Sending and receiving email in Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook

When you use CRM for Outlook, all the e-mail you receive arrives in your Outlook Inbox. Only e-mail messages that originated as a Microsoft Dynamics CRM e-mail activity (that is, a response to an e-mail message you send from Microsoft Dynamics CRM) or that is marked as tracked in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, arrives in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Activities and My Work: Queues area. If you prefer, you can:

• Track all incoming e-mail messages as Microsoft Dynamics CRM e-mail activities.

• Track only e-mail messages that originated in Microsoft Dynamics CRM (that is, e-mail sent in response to a Microsoft Dynamics CRM e-mail activity) into Microsoft Dynamics CRM e-mail activities.

• Track only e-mail messages related to your accounts, contacts, or leads.

• Track e-mail messages related to all Microsoft Dynamics CRM and custom record types that contain an e-mail field.

  Note

  More than one custom record type could contain the same e-mail address. When this happens, Microsoft Dynamics CRM links the e-mail messages that are received from this e-mail address to the custom record type that was created first. For example, a Patient record type that was created in January lists the e-mail address [email protected]. A Doctor record type created in February also lists the same e-mail address. Microsoft Dynamics CRM links the e-mail messages received from [email protected] only to the Patient record type. Sending an e-mail message to [email protected] links the e-mail message to the Patient record type and the Doctor record type.

If you choose not to track all incoming e-mail messages, you can manually track selected messages in Outlook as e-mail activities in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.

If you track all your e-mail messages as Microsoft Dynamics CRM e-mail activities, they can be accessed by anyone who has permission to view or work with your activities. Also, when you track an e-mail message with attachments to a Microsoft Dynamics CRM activity, the attachments are included in the activity. If you do not want these attachments to be available to other users, delete them from the e-mail activity.

You can link Microsoft Dynamics CRM e-mail activities to active contacts, accounts, leads, facilities, equipment, queues, or users in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. You can select active Microsoft Dynamics CRM records with e-mail addresses from the Microsoft Dynamics CRM address book, which is installed automatically when you install CRM for Outlook. You can also track e-mail activities in Microsoft Dynamics CRM without being related to another record.

When you send, reply, or forward an e-mail message that is tracked as an e-mail activity, a closed activity is created for each account and contact referenced and displayed in the Activities area. Closed e-mail activities cannot be updated except to link them to a related Microsoft Dynamics CRM record. If a related record has not already been selected, you have the option to select one.

If you installCRM for Outlook, you have the option of working offline from the Microsoft Dynamics CRM server. You can create Microsoft Dynamics CRM e-mail messages that are sent when you go back online with the Microsoft Dynamics CRM server. If you send Outlook e-mail messages, those are sent immediately if you have network access for sending e-mail.

When you work with CRM for Outlook offline, a sent e-mail message can fail to be delivered or can be blocked. This can happen because the recipient does not want to receive the e-mail message or the mail server is down. If this happens, Outlook saves the e-mail message to your Drafts folder, but Microsoft Dynamics CRM creates a closed activity. In Microsoft Dynamics CRM, use the Pending E-mail view to see unsent messages.

When you are working offline, Microsoft Dynamics CRM e-mail messages that you send are saved to your Outlook offline queue. When you go online, Microsoft Dynamics CRM automatically tries to send them and create the activities. If an e-mail message cannot be sent, Microsoft Dynamics CRM saves it as a draft activity, but it does not appear in your Drafts folder in Outlook.

Use the Microsoft Dynamics CRM address book to select Microsoft Dynamics CRM records in Outlook. The address book includes accounts, contacts, facilities and equipment, leads, queues, and users. Access and use the Microsoft Dynamics CRM address book by using the same menu as your other Outlook address books.

The address book is used to reconcile e-mail recipients in incoming messages to Microsoft Dynamics CRM contacts and link them automatically. How the contacts are matched is set in your personal options.

To use Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Microsoft Office Outlook, you must sign in with your credentials (an email address and password). You may choose to save this information locally so that you aren't asked for your credentials each time you open Microsoft Outlook. If you choose to save this information, CRM for Outlook will automatically connect to Microsoft Dynamics CRM every time you open Outlook.
After the first time you sign in and use CRM for Outlook, the connection between your computer and CRM will always be open when you have access to the Internet. You may choose to turn off the connection between your computer and CRM through the Options area. If you choose to clear this option, CRM for Outlook may suffer from decreased performance.
You can use CRM for Outlook to track email in CRM. If you do, the email thread will be visible to the users in your organization who have permission to view it.
For every email you receive, CRM for Outlook will send CRM the sender's email address, the recipient's email address, and the subject line of the message. This enables CRM to validate whether any particular mail should be stored by the CRM service. When an item is tracked, a copy of that item will be maintained by the CRM service and will be visible to the other users in your organization who have the right permissions. When an item is untracked, that copy is automatically deleted from the CRM service only if that item is owned by you.