The primary function of the Outlook Add-in is to capture emails sent and received from Outlook. This can be done automatically as emails arrive or manually on specific emails.

Regardless of which method is used to capture, the email and its attachments are copied into AdvisorEngine CRM and an Action is created linked to the email. If the option is set in your Firm Preferences, the Action Subject will have the email subject automatically appended to it for easy identification. The Workflow Template used is defined in the Outlook Add-in settings on a per-user basis.

The email itself is modified with a small code appended to the end of the message that helps the CRM identify that the email has been captured and where it was sent to. This is also used in keeping emails in a reply-chain together when captured. See Reply Chain Captures below.

Configuring Email Capture

Email capturing is configured from the Outlook Add-in toolbar Options menu. From the toolbar, click the More icon and select Options.

From here you can adjust the following options:

• Turn Automatic Email Capturing On or Off.
• Set your Workflow Template for incoming and outgoing email captures. Note that only single-step Workflow Templates may be selected for email capture.

Automatic Email Capturing

By default, automatic email capturing is turned on. The Outlook Add-in will periodically scan your Inbox and Sent items folders for client matches based on criteria detailed below. When a match is found, the email is automatically captured and linked to an Action as explained above.

All of the following conditions must be met for an email to be captured automatically:

• Outlook and the Outlook Add-in must be running.
• The email must exist in the inbox or sent items folder and not have been moved before capture.
• The From address for a received email or the To address for a sent email must match a contact email address on an AE CRM Record or Person.
• The Record matched must have a Classification of Client or Email.

You can override the default behavior and adjust how some emails are automatically captured by setting up Inbox Routing Rules.

You can still capture and assign emails manually if you do not wish to use automatic email capture or if automatic capture does not match correctly. See Manual Email Capture and Management for more information.

Reply Chain Captures

Each captured email has a routing code appended to the email body to identify its capture location. This code will generally persist through replies allowing the CRM to route and capture all email in a conversation to the same Action automatically. Reply chain captures will override any Inbox Routing Rules or capture criteria defined above.

See What’s Been Captured

Once an email has been captured, selecting the email in Outlook will show the ActionID and associated Record in the Outlook Add-in toolbar. Clicking either will open the Action or Record in your web browser.

With the Local Outlook Add-in installed, you can add a column to your Outlook email list allowing you to view the ActionID that an email has been assigned to without needing to select the individual email. This allows you to quickly verify if an email has been captured or not. See Adding the ActionID Column for full details.