Overview of tracking records in Dynamics 365 for Outlook

You can use Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Outlook to track email messages, contacts, tasks, and appointments. When you track an email message, contact, task, or appointment record, a copy of that record is saved as an activity in Dynamics 365 for Customer Engagement and synchronized with the Outlook record. You can then view and edit that record in Dynamics 365 for Outlook or Customer Engagement. If you sync Outlook on your mobile device, you can also access these records on that device.

Tracking records in Dynamics 365 for Outlook is a manual process. This gives you the ability to keep your personal Outlook records separate from your Dynamics 365 apps records.

Tip

Using the Track button vs. the Set Regarding button

To track a record in Dynamics 365 for Outlook, you select or tap the Track button or the Set Regarding button for the record you want to track.

Two Tracking and Set Regarding buttons in Dynamics 365 apps.

You can use either button to track a record, but it’s almost always better to use the Set Regarding button. When you use the Set Regarding button, you can link an email message, appointment, or task to a specific Customer Engagement record such as an account or opportunity, or even a custom record type (entity). Some organizations also use the Set Regarding button to track projects.

Using the tracking pane

When a record is tracked, a Dynamics 365 for Customer Engagement pane (also known as the “tracking pane”) appears at the bottom of the record. This pane shows:

  • Whether the item is tracked

  • The regarding record, if set

  • The name of the parent account for contacts, if set

  • Links to Customer Engagement records for email recipients. This is useful when you want to quickly access the Customer Engagement contact record of an email recipient or see other information stored in Customer Engagement.

  • Related records, along with a symbol that identifies the record type in Customer Engagement

  • Whether email addresses, names, or distribution lists in an email message are Customer Engagement records

    For example, the following screenshot shows the tracking pane for a tracked task linked to the Adventure Works account:

    Tracking Pane with Set Regarding record in Dynamics 365 apps.

    You can open the regarding record, parent record for a contact, or related records directly from the tracking pane. The tracking pane also includes an Options button that provides quick access to personal tracking options.

Note

If you track an email message without first expanding a distribution list, the tracking pane displays the name of the distribution list. To track the individual email addresses, expand the distribution list before you track the message.

What can you do after you track a record?

After you track a record, you can use the buttons on the Dynamics 365 for Outlook ribbon to do the following tasks.

To do this task Choose Applies to
Open the record directly in Customer Engagement View in Dynamics 365 apps button image in Dynamics 365 apps. Email, appointments, contacts, and tasks
Add a connection between the record and any Customer Engagement record capable of tracking connections Add Connection button image in Dynamics 365 apps. Email, appointments, contacts, and tasks
Convert the record into a Customer Engagement opportunity, lead, or case Convert To button image in Dynamics 365 apps. Email, appointments, and tasks
Insert a Customer Engagement template Insert Template button. Email
Insert a Customer Engagement Knowledge base article Insert Article button image in Dynamics 365 apps. Email
Attach Customer Engagement sales literature Attach Sales Literature button image in Dynamics 365 apps. Email

Tip

If these buttons aren’t available, it may be that the record marked to be tracked isn’t synchronized yet. This can happen if your organization uses server-side synchronization to synchronize email, appointments, contacts, and tasks, but the synchronization hasn’t happened yet. If the View in Dynamics 365 apps button is enabled, the record has been synchronized. You can also use the tracking pane (as described previously) to determine whether the record has been synchronized.

Other things to know about tracking records

See also

Track Outlook email by moving it to a tracked Exchange folder
Track Outlook email by choosing a button in Dynamics 365 for Outlook
Track Outlook appointments in Dynamics 365 for Outlook
Track Outlook contacts in Dynamics 365 for Outlook
Track Outlook tasks in Dynamics 365 for Outlook
Deleting records that have been tracked with Dynamics 365 for Outlook
Set personal options that affect tracking and synchronization between Dynamics 365 apps and Outlook or Exchange
Frequently asked questions about synchronizing records between Microsoft Dynamics 365 apps and Microsoft Outlook