External Email Tracking

Settings > Administration > External Email Tracking

About this Feature

You can use this feature in one of two ways:

1. Update Prospect or Contact records with activity information via email
2. Set up a Custom Listener Interface to process incoming emails in any manner you like.

Note: The platform checks for new messages once every 10 minutes--at 12:00, 12:10, 12:20, and so on.

Tracking Activity Updates

Use the standard External Email Tracking feature to automatically update Prospect or Contact records with activity information by sending messages from an email client (see Compatible Email Clients below).

To use the feature:

• Use a unique "Email-To-{platform}" address in the BCC: field of an email message, and the platform will log that email message as a Completed Activity for any Prospect or Contact in your database that matches the TO: or CC: field.

• Or Forward an email message to a unique "Email-To-{platform}" address, and the platform will search the body of the message and create a Completed Activity for the Prospect or Contact that matches the email address in the FROM: field.

Setting up a Custom Listener

A Java Class that implements the EmailHandler interface can be used to process emails programmatically, doing anything the platform is capable of. Such messages can contain attachments, and directives can be passed in the subject line or body of the message.

Learn more:

• Email Handler APIs
• HowTo:Handle Incoming Emails Programmatically

Administration Setup

The External Email Tracking option must be enabled by your Service Provider. This feature is disabled by default.

1. Click Settings > Administration > External Email Tracking
2. In the Enable External Email Tracking section, click the Enable Email-to-{platform} checkbox
3. For activity updates, select the default action to take when a matching Prospect/Contact is not found:

   • Create an open task
   • Create a task and mark it completed

4. Alternatively, select a Custom Listener created by your programmers for fully customized email handling. (Only those classes that implement the required interface are listed.)
5. Click [Save]

Important: Set up a "catch-all" mailbox in a separate domain to accept messages of the form xyz@your-special-domain.com. Messages are deleted from the mailbox after they are read, so you don't want to use your standard mailboxes. A catch-all mailbox collects everything sent to the specified domain. (That way, you don't have to set up a separate mailbox for each user.) Using a separate domain ensures that none of your regular mail goes into the catch-all mailbox. Learn more: Catch-all mailboxes

User Setup

When External Email Tracking is enabled, the My Email-to-{domain} option appears in the Personal Setup list. Users then need to enable their personal My Email-to-{domain} addresses. Send them the following information to tell them how:

Complete this one-time setup to begin sending emails:

1. Click Settings > Personal Setup > My Email-to-
2. The "Email-To-{platform} Details" section gives you the address you will use to send messages; Copy it for future use.
3. Specify the addresses that you will be sending from, separated by commas. (To ensure that only emails you send are processed, any messages coming from other addresses are ignored.) For example, <youraccountname>@gmail.com, <youraccountname>@yahoo.com, etc.

Compatible Email Clients

External Email Tracking is compatible with these email clients:

• Web-based: Gmail, Yahoo, HotMail, etc.
• Microsoft Outlook 2003 (11.6568.6568) and later