Scheduling Activities

The Schedule an Activity window can be accessed by selecting Activity from the Account Summary desktop, then Schedule a New Activity from the drop-down menu.

• Scheduling a New Activity for a Single User
• Scheduling a Recurring Activity for Multiple Users
• Scheduling an Activity for Another User with RSVP
• Making Your Notes Private
• Scheduling an Activity to Appear on a Group Calendar
• Using the Contacts Button to Choose a Contact for Your Activity
• Attaching Your Activity to an Extended Profile using the Attach to Profile Button
• Time Zone

Window Map

Fields

Contact: The contact displayed here is the contact currently displayed in the Account or Contact Summary window.

Category: Select a category from this drop-down for the activity being scheduled.

Type: Select the type of activity (e.g. Call In, Email Out, Meeting) being scheduled from the drop-down list.

Regarding: Select a Regarding item from this drop-down for the activity being schedule. The item you selected in the Category field will determine the options you will have to choose from in the Regarding drop-down list.

Priority: Select a level of priority to be assigned to the activity being scheduled.

Date: The current date will be the default value for this field. To change the date for the activity being scheduled, click on the calendar icon to the right of the field. A calendar will open. Press the right/left arrows to go to the next/previous day, month, and year. Click on the desired date, then press the OK button to select your new date.

Time: From this field select an appointed time that you wish to complete the scheduled activity. When you select a time in this field, the Time Zone field will become active allowing you select a time zone for this activity. Click Here for details regarding the Time Zone field.

User: The name of the user currently signed-on will be the default value for this field. The activity can be scheduled for another user or a group of users by selecting the appropriate user or users from this field.

Created By: This view-only field will contain the name of the user who created the activity.

Document: The user can attach one or more documents to the activity being completed. To add a document, right-click in the document field and select Add , or press the document icon to the right of the field. In the window that opens, select the document you wish to attach, then press the Open button.

Note: To open an attached document, highlight the name of document you wish to open, then click on the folder icon to the right.

Note: To delete an attached document, highlight the document you wish to delete, right-click within the field, then select Delete.

Notes: Enter critical information about the activity in this field. Ideally, the information you provide should be enough that any member of your team would know what took place after reading it.

Required Fields: Fields that must contain a value for you to be able to compete the activity. The OK button will be disabled (grayed-out) until all required fields are completed.

Check Boxes

Remove Contact for this Activity: Select this check box to create an activity NOT associated with any contact. You can also select this check box to remove a contact from an existing activity.

Private Notes: If this box is checked, the notes in the box below can only be viewed by the user for whom the activity was scheduled, the user who created the activity, and users with administrator privileged.

Set Alarm: When this check box is selected the Critical Activities window will open prior to the activity start time. Wintouch will alert users of all critical activities for which an alarm is set. If Wintouch is open, the server is ready to alert the user within 10 minutes prior to the start time of the activity. This will happen if the proper settings are adjusted correctly in preferences settings.

Recurring Activities: When this check box is selected the associated fields will appear allowing to user to select a format by which the activity will be recurring.

Push Buttons

Complete: Press this button to complete the schedules activity.

Clear: Press this button to delete the current activity.

Template: Select this button to open up a predefined template that was generated in the Template Builder.

Change Contact: Press this button to change the contact that is associated to the activity. The Account Summary contact list will open allowing you to select another contact.

Attach to Profile: Select this button to attach to current activity to an extended profile.

Print: Press this button to print the activity.

Customize: Allows the use to add, delete, and arrange fields in the window.

OK: Select this button to save data additions or changes and exit the window.

Cancel: Exits the window or dialog screen without saving any changes or additions made in the fields and returns you to the previous window.

Help: Select this button to review the online help documentation.

Scheduling Activities

Below, you will find instructions for scheduling new activities. These scheduled activities will then show up on your Daily, Weekly, and Monthly Calendars as well as the Activity Logs for the Extended Profile record, Account, or Contact for which the activity is scheduled.

Scheduling a New Activity for a Single User

This example will illustrate how to schedule a new activity for a single user. The order in which the fields are filled in this illustration does not reflect a set order, with the exception of the Category and Regarding fields. You must first enter data into the Category field before the Regarding field is enabled.

1. In the Category drop-down list, select an item. For this example we have selected Customer Service.

   

2. Click on the date icon to the right of the Date field to open the calendar.

   

3. Select a date for your activity, and then Press the OK button.

   

4. In the Regarding drop-down list, select an item. For this example we have selected Incident or Problem.

   

5. Select a User from the drop-down list. If you are scheduling the activity for yourself there is no need to select the user because the log in user is filled in this field by default.

   

6. In the Type drop-down list, select an item. For this example we have selected Call Out.

   

7. Select a time for the Activity by entering a time in the Time field. After you have entered a time, the Time Zone field is enabled allowing you to enter a time zone or leave the default. Click Here to review the rules for the Time Zone field.

   Note: If you would like Winouch to alert you before the activity is scheduled to begin, check the Set Alarm check box and set the time of the activity for 15 minutes before the activity actually begins.

   

8. Set the Priority of your Activity. Reserve urgent priorities, like High and Act Now for critical activities, otherwise they will lose their impact.

   

9. Enter the Duration of the Activity. Even if you don't know exactly how long the Activity will last, it is useful to enter an approximate duration for each of your activities. Doing so will help you to manage your time more efficiently.

   

10. In the Notes box, concisely enter information about the activity. Ideally, the information you provide should be enough that any member of your team could take over the activity if the person for whom it is scheduled becomes unavailable.

    

11. Press the OK button.

    

Scheduling a Recurring Activity for Multiple Users

This activity differs from the last one in two ways. First it is assigned to multiple users rather than just one. (Compare Step 5 in the two procedures.) Second, this activity recurs monthly, whereas the last occurred only once. (See Steps 12 & 13 in the following example. There are no parallel steps in the first example.)

1. In the Category drop-down list, select an item. For this example we have selected Customer Service.

   

2. Click on the date icon to the right of the Date field to open the calendar.

   

3. Select a date for your activity, and then Press the OK button.

   

4. In the Regarding drop-down list, select an item. For this example we have selected Incident or Problem.

   

5. Select the users from the drop-down list. To select more than one User, hold down the Ctrl key as you highlight each user.

   

6. In the Type drop-down list, select an item. For this example we have selected Call Out.

   

7. Select a time for the Activity by entering a time in the Time field. After you have entered a time, the Time Zone field is enabled allowing you to enter a time zone or leave the default. Click Here to review the rules for the Time Zone field.

   Note: If you would like Winouch to alert you before the activity is scheduled to begin, check the Set Alarm check box and set the time of the activity for 15 minutes before the activity actually begins.

   

8. Set the Priority of your Activity. Reserve urgent priorities, like High and Act Now for critical activities, otherwise they will lose their impact.

   

9. Enter the Duration of the Activity. Even if you don't know exactly how long the Activity will last, it is useful to enter an approximate duration for each of your activities. Doing so will help you to manage your time more efficiently.

   

10. In the Notes box, concisely enter information about the activity. Ideally, the information you provide should be enough that any member of your team could take over the activity if the person for whom it is scheduled becomes unavailable.

    

11. Check the Recurring Activities box check box.

    Note: When this check box is selected the associated fields will appear allowing to user to select a format by which the activity will be recurring. By default the Daily radio button is selected

    

12. Select the Monthly radio button and enter the number 6 in the Number of Activities to Create field, and then press the OK button.

    Note: This activity is now scheduled to occur on the 19th of each month for the next six months.

    

Scheduling an Activity for Another User with RSVP

If you schedule an activity for another user, you have the option of checking the RSVP box. If you do, the User you scheduled the activity for will not be able to change or clear the activity you assigned to them without you receiving notification in the form of an email.

Note: For the RSVP feature to work, the email addresses for all users involved must be saved as the Account-Contact Email address in Account ID 1, which should be your main company account.

1. Use the Account ID Search tab to search for Account ID 1.

   

2. Under the Contact menu of the Account Summary window, hover over Profiles, and select Edit Account-Contact Information.

   

3. Make sure that the email address in the Account-Contact Profile Email field is correct for both the activity's creator and its user(s).

   

4. Once you have confirmed that the Account-Contact Profile email addresses are correct in Account ID 1, simply check the RSVP box, as depicted in the screen shot below, to receive email notification of any changes made to the scheduled activity.

   

Note: If you are scheduling an activity for another user, be sure to include specific notes so that he or she can adequately prepare for the activity.

Making Your Notes Private

If the notes for a particular activity contain sensitive material, Wintouch gives you the option of making those notes private. If you check the Private Notes box, only you and those users with Administrator privileges will be able to see the notes for the activity.

• Check the Private Notes box to limit visibility of notes to you and those with administrator privileges.

  

Scheduling an Activity to Appear on a Group Calendar

Any activity you schedule will appear in the Daily, Weekly, and Monthly Calendars for that user, as well as the activity logs for the Extended Profile record, Account, or Contact for which it is scheduled. To make the activity appear on a group calendar, you must select one from the Group Calendar fields drop-down list. Activities that take place in shared spaces, like conference rooms, should be saved to the appropriate group calendar.

• In the Group Calendar field, select the appropriate group from the drop-down list.

  

Using the Contacts Button to Choose a Contact for Your Activity

The Change Contact button allows you to select or change the Contact associated with an activity from either the Schedule a New Activity or Scheduled Activity windows. Instead of having to clear an activity that is associated with the wrong contact, you can simply edit the contact field value. When you Press the Change Contact button, the Contacts window will open, allowing you to select a contact from those associated with the account.

1. In the Schedule a New Activity window, Press the Change Contact button.

   

2. Select a contact from the list, then Press the Select button.

   

3. Verify that all fields are complete and correct, then Press the OK button.

   

Cancelling a Scheduled Activity

Open the Scheduled Activity window for the activity you wish to cancel by clicking on its row in the Daily, Weekly, or Monthly Activities or the Activity Log window.

1. To Cancel a Scheduled Activity, Press the Clear button in the Scheduled Activity window.

   

2. Press the Yes button in the dialog box to confirm.

   

Attaching Your Activity to an Extended Profile using the Attach to Profile Button

In many cases, the activities that you schedule will be related to an extended profile record. For example, activities related to a particular sale or incident should be related to a record in the sales history or incident log extended profile, respectively. Attaching your activity to a record in an extended profile is like storing it in a folder. It will allow you to easily look at the activities associated with that particular extended profile item, without having to look through all activities associated with the account or contact.

1. In the Schedule a New Activity window select the Attach to Profile button.

   

2. A list of the extended profiles that you have available to your system will appear. Select the extended profile of your choice. For our example we will select Incident Log.

   

3. Select and highlight the extended profile to which you wish to attach the activity and press the Select button.

   

4. In the activity window you can see that the Attach to Profile button has now changed it's title to Profile. As long as this activity is attached to the profile this button will display profile as a title. Pressing this button will now open the attached profile. If you wish to detach to activity from the profile, press the arrow button to the right of the profile button and select Detach from Profile.

   Note: Be sure to press the OK button in the activity window to finalize the attachment.

Time Zone

• Activities Scheduled for A Particular Time: If the activity is scheduled for a particular time, the time zone displayed will be the time zone you have selected from the Time Zone field. After you select a time from the Time field, the Time Zone field will become active. When the Time Zone field is activated it will display the default time zone that has been set in Preferences, or if a default setting has not been set in Preferences, Wintouch will display by default, the time zone that is set in the computers operating system. From this point the user can open the Time Zone drop-down box and select any time zone from the items listed and that will be the time zone displayed.
• Activities with a Blank Time Field: For activities scheduled for the USA and Canada, if the Time field of the activity is left blank, the Time Zone displayed will be based on the area code of the related telephone number. Use the table below to determine which phone number will be used to determine the Time Zone of the activity.

Note: If you have scheduled an activity with a blank Time field, and there is not any related telephone number, the Time Zone field will be populated with the time zone detected by your computers operating system.