Your way to Act! Premium Cloud — attachments included

The guide, step by step

This is how you move an existing Act! database from a Windows or server installation into Act! Premium Cloud, attachments included: you create an Act! backup with attachments, upload it and then check the data and user access. Menu names may differ slightly depending on version and language.

1. Check the prerequisites and choose the administrator

For the move you need:

• access to the complete existing Act! database
• user name and password of an administrator of that database
• access to the account administrator of your Act! cloud
• enough local storage for the backup
• a stable internet connection
• the correct email addresses of everyone who will use the cloud

Our recommendation for the administrator: the cloud account administrator should be the same person who is already an administrator in the existing Act! Windows database. Use their existing database user for the upload. That way the existing administrator is mapped to the cloud account on purpose: Act! changes the user name of the database administrator given during the upload to the email address of the cloud account administrator. So check carefully beforehand which administrator you use for the move.

Also note the current Act! version, the database name, the number of users and any extensions. For older versions or custom add-ons, Act! support should confirm compatibility in advance.

Align an existing subscription with Act! sales

If you already have an Act! subscription, agree the switch to Act! Premium Cloud with Act! sales beforehand. If you are a HartCon.24 customer, we handle that for you.

• Have your account or customer number and your existing serial number ready.
• Tell Act! sales that your existing Windows database is moving to the Act! cloud.
• Have the switch noted on your existing customer account and the cloud account linked to it.
• Agree that, after a successful data move, your existing serial number or licence is transferred or converted to the new cloud subscription.
• Get the process and timing of the licence switch confirmed — so your existing access stays available until the move is complete.

Moving the data and switching the subscription are separate steps. So agree the licence assignment explicitly with Act! sales.

2. Check storage needs — 15 GB are included

The standard Act! Premium Cloud licence includes 15 GB of cloud storage; more can be added. Also check the terms of your specific contract before the move.

Before the final backup, check the size of these components:

• ADF file: the actual database file
• ALF file: the database's log file
• Attachment folder: total size, number of files and volume of older attachments
• Other database files and subfolders: additional volume such as templates and layouts

The local sizes are an estimate — the storage used in the cloud later does not have to match their sum exactly. Also plan headroom for new documents and further growth.

How to check the sizes in Windows:

1. Find the location of the main database actually in use.
2. Open that location in Windows Explorer.
3. Right-click the ADF file and choose Properties.
4. Note the size shown.
5. Repeat this for the ALF file.
6. Open the properties of the attachment folder that belongs to the database.
7. Wait until Windows has counted all subfolders and files.
8. Note the total size and the number of files.

You only check the ADF and ALF files here. For the transfer you will use the Act! backup function — do not move or delete these database files manually.

3. Review large attachment folders beforehand

Over the years the attachment folder often collects a great many old documents — and then becomes the biggest part of the move. So clarify:

• Which older attachments do you still need day to day?
• Which documents must remain available in the cloud?
• Which files can live in a separate archive?
• Is extra cloud storage more sensible than archiving?

If older attachments should not move along:

1. First create a full backup including all attachments.
2. Decide traceably which files will be archived. The Windows file date alone is not always a reliable criterion.
3. Copy these files into a separate archive folder outside the database and attachment folders.
4. Keep the original file names and, where possible, the folder structure.
5. Check the copy for completeness and open a sample of archived files.
6. Only then remove the selected files from the attachment folder used for the migration.
7. Document the archive location, the selection and the date of archiving.
8. Then create the final migration backup with the remaining attachments.

Do this clean-up in an agreed maintenance window — ideally on a separate migration copy of the database.

Important: removing files from the attachment folder does not clean up the related entries in Act!. Document or history entries can still point to the archived files — those attachments can then no longer be opened in the cloud. So decide on archiving deliberately and arrange later access to the archive.

4. Check the complete main database and attachments

Create the backup from the complete main database — not by mistake from a colleague's restricted remote database. Before the final backup run:

• Have remote users synchronise pending changes with the main database.
• Check that current contacts, history entries and documents are present.
• Open several older and newer attachments.
• Check whether documents are actually stored in Act! or only linked.

A file link is not a stored attachment. References to C:\…, a network drive or \\Server\Share\… do not carry the original files into the cloud automatically. Files you need must be added as real attachments beforehand or made available for cloud access some other way.

5. Set the cut-over date

A test run before the final move is worthwhile. For the actual move, set a binding point in time after which nobody changes anything in the old database. Also pause automatic imports and interfaces that change data.

The backup contains the data as of the backup time. Later changes in the Windows database are not carried over by the one-off upload.

6. Create the final Act! backup with attachments

1. Open the correct database in the Act! Windows application.
2. Log in as administrator.
3. Choose File → Back Up → Database (German: Datei → Sichern → Datenbank).
4. Use Browse to pick a local location.
5. Give it a clear file name, for example CRM_Cloudmigration_final.zip.
6. Make sure to tick Include Attachments.
7. If you set a backup password, keep it safe.
8. Start the backup and wait for the completion message.

Act! creates a ZIP backup with the database, the included attachments and other components such as layouts and templates. Large attachments can make this take much longer. Act! cannot recover a forgotten backup password.

Keep an additional copy of the finished backup. The size of the ZIP file does not reflect the storage needed in the cloud later.

7. Upload the backup to the cloud

1. Log in to the cloud as account administrator.
2. Click your account or user icon at the top right.
3. Open User Management.
4. Choose Additional Settings.
5. Open Launch Database Upload Tool.
6. Use Choose Files to select the final Act! ZIP backup.
7. Enter the credentials of the chosen administrator of the existing Windows database.
8. Enter the backup password if you set one.
9. Add the email addresses for the completion notice.
10. Click Upload.

Wait for the message that the restore is complete. An existing trial database can remain alongside the migrated one — after the upload, make sure you open the right database.

8. Invite existing users again

After the move you invite the existing database users to cloud access. The administrator mapped during the upload is already connected to the cloud account. Collect each person's correct email address first — it becomes their cloud login.

1. Click your account icon at the top right.
2. Choose User Management.
3. Click Additional Settings — account management opens in a new browser window.
4. Select the migrated database there if needed.
5. Click Invite Existing Users. The entry is currently second to last; if the menu changes, go by its name.
6. The existing users of the migrated database are listed — tick everyone you want to invite.
7. Click Continue.
8. Enter the correct email address for each selected user and check the mapping of user name and email address carefully.
9. Finish with Continue.

The invited users receive an email to set their cloud password. Existing cloud accounts may need to be activated additionally. Then check user status, roles and available licences.

9. Check the migrated data and documents

Compare the Windows database and the cloud with comparable permissions and without restrictive filters:

• Contacts, companies and groups: compare counts and well-known sample records
• Opportunities: check amounts, status and assignments
• Notes and histories: check older and recent entries
• Meetings and tasks: compare date, time and owners
• Custom fields: check content, drop-down lists and special characters such as umlauts
• Attachments: actually open or download files
• Archived attachments: check availability in the separate archive
• Users: test login, permissions and assignments
• Storage: check actual cloud usage and headroom
• Interfaces: test required integrations one by one

Test attachments from different periods and in different file formats — ideally also on a computer without access to the old network drive. That way leftover local links show up more easily.

10. Release the cloud for daily work

Once the checks are done:

• Tell everyone the correct cloud access and the correct database.
• Stop further data entry in the old environment.
• Put a database lock on the old Act! Windows database — make sure everyone is logged out first. The lock prevents anyone from logging in again by mistake and recording changes in the old database.
• Keep the original full backup, the migration backup and, if applicable, the archived attachments.
• Document the migrated data state, the database lock and the check results.
• Set up and test the email, calendar and other integrations you need. For Microsoft 365 with Exchange Online and the new Outlook, Innlook is another option: emails land on the right contact automatically.

The move is complete when data and required attachments are available, everyone can work with the intended permissions, there is enough cloud storage and the old Windows database is locked against further editing.

Final tip: have the demo database deleted

If you no longer need the automatically provided demo database after the move, you can ask Act! support to delete it:

1. Note the exact name of the demo database — and check carefully that it is not your migrated production database.
2. Click your user icon at the top right.
3. Open your personal account settings. There you find the account owner and the account number.
4. Open the Support section and create a new web ticket.
5. Ask for the demo database to be deleted and include the database name and your account number.

Word the request unambiguously, for example: “Please delete only the demo database named […], which is no longer needed. Our production database must be kept.”

As of November 2026. Menu names and steps may change with new Act! versions. Wherever you get stuck, we are glad to help — billed by effort in 15-minute increments.