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ReportLearning Forum (Article updated July 12, 2021)
Article by: Ryan Humphrey
Quick Overview: Sync emails, appointments, contacts, and tasks from Exchange to Dynamics 365.
Tech Used: Exchange, Dynamics 365, XRM Toolbox
Setup
For the sync to work properly, the client must have Exchange set up. Most clients will have an Exchange online server profile. The synchronization can also work with Gmail and POP3, but will have limited functionality.
Based on the tenant settings in profiles, the Microsoft Exchange Online account should be auto discovered in Dynamics 365.
Email Configuration
For the email to send and receive in Dynamics, you need to make sure that you have the right mailbox setup. The mailbox that you are wanting to sync with Dynamics needs to be attached to a single user as opposed to a forward, distribution list or shared mailbox.
If the mailbox doesn’t have a licensed user, you either need to obtain a license and setup a user or create a queue to process the email to bypass the forwarding mailbox and setup the email.
A Global, Office 365 or Exchange admin will need to approve the mailbox.
Sync Method
You can sync emails, appointments, contacts and tasks from Exchange to Dynamics. System or User filters can be applied to all these tables (with the exception of emails) to select what data you are wanting to transfer. To better specify what emails get transferred into Dynamics, you can create folders inside of Outlook. The sync rules allow for up to 25 folders to be transferred.
You can also select the direction for the data sync of each entity by going to sync fields > entity type > sync direction. Use the arrow icons to select the path of data flow.
It’s important that you leave appointment attachments unchecked as selecting this will use much of the CRM’s storage space.
XRM Toolbox provides a tool called User Settings Utility that can be used to set personal options across all users, saving time when multiple users are being added. If using this tool, make sure to audit and refresh the settings to prevent syncing dirty data.
Under personal options > email > automatically create records in D365, make sure to leave this option unchecked as it will add unwanted data into the CRM.
Email Tracking
The two common option settings for email tracking are “email messages in response to D365 email” and “email messages from D365 leads, contacts and accounts.” Do not use the “all email messages” setting.
D365 App for Outlook
You must make sure users have the proper security role to enable the app to be added for the user. You must enable each user for the app by selecting users under the eligible user list or you can select all eligible users.
Once added, it will take approximately 5-20 minutes for the D365 app to show in your Outlook.
Customizations for App
If you are wanting to add customizations to the app, be sure not to change the out-of-the-box site map. You can add to this site map, but altering the tables that are already there can cause emails to not track properly while updates from Microsoft can cause the app to break.
Client Feature: Blue Sprig Pediatrics Event Registration Email
The company was having an event in which customers could sign up to attend different breakout sessions throughout the days of the event. The goal: Simplify the registration process while distributing the correct event-specific information to its attendees.
Pain Point: Originally, when customers pushed the "register for event" button on the website, they would get an emailed list of all available sessions, regardless of which one they actually signed up for. This created an additional problem of customers signing up multiple times.
Solutions: To remedy this, multiple customer journeys were created to send emails to customers at different times. Microsoft Flows were created to provide the new customer emails with the correct information about their events. Code blocks were also put into the email template to provide the email with accurate information on the events that the customer signed up for. The new email template would also include an “add event” button to sync the information directly to the customer’s calendar.
Results: The result was a simplified email template for customer registration confirmation that provided the customer with information on the relevant events they signed up for. This implementation led customers to have a user-friendly and efficient experience.
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