Perspectives on Salesforce.com

I am pleased to announce that Auto vCard has been re-written and version 2.0 is now live on AppExchange.

Auto vCard allows you to create a vCard file for the import of information from Salesforce.com (e.g. a Lead, Account, Contact or User) into a Personal Information Manager (e.g. Microsoft Outlook, Apple Address Book, etc.) that supports the import of vCard (.vcf) files.

Features in Version 2.0

• Force.com Native Application – The application is 100% on the force.com platform. It utilizes Visualforce and Apex Code to perform its operations.
• All Editions Supported – The application fully supports the Group/Team, Professional, Enterprise, Unlimited and Platform editions of Salesforce.
• Pre-configured support for Leads, Accounts, Contacts and Users – Upon install, you immediately have the ability to generate vCards for Leads, Accounts, Contacts and Users.
• Custom Field Mappings – Using a custom Visualforce page, you have the ability to map your custom fields for inclusion in the vCard.
• Custom Object Mappings – Using a custom Visualforce page, you have the ability to map your custom objects to a vCard.
• Many vCard Field Options – A Visualforce Component is included with the application that allows you to map (using a custom Visualforce page) to any of the following fields in the resulting vCard.
  • Name (First, Last and Nickname)
  • Organization/Company Name
  • Title
  • Website
  • Addresses (work, home, other)
  • Phone Numbers (work, home, mobile, preferred, fax)
  • Emails (up to 3)
  • Birthday
  • Note
  • Geographic Coordinates
  • Logo
  • Photo
  • Categories
• International Character Support – Auto vCard fully supports the ISO-8859-1 character set.
• Click to Download – When you click the vCard button, the file is downloaded directly to the browser without popping up a new window.
• Seamless Install & Upgrade

Required Upgrade

Support for older versions of Auto vCard (versions 1.4.1 and before) will be ending over the next few months.  The older versions point out to Arrowpointe servers to produce the vCard file.  These endpoints will be going away and the only way to run the application will be on the force.com platform using a 2.0 version.  If you are running Auto vCard version 1.4.1 or before, don’t worry, you have plenty of time before the changes are made.  Email & blog communications will happen well in advance of the changes taking place. However, I would encourage you to try out the new version and see what you think.  If you don’t want to lose the current version you have going, try running it in a Sandbox.

Cost

Install now and get a free 60-day, no obligation trial. The application costs $1/user/month and will be available via Force.com Checkout starting at the end of February.  License only the users that need to use the application.

It is free for non-profits.  Contact your Salesforce Foundation representative to have them request the licenses.  You can have as many licenses as you want.  Please install the application first and then make the license request.  Be sure to provide your Salesforce.com Organization ID (found on the Setup | Company Profile | Company Information page in Salesforce) with the request so we can apply the licenses to the correct system.

Support

You should find an answer to most questions in the knowledge base.   If not, support questions, suggestions or bugs can be communicated to Arrowpointe on the Support Page by submitting a Case.

Auto vCard usage continues to grow. The script received a high of 7425 hits in May 2008 only to drop off in June and July.  If history is an indication, it should pick up again this month.

The stats through July 2008 are below:

Auto vCard consists of 2 custom buttons (one each for Leads and Contacts) that allow you to create a vCard file for a specific record.  In other words, you click a button in Salesforce to save that contact/lead to Outlook or another PIM.

• Get Auto vCard from the AppExchange. It’s free.
• View the Auto vCard product page on arrowpointe.com
• Read the Auto vCard privacy policy to learn about how your information is handled in this application.

I made a small improvement to Auto vCard and the new version (1.3) is available on the AppExchange now. Prior to 1.3, the country field was not included in the URL and was not being accounted for in the vCard. This has now been changed and it is included in version 1.3.

It is recommended to upgrade, just to stay current. To do so:

1. Go to the AppExchange listing
2. Click Get It Now and follow the instructions to sign in and get it into your org
3. You will be prompted to update the custom links from the original package. Follow the prompts to do so.
4. That’s all. All that happened was that the custom links were overwritten on Leads and Contacts. You do not need to touch your Page Layouts.

Use of Auto vCard has really picked up usage. As of today, it is listed at #7 in the Top Installs list on the main AppExchange page. vCards created by month through November 2007 is below.

Lastly, if you are a user of Auto vCard and would like to contribute an honest review to the AppExchange, it would be great to get some feedback.

The Auto vCard package was updated on the AppExchange. If you are using Auto vCard in your org, it is recommended that you uninstall the existing package and install the new one. The changes in the new version are:

• Custom Button: Rather than being a custom link, the new package uses a custom button. This looks much more professional and is more noticeable for users.
• Managed Package: The package was updated to be a “managed package”. This will allow future upgrades to be installed over the existing package and allow me to know who is running the package so I can better communicate future updates.

The functional changes in this version are minor. However, I plan on making changes over the next few months that will be much easier on you if you have a managed package installed. These changes include moving the scripts to a new URL and rewriting the logic so that the annoying window doesn’t pop up and force you to close it after every vCard you run. Having it be a managed package will let me communicate with you directly when it comes time to communicate those changes.

Salesforce recently told me that the Auto vCard package has 188 active customer installs and is one of the most installed partner applications on the AppExchange. That’s good news! The bad news is me not knowing who those Orgs are and not being able to communicate with you when the future changes take effect. That’s why it is recommended that you uninstall the existing package and install the new one.

Leave a comment if you have questions/concerns. If you want to contact me privately about it, you can use my support page.

• Get Auto vCard from the AppExchange. It’s free.
• Test Drive Auto vCard
• View the Auto vCard product page on arrowpointe.com
• Read the Auto vCard privacy policy to learn about how your information is handled in this application.

Last September, I posted about the usage stats for Auto vCard where I had about 1000 hits in August 2006.

Auto vCard usage continues to grow and is now being used by large companies in their Salesforce environments. The script received ~3500 hits in March 2007. Current stats below:

Auto vCard allows you to add a custom link to both Leads and Contacts and automatically create a vCard file from the record. These files will open into Outlook and other PIMs. In short, you click a link in Salesforce to save that contact/lead to Outlook.

• Get Auto vCard from the AppExchange. It’s free.
• View the Auto vCard product page on arrowpointe.com
• Read the Auto vCard privacy policy to learn about how your information is handled in this application.