web
You’re offline. This is a read only version of the page.
close
Skip to main content

Notifications

Announcements

No record found.

News and Announcements icon
Community site session details

Community site session details

Session Id :
Dynamics 365 Community / Forums / Microsoft Dynamics CRM (Archived) / Create two workflows ...
Microsoft Dynamics CRM (Archived)

Create two workflows 1. Forward read only email to another email account. 2. Purge read only emails from CRM based on a date range. (Dynamics 365 Online)

(0) ShareShare
ReportReport
Posted on by Community Member

We have accumulated 5 years of emails within our CRM (Dynamics 365 online) As a result we are way over are permitted storage.

  • I would like to create a workflow which selected emails based on a date range and forward them to an external email account I have already setup in O365.
  • Then, once I am certain those emails have all been forwarded, I would like to run another workflow to purge those email messages from CRM.

Can someone please help with the steps to accomplish this task?

Thank you!

Roderic

*This post is locked for comments

I have the same question (0)
  • ashlega Profile Picture
    ashlega 34,477 on at

    Hi Roderic,

     For the second part, you might use a bulk delete job. That's available out of the box.

     For the first part, there is nothing you can use out of the box - there is no forward email action.

     You may need to develop that as a utility/workflow custom action.

     There are commercial tools that can download email attachments into a different database, though I'm not sure if they work well with the latest version of dynamics 365. Did you consider that option? Most of the database space will probably be taken by the attachments in your scenario.

  • ashlega Profile Picture
    ashlega 34,477 on at

    Here is an example of such tool:

    www.mscrm-addons.com/.../AttachmentExtractor

  • Community Member Profile Picture
    Community Member on at

    I should add we are looking to preserve these emails for fiduciary and possible litigation matters at a future time.

    Alex, thank you for your speedy response.  

    I have already figured out the second step.  (Bulk operation)

    As for step #1,  I know I can forward those read only emails one-by-one from the CRM interface, but that is not practical.  

    I was trying to write the workflow logic, I have selected for the correct email account, and date range but cannot figure out what the next "STEP" is in order to forward those records (emails)

    I did see from another post elsewhere with the following recommendation:

    " I would advise you use a Workflow that creates an email and then sets the email you are intending to forward as regarding. This will ensure that the email you are trying to forward is available with all related attachments and data. "

    but I do not know how to make that magic happen.

    We cannot be the only organization with old emails consuming CRM storage and it amazes me a built in export button does not already exist.  What do other organizations do, pay for more storage like we have?  

    Roderic

  • Verified answer
    ashlega Profile Picture
    ashlega 34,477 on at

    Hi Roderic,

     mscrm-addons won't really delete the emails - they will download the attachments and store them somewhere, yet they will delete those attachments from CRM, but they will keep the emails as far as I know. In a way, this meets your requirements and might end up being a cheaper solution because, otherwise, it seems you may need to develop a workflow activity to forward the emails.

     As for setting the "regarding" option, I don't think you can make an email "regarding" another email. CRM activities(email included) don't work that way.

     Out of the box, you can probably do only this much: you can create an on-deman workflow for an email entity  that will send an email, and you can populate fields in that email based on how those fields are populated in the original email. You won't be able to do it with the attachments, though.

     All of this is probably the reason why mscrm-addons are offering that tool:)

  • Community Member Profile Picture
    Community Member on at

    I previously opened a support request with Microsoft CRM support.  The assured me I could accomplish the task of forwarding emails from CRM to another O365 (same tenant) mailbox by using a workflow.  Not sure if they were mistaken or were tired of me being on the phone with them for more than 2 hours.  

  • Verified answer
    ashlega Profile Picture
    ashlega 34,477 on at

    Could not help but go to CRM and check again.. The only action I see in the most recent 365 trial is "send email", and it's not the same as "forward".. yes, you can populate the field as I explained there, but that does not seem to cover attachments..

    I might be missing something, of course.

    On the other hand, that answer they gave you is not necessarily a mistake. You can accomplish it with a workflow if you develop a custom workflow activity, but I don't know if that's an option for you(that's exactly what I mentioned in the very first post, though:) ). Interestingly enough, that might almost double your storage (you will likely have to create a new email and copy attachments from the original email for each of the emails you want to handle this way), so you may have to actually develop a custom activity that will forward an email, and, then, delete both the original and forwarded copy right away (although, it could be more complicated since it probably won't be sent right away.. anyway).

  • Community Member Profile Picture
    Community Member on at

    That is an interesting possibility.  Forwarding my message may, in effect, double the storage consumption.  

    Thank you for all the info you have provided.  A lot to think about.

    Roderic

Under review

Thank you for your reply! To ensure a great experience for everyone, your content is awaiting approval by our Community Managers. Please check back later.

Helpful resources

Quick Links

Responsible AI policies

As AI tools become more common, we’re introducing a Responsible AI Use…

Neeraj Kumar – Community Spotlight

We are honored to recognize Neeraj Kumar as our Community Spotlight honoree for…

Congratulations to the November Top 10 Community Leaders!

These are the community rock stars!

Leaderboard > 🔒一 Microsoft Dynamics CRM (Archived)

#1
SA-08121319-0 Profile Picture

SA-08121319-0 4

#1
Calum MacFarlane Profile Picture

Calum MacFarlane 4

#3
Alex Fun Wei Jie Profile Picture

Alex Fun Wei Jie 2

Last 30 days Overall leaderboard

Featured topics

Product updates

Dynamics 365 release plans