Home > Mobile Devices > Google Syncing > Gmail Contacts - DISCONTINUED BY GOOGLEGmail Contacts - DISCONTINUED BY GOOGLE
Google online - You'll need to sign up for a free Google account (not a Google App account) if you don't already have one. Go to https://www.google.com/accounts/ to sign in or create a new account.
The software uses Google as the "conduit" for syncing your calendar and client records online. Google has a number of apps for various brands of mobile devices and your device itself may have built in apps to sync directly with a Google account. Check with your device provider about installing, setting up and using these apps on your mobile device. The Google site has extensive support articles for various devices as well as how to use the Google calendar and Gmail contacts online. You can even simply go to the Google site on your mobile device to view the calendar through it's own web browser.
The Spectra/myStratus client sync will sync any client records that are in the client group you chose in your Google user preferences. You could use notes on the wizard pages to remind users to add any new client records created to the appropriate group. Different users can sync with different client groups if so desired. If you would like to sync all your clients you will need to add them to the syncing group. You can use the Add Clients to a Group under the Tools menu to add all your current client records. Follow these steps:
Open Add Clients to Group command under the Tools menu.
Choose New group if you have not yet created your sync group or Existing group if you have. Click Next.
Enter the desired name of the group if you are creating one or choose your syncing group from the drop-down list to use an existing one. Click Next.
Leave the radio button selection at Filter and choose the All Clients filter. Click Next.
Review the changes you are about to make and then click Finish if you are ready. Depending on the number of clients in the software, this may take a while. Note: This process will run through all your client records, even if you have done this before.
Be sure to set this group as your syncing client group in your User Preferences if you created a new group.
You can use this procedure over and over again as you gain more clients. Since a client record can only be added to a group once, only newly created records will be added. Note: If you have manually removed clients from your syncing group, they will be re-added.
Gmail contacts can be merged on the Gmail website. However, Spectra/myStratus will still try to sync both records. It is best to manage your client records from Spectra/myStratus and not use the merge feature on the Google site or in your mobile app.
Since Spectra/myStratus clients cannot be deleted without deleting any associated records (like sessions, appointments, invoices, or payments), deleting them from Google or your mobile device will not delete them from Spectra/myStratus. You will need to manually delete records from both your Gmail contacts and Spectra/myStratus.
When new contacts are added in Google, the full address is not separated into individual fields. This means the address may not sync properly into Spectra/myStratus. Even though you are allowed to type in a street address, city, state, and zip in Google, that information is stored as one big field. It will appear fine on the Google site, but Spectra/myStratus needs to have the address broken down into individual fields. You will want to verify and adjust the client's address in Spectra/myStratus. However, there are certain mobile device apps that provide individual fields for address information and, even though you will be using Google as the conduit, those field changes will sync back to Spectra/myStratus properly. This is an issue that Google seems aware of and may change in the future.