood
the question correctly.

To clarify ...

BCM creates an entry in its SQL database that is queried and displayed in
context of the Account / Contact / Opportunity you are viewing in BCM.
Dobule-clicking the entry seems to open the BCM Journal item only. To do the
reverse, to view a Calendar and then open the related BCM entity, is possible
using the approach I previously outlined.

It's not clean and requires several clicks, but it is possible. Hopefully
someone out there will find the info helpful to them.

 

[Guest]

I could be wrong but I don't think you answered the question he asked! I
think I'm trying to solve the same problem...how do i have multiple views on
the same calendar page...I know I can click on appointments and three levels
later get to what I need...but that's inconvenient and not very user
friendly...I want to see my calender, phone calls for today, and tasks for
today all on the same screen simultaneously...is that possible? thanks.

 

[Tim P via OfficeKB.com]

There are a multitude of view options you can configure within each Outlook
folder. This can range from the simple Outlook Today screen to something
like including the Task pane in your Calendar folder view. Play around with
the various customizing view alternatives until you can find something you
like that works for you. Remember though that tasks and phone calls are not
separate record items in Outlook. A phone call is a specific type of task
(or Calendar appointment if you wish) and can be categorized or separated as
such. I don't know if you are a former ACT user or not but this Activity
definition difference can take some getting used to.

-THP

I could be wrong but I don't think you answered the question he asked! I
think I'm trying to solve the same problem...how do i have multiple views on
the same calendar page...I know I can click on appointments and three levels
later get to what I need...but that's inconvenient and not very user
friendly...I want to see my calender, phone calls for today, and tasks for
today all on the same screen simultaneously...is that possible? thanks.

Yes, it is possible, Bill. You just use your calendar as you always do and
then in the Contacts area at the bottom of the Appointment form click the

[quoted text clipped - 32 lines]

 

[Bill Sanders]

Thanks Tim. I'll work on your suggestion and report back later.

There are a multitude of view options you can configure within each
Outlook
folder. This can range from the simple Outlook Today screen to something
like including the Task pane in your Calendar folder view. Play around
with
the various customizing view alternatives until you can find something you
like that works for you. Remember though that tasks and phone calls are
not
separate record items in Outlook. A phone call is a specific type of task
(or Calendar appointment if you wish) and can be categorized or separated
as
such. I don't know if you are a former ACT user or not but this Activity
definition difference can take some getting used to.

-THP

I could be wrong but I don't think you answered the question he asked! I
think I'm trying to solve the same problem...how do i have multiple views
on
the same calendar page...I know I can click on appointments and three
levels
later get to what I need...but that's inconvenient and not very user
friendly...I want to see my calender, phone calls for today, and tasks for
today all on the same screen simultaneously...is that possible? thanks.

Yes, it is possible, Bill. You just use your calendar as you always do
and
then in the Contacts area at the bottom of the Appointment form click
the

[quoted text clipped - 32 lines]

Is this possible with BCM V2? Thanks!

 

[Guest]

Thanks but will Outlook 2003 allow me to view:

1. Phone calls I need to return
2. Appointments
3. Tasks

All from the Calendar view? How see all of this when I first arrive in my
office and plan out my day?

How are you going to set this reminder for phone calls you want to see you
'need' to return? -Either an appointment, or a task. Several views are
available to show these together.

 

[Guest]

To see all Tasks and Appointments in a unified view, click into the Calendar
folder and then set the current view to the Day/Week/Month view. Then click
the button to show a single day. You will see your appointments in a
timeline and a list of Tasks in a pane to the right.

What version of Outlook? I've tried this in 2003 and if I follow your
instructions on the left hand side all I see is the calendar related items.

Regards

 

[Bill Sanders]

I took your suggestion, played around with the different views but am still
confused even though your last reply was very helpful and got me on the
right track. In seconds I will post a new message with the subject:


Which Product Should I Use?

Please look for it and make any suggestions you like. Thank you.

Thanks Tim. I'll work on your suggestion and report back later.

There are a multitude of view options you can configure within each
Outlook
folder. This can range from the simple Outlook Today screen to something
like including the Task pane in your Calendar folder view. Play around
with
the various customizing view alternatives until you can find something
you
like that works for you. Remember though that tasks and phone calls are
not
separate record items in Outlook. A phone call is a specific type of
task
(or Calendar appointment if you wish) and can be categorized or separated
as
such. I don't know if you are a former ACT user or not but this Activity
definition difference can take some getting used to.

-THP

I could be wrong but I don't think you answered the question he asked! I
think I'm trying to solve the same problem...how do i have multiple views
on
the same calendar page...I know I can click on appointments and three
levels
later get to what I need...but that's inconvenient and not very user
friendly...I want to see my calender, phone calls for today, and tasks
for
today all on the same screen simultaneously...is that possible? thanks.

Yes, it is possible, Bill. You just use your calendar as you always do
and
then in the Contacts area at the bottom of the Appointment form click
the
[quoted text clipped - 32 lines]

Is this possible with BCM V2? Thanks!