Connect Acctivate to Microsoft 365 OneDrive and SharePoint for organizing and storing files

New to 12.3 is the ability to integrate Acctivate with a shared OneDrive or SharePoint folder that will act as a top-level destination folder for organizing and storing files attached in Acctivate. This KB will explain the quick integration process.

By default, Acctivate stores note and email attachments within its database. This can strain storage capacity over time, potentially forcing an upgrade from the free Microsoft SQL Server Express which has a 10 GB database limit to a paid version of Microsoft SQL Server.

To avoid this, Acctivate now offers integration with OneDrive or SharePoint folders. With this integration, your attachments remain accessible within Acctivate, but they’ll be stored securely in the cloud, freeing up valuable database space. By saving files in a shared cloud directory, rather than the database, companies have more control over the size and growth of their Acctivate database. 

Docs page: Microsoft 365 OneDrive / SharePoint

Setup Instructions

1. In OneDrive or SharePoint, create a folder which will act as the destination/top-level folder for storing files attached in Acctivate. For example, this folder may be named "Acctivate" or "Acctivate Attachments".
2. Copy a Direct Link or Share Link for this folder to your clipboard.
   
   1. Direct Link: A "direct link" can be obtained from the OneDrive web interface. A direct link allows your account to access the folder without needing to create a share link. The method for getting a direct link is not well documented by Microsoft, however there are many third party sites which provide instructions for getting the direct link.
   2. Share Link: You can create and use a Share link. It is recommended that the account linked in Acctivate is the same account used to generate the share link and that this link only provides view access to prevent users from deleting files, however edit access could be given to specific users or groups.
3. Log into your Acctivate company, then open File → Configuration Management → Service → File Storage
4. Click Edit
5. Click the Connect button.
6. Login to the Microsoft account that was used to create the destination folder.
7. After logging in, you'll be instructed to return to Acctivate. In Acctivate, you will be prompted to enter the direct link URL for the destination folder you created. Paste the link you previously copied and click OK.
   
8. Click Save.

Acctivate will automatically create sub-folders in the destination folder for each window and record ID that has an attachment. Files attached to emails, such as a pdf of an invoice, or notes will be saved and organized in sub folders within the top-level folder.

For example, after creating invoice B3346Z and attaching it to an email in Acctivate, the .pdf will be saved in the destination folder with a path of ...\Invoice\B3346Z\Invoice - B3346Z.PDF

If at any point you wish to change the destination folder, you can use the Change folder button and repeat the steps above.

Usage

Once Acctivate has been integrated with OneDrive or SharePoint, you can attach documents directly to most windows in Acctivate by clicking the paperclip icon found in the toolbar of the window. These attachments will be stored in the OneDrive/SharePoint folder you created, rather than the Acctivate database.

Clicking the paperclip icon will open the Attachments window and you will prompted to select a file to attach.

 
FAQs

• If I rename a record, such as a customer or Product, will the folder be renamed in OneDrive?
  • Yes! Record folders will be renamed in OneDrive.

• Can I modify the structure of records?
  • No. We do not support modifying the structure in which attachments are saved.

• What happens if I run out of space on OneDrive?
  • You will receive a warning, and the attachment will be saved in the database as normal.

• Will all existing attachments be moved from the Database to OneDrive?
  • Not at this time. This is only for new attachments.