Overview of tracking records in Outlook
Tracking email messages, contacts, tasks, and appointments (including recurring appointments), instantly adds the items to Microsoft Dynamics CRM. You can update the information in both Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Microsoft Office Outlook and you can also access it in both because the data synchronizes between the programs.
In CRM for Outlook, you can quickly choose the Outlook items that you want to track or stop tracking. Simply select one or more items to track, or select an item to stop tracking. Be sure to stop tracking items one at a time, rather than stopping tracking on multiple items at one time.
When you track Outlook items, you can perform the following actions:
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Select the regarding record for one or more items.
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Set the parent account or contact record for contacts.
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Add or edit connections.
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Convert email messages, appointments, meetings, and tasks into Microsoft Dynamics CRM opportunities, leads, and case records.
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Open the record in Microsoft Dynamics CRM and open the parent and regarding record in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
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Create new contact or lead records (with the automatically create contact or lead records option selected).
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Insert and attach Microsoft Dynamics CRM email templates, articles, and sales literature to email messages.
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Track tasks as Microsoft Dynamics CRM tasks, phone calls, letters, or faxes.
When you track a new email message, Microsoft Dynamics CRM creates a new email activity record. You can link the email message to other Microsoft Dynamics CRM records if you select a record that the email message is regarding.
You can also automatically create new contact or lead records from email messages and meeting requests. The new contact or lead record contains the email address of the sender or meeting organizer, and the email message or meeting request links to the new contact or lead record.
Depending on the email tracking options that you select, some items may be synchronized with Microsoft Dynamics CRM automatically so that you do not have to select the items to track.
You can track email messages to and from distribution lists, also. If you do not expand the distribution list before you track and save the email message, and if the option that automatically creates new records is selected, a new Microsoft Dynamics CRM record is created for the distribution list.
More information: Set personal options
What you can do in the Microsoft Dynamics CRM pane with Outlook items
When CRM for Outlook is installed, email messages, contacts, tasks, and appointments include a Microsoft Dynamics CRM pane that displays information and links about the item and related records.
The Microsoft Dynamics CRM pane displays the following information:
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Whether the item is tracked.
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The name of the parent (for contacts) or regarding record.
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Related records, along with a symbol that identifies the record type in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
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Whether the email addresses, names, or distribution lists in the email message are also Microsoft Dynamics CRM records.
Note
The Microsoft Dynamics CRM pane displays the name of the distribution list if you track an email message without expanding the distribution list. If you expand a distribution list before you track and save an email message, the individual email addresses that comprise the distribution list are tracked, instead.
The Microsoft Dynamics CRM pane also includes an Options button that provides quick access to the email tracking options that you can select. More information: Set personal options
Tracking and synchronization on multiple computers
You can use multiple computers to run Outlook and to do work in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Changes or updates to synchronized records will not show up in Microsoft Dynamics CRM until your synchronizing computer is connected to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM server again.
More information: Connect to another organization in Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook
Delegate access and tracking
If you have delegated access to your Outlook account, the delegate can track items on your behalf. These items will not synchronize with Microsoft Dynamics CRM until you connect to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM server again. More information: Allow someone else to manage your mail and calendar
How deletion works for tracked items
Email messages
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Deleting a tracked email message in Outlook does not delete the email message from Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
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Deleting an email message in Microsoft Dynamics CRM does not delete the tracked message from Outlook.
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If you stop tracking an email message in Outlook, CRM for Outlook asks whether you want to delete the email message in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
Contacts
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Deleting a tracked contact in Outlook does not delete the contact record from Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
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If you are not the owner of the contact record, deleting a contact from Microsoft Dynamics CRM deletes the tracked contact from Outlook.
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If you are the owner of the contact record, deleting a contact from Microsoft Dynamics CRM, does not delete the contact from Outlook.
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If you are the owner of the contact record, and you stop tracking the contact, CRM for Outlook asks whether you want to delete the contact record from Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
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If you are not the owner of the contact record and you stop tracking the contact, Microsoft Dynamics CRM deletes the contact record.
Appointments
Deleting a tracked appointment in Outlook deletes the appointment in Microsoft Dynamics CRM; and deleting a tracked appointment in Microsoft Dynamics CRM deletes the appointment in Outlook if the following is true:
If you stop tracking an appointment, CRM for Outlook asks whether you want to delete the appointment from Microsoft Dynamics CRM. The appointment record is deleted in Microsoft Dynamics CRM if the following is true:
Tasks
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Deleting a tracked task in Outlook deletes the task activity record in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
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Deleting the task activity record in Microsoft Dynamics CRM deletes the task in Outlook, if the task is current.
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If you stop tracking the task, CRM for Outlook asks whether you want to delete the task in Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
Synchronizing Microsoft Dynamics CRM and local data
Your local data is defined by Outlook Synchronization Filters and Offline Synchronization Filters. The Outlook filters specify the data that is synchronized between Microsoft Dynamics CRM and your Outlook folders. The offline filters specify the data that is stored and synchronized between your local copy of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM database and the Microsoft Dynamics CRM server.
The default filters can be edited, deactivated, and deleted. You can add new filters if you want to specify additional criteria for the data that you want to synchronize and store locally.
Updating and synchronizing your local data can take an extended period of time. To synchronize, go online and offline more quickly, you can decrease the interval for automatic synchronization.
More information: Set personal options
The address book synchronizes with Microsoft Dynamics CRM automatically when you start Outlook and then once every 24 hours.
More information: Synchronize Microsoft Dynamics CRM data in Outlook
Data loss prevention during the synchronization process
To prevent data loss, when you go offline Microsoft Dynamics CRM synchronizes data from the server to your local data, and then applies all of your changes to the server. All server transactions post completely before records are erased from your local data.
When you run a synchronization process, Microsoft Dynamics CRM overwrites existing information without verifying or comparing the last saved date.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Microsoft Office Outlook privacy information
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.
