Work offline with CRM for Outlook
If you install CRM for Outlook, you can work offline with the Microsoft Dynamics CRM records that you own. When working offline, you can enter new information and edit existing records and activities. For an example of how you might work offline, see Hitting the road with Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook with offline access.
Important
The first time you go offline, it can take a significant amount of time to synchronize your local data with the Microsoft Dynamics CRM server. While CRM for Outlook is synchronizing, Microsoft Dynamics CRM is not available. You can shorten the time by using filters to limit the amount of data to synchronize.
Any users who log on locally to a computer that has Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Outlook installed can potentially access Microsoft Dynamics CRM data that is stored in the offline database. Shared use of a computer running CRM for Outlook is not supported.
How to tell if you are offline
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The Microsoft Dynamics CRM toolbar displays the Go Online button.
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The Microsoft Dynamics CRM menu bar displays the Go Online option.
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If you have installed Outlook 2010 or Outlook 2013, the CRM tab displays the Go Online button.
Offline availability
The following list shows the features that are unavailable when you are offline.
Not available offline
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Assigning records (except activities and cases)
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Converting quotes to sales orders
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Converting sales orders to invoices
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Managing system administration
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Updating system configuration
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Managing service activities
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Managing services
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Using the Service calendar and Workplace calendar
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Editing articles
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Editing or managing sales literature
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Changing organizations
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Sharing records
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Detecting duplicate records
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Managing system jobs
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Running some diagnostic tests
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Running workflow rules
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Create quick campaign and related activities from a Mail Merge
Limited availability
Can be viewed, but cannot be edited offline
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Articles
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Sales literature
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Mail merge templates
Microsoft Dynamics CRM applies all your additions and changes to the Microsoft Dynamics CRM server in the same order that you entered or updated it. If you made a change to a record while you are offline, and another user changes the same record during that time, when you go back online, your change will overwrite the changes that they made while you were offline.
Workflows
When you are working offline, workflow notifications are not generated until you go back online.
Also, if the changes you've made to offline accounts are set to trigger an automated workflow process or system job, the process is automatically triggered after you go back online.
Duplicate detection
There is no duplicate detection while you are working offline. Duplicate detection is triggered automatically when you go back online or synchronize. You can set a personal option to determine whether or not duplicates are created when they are identified.
Offline security permissions
You have the same security permissions and rights offline as when you are online.
Using filters
Before you go offline, use filters to select a subset of Microsoft Dynamics CRM data to be available on your local computer. Any changes you make to this data when you work offline are saved to the local copy of your data.
You can reset these filters every time that you go offline, so you have the flexibility to download only the data you need. If you choose to remove large amounts of data from your local copy, this can cause a longer synchronization.
You use filters to define what data is taken offline. You can edit the filters to suit your business needs.
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This task requires permissions that are found in all default security roles.
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If you have Outlook 2013 or Outlook 2010 installed, click or tap File. Click or tap the CRM tab. Click or tap Go Offline, and then click or tap Offline Filters.
If you have Outlook 2007 installed, on the CRM menu, click or tap Offline Filters.
The Offline Synchronization Filters are displayed by default.
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On the User Filters tab, click or tap the filter that you want to edit. To create a new filter, on the Actions toolbar, click or tap New.
The New Filter dialog box lists the name and criteria of the filter. You can use this dialog box to edit the properties of the filter, such as the name and description, and you can add or change the criteria of the filter. For example, you can add the criteria, Owner Contains Gabriela.
Each row represents one set of filter criteria, and contains three columns: the field to use in the filter (for example, Account Name or City), the query relational operator (for example, Equals or Contains), and the value to filter on (for example, Open).
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Change the criteria in the New Filter dialog box:
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To edit a filter criteria row, click or tap the field and select a different field, or click or tap the query relational operator and select a different operator, or click or tap the value, and enter a new value. For some values, you can click or tap the Select or change the values for this field button
to open the Select Values dialog box and select the value you want.
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To add a criteria row:
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Click or tap Select, and specify the field to filter on.
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Click the query relational operator, and select an operator.
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Click or tap Enter Value, and enter a value to filter on. For some values, you can click or tap the Select or change the values for this field button
to open the Select Values dialog box and select the value you want.
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To group criteria, you must select two or more rows for the same record type. For example, Sales Stage and Est. Revenue are both field values in the Opportunity record type and two rows that specify filter criteria for these fields can be grouped. However, rows with field values from different record types, such as Account and Opportunity record types, cannot be grouped.
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For each row you want to group, in detailed mode, click or tap the Options menu button
for that row, and then click or tap Select Row.
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On the Filter toolbar, select Group AND or Group OR.
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To remove a row from a group, click or tap the Options menu button
for that row, and then click or tap Delete.
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To select a group, click or tap the Options menu button
for that group, and then click or tap Select Group.
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To add a criteria clause to a group, click or tap the Options menu button
for that group, click or tap Add Clause, and then select the field, query relational operator, and value.
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To unselect a group that has been previously selected, click or tap the Options menu button
for that group, and then click or tap Deselect Group.
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To ungroup a group, click or tap the Options menu button
for that group, and then click or tap Ungroup.
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To change a Group AND group to a Group OR group, or a Group OR group to a Group AND group, click or tap the Options menu button
for that group, and then click or tap Change to OR or Change to AND.
Tip
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To clear all criteria and start over, on the Filter toolbar, click or tap Clear, and then click or tap Confirm.
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To delete a row, click or tap the Options menu button
for that row, and then click or tap Delete.
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To hide a row in simple mode, while you are in detailed mode, click or tap the Options menu button
for that row, and then click or tap Hide in Simple Mode.
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If you have a hidden row when viewing filter criteria in simple mode and you want to show that row again, then in detailed mode, you must click or tap the Options menu button
for that row, and then click or tap Show in Simple Mode.
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.