Configure email functionality in Microsoft Dynamics AX

Article
05/02/2014

Important

This content is archived and is not being updated. For the latest documentation, see Microsoft Dynamics 365 product documentation. For the latest release plans, see Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform release plans.

Applies To: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Feature Pack, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012

To configure email functionality in Microsoft Dynamics AX, complete the procedures in this topic. These procedures will help you connect Microsoft Dynamics AX to an SMTP mail server, configure email settings for users, set up a batch to send email messages, and create email templates.

After you complete the procedures in this topic, Microsoft Dynamics AX can send email messages to users based on the features that you are using. For example, Microsoft Dynamics AX can send email messages to users when documents are assigned to them for approval (as defined by a workflow), or when sales orders are canceled (as defined by an alert rule).

At a glance

The following diagram shows the steps in the process for configuring the email functionality in Microsoft Dynamics AX.

How to configure email functionality

1. Set up your SMTP mail server

The first step in the process is to set up a Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) mail server in your environment. To do so, complete the following procedures.

Install the SMTP server

Install the SMTP server on a computer that is running Windows Server. The directions vary based on the version of Windows Server that you are using.

If you are using Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2, follow these steps to install the SMTP server.

Click Start > Administrative Tools > Server Manager.
In the Features Summary area, click Add Features.
The Select Features page is displayed. Click the SMTP Server check box.
A window is displayed that asks whether you want to add role services and features for the SMTP server. Click Add Required Role Services.
The Select Features page is redisplayed. Click Next.
The Web Server (IIS) page is displayed. Click Next.
The Select Role Services page is displayed. Click Next.
The Confirm Installation Services page is displayed. Click Install.

If you are using Windows Server 2012, follow these steps to install the SMTP server.

On the Start screen, click Server Manager.
Click the Manage menu, and then click Add Roles and Features.
The Before you begin page is displayed. Click Next.
The Select installation type page is displayed. Select the Role-based or feature-based installation option and then click Next.
The Select destination server page is displayed. Select the server on which you want to install the SMTP server. Click Next.
The Select server roles page is displayed. Click Next.
The Select Features window is displayed. Click the SMTP Server check box.
A window is displayed that asks whether you want to add role services and features for the SMTP server. Click Add Features.
The Select Features page is redisplayed. Click Next.
The Web Server (IIS) page is displayed. Click Next.
The Select Role Services page is displayed. Click Next.
The Confirm Installation Services page is displayed. Click Install.

Configure the SMTP server

Use the following procedure to configure the SMTP server to use integrated Windows authentication.

From the Start menu or screen click Administrative Tools.
Click Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 Manager to open IIS Manager.
In the left pane, select the name of your server.
In the right pane, right-click [SMTP Virtual Server #1] and then click Properties.
The [SMTP Virtual Server #1] Properties window is displayed. Click the Access tab.
Click the Authentication button.
The Authentication window is displayed. Select the Integrated Windows Authentication check box. Click OK.
The Access tab is redisplayed. Click the Relay button.
The Relay Restrictions window is displayed. Select the Allow all computers which successfully authenticate to relay, regardless of the list above check box. Click OK.
The [SMTP Virtual Server #1] Properties window is redisplayed. Click OK to close the window.

Connect Microsoft Dynamics AX to the SMTP mail server

Use the following procedure to connect Microsoft Dynamics AX to the SMTP mail server.

Open the Microsoft Dynamics AX client.
Click System administration > Setup > System > E-mail parameters.
In the Outgoing mail server field, enter the name of the computer on which you installed the SMTP server.
In the Local computer name field, enter the name of the local computer.
In the SMTP port number field, enter the port number to use with SMTP. The default port number is 25.
If the SMTP server requires authentication, enter a valid username and password.
Select the Use NTLM check box.
In the Attachment size limit (MB) field, enter a size limit for email attachments.

The maxbuffersize registry key also limits the acceptable size for email attachments. If the size that you enter in this field exceeds the maximum buffer size, the maximum buffer size limit will apply.
In the Allow embedded data and attached files from field, enter or browse to the location where email attachments or other embedded data in an email is stored.

2. Enter the email address of each user

To enter the email address of each Microsoft Dynamics AX user, complete this procedure.

Note

If you’d rather have users enter their own email addresses, instruct users to do the following:

Open the Microsoft Dynamics AX client.
Click File > Tools > Options.
Enter an email address in the E-mail field.

Open the Microsoft Dynamics AX client.
Click System administration > Common > Users > Users.
Select a user.
Click Options.
In the E-mail field, enter the email address of the selected user.
Click Close.
The Users page is redisplayed. Select another user and repeat steps 4-6.

3. Use batch processing to send email messages

Batch processing is used to send email messages that are generated from Microsoft Dynamics AX. Use the following procedures to create a batch group and configure the batch job that will send email messages.

Create a batch group

A batch job, which is named E-mail Distributor Batch Job, is used to send email messages that are generated from Microsoft Dynamics AX. The batch job must run within the context of a batch group. Complete the following steps to create a batch group for the E-mail Distributor Batch Job.

Click System administration > Setup > Batch group.
Click New to create a new batch group.
In the Group field, enter a unique name for the batch group. For example, enter Email.
In the Description field, enter a description to help you identify the batch group.
Click the Batch servers tab.

The Selected servers list displays the AOS instances that the batch group runs on. The Remaining servers list displays the remaining AOS instances that are available as batch servers.
Use the arrow buttons to add servers to the Selected servers list or to remove servers from the Selected servers list.

Configure the batch job

Complete the following steps to configure the E-mail Distributor Batch Job.

Click System administration > Periodic > E-mail processing > Batch.
Select the Batch processing check box.
In the Task description field, enter a description for this batch job.
In the Batch group list, select the batch group that you created in the previous procedure.
Select the Private check box if you want to restrict other users from running this batch job. A private batch job can be run only by the user who specified it and only on the computer where the user is logged on.
Click Recurrence to specify how often this batch job will run.
Click Alerts to send notifications when this batch job ends, has an error, or is canceled.

4. Configure email settings for specific features or applications

Many of the features and applications in Microsoft Dynamics AX can be configured to send email notifications to users. You must configure email settings that are specific to these features and applications. Refer to the documentation for these features and applications for specialized instructions. For example:

If you are using workflows, see Configure email settings for the workflow system for information about how to configure email functionality for the workflow system.
If you are using alert rules, see the Alert email messages for information about how to configure email functionality for alert rules.
If you are using Retail, see Set up email receipts for information about how to email receipts to customers.

The process of configuring email settings for specific features or applications will vary, but at a minimum, the process will include creating one or more email templates. The steps for creating an email template are included below.

Create an email template

As part of the process of configuring email settings for a specific feature or application, you will need to create one or more email templates.

For example, suppose you have created a workflow in Microsoft Dynamics AX for purchase requisitions. This workflow defines who must approve purchase requisitions. You can configure the workflow so that email messages—based on an email template—are sent to the users who have purchase requisitions assigned to them for approval.

An email template can contain multiple versions, with each version written in a different language.

Complete the following procedure to create an email template.

Click Organization administration > Setup > E-mail templates.
Will the email template that you are creating be used across the whole organization or with a specific company? The answer to that question determines whether you should mark the Show system e-mails check box.
- If the email template that you are creating will be used with a feature or application that is used across the whole organization, select the Show system e-mails check box.
  
  For example, if you are creating an email template to use with a purchase requisition workflow, select this check box. This is because a purchase requisition workflow is used across an entire organization. (For more information about how each type of workflow is used, see Workflow types.)
- If the email template that you are creating will be used with a feature or application that is used with a specific company, do not select the Show system e-mails check box.
  
  For example, if you are creating an email template to use with a purchase order workflow, do not select this check box. This is because a purchase order workflow is used with a specific company.
In the upper pane of the form, press CTRL+N to create an email template.
Enter the following information for the email template:
1. In the E-mail ID field, enter an ID for the email template. The ID should correspond to the purpose of the template. This field is limited to 10 characters.
2. In the E-mail description field, enter a description for the email template.
3. In the Default language code field, select a language code. If a user uses a different language and there is no corresponding version of the email template for that language, the email message will be sent using the language that you specify here.
4. In the Sender name field, enter a name for the sender, such as Microsoft Dynamics AX. This is the name that a recipient sees in his or her inbox when receiving an email message.
5. In the Sender e-mail field, enter an email address that can be used to send email messages generated by Microsoft Dynamics AX.
Click the General tab. Complete the following steps:
1. In the Priority list, select a priority. This determines whether the email message will appear with priority in the recipient’s inbox.
2. In the Batch group list, select the batch group that you created earlier in this topic.

In the lower pane of the form, press CTRL+N to create a language-specific version of the template. For each version you create, follow these steps:

Verify that the E-mail ID field displays the ID that you created in step 4.
In the Language field, select the language that you will use to write the body of the email message.

In the Subject field, enter the subject of the email message.

If you want the subject of the email message to be automatically generated, enter %subject%. To better understand how this placeholder works, see the example listed in the following table.

SCENARIO:

You are creating an email template for a purchase requisition workflow.

IF:

Assume the following:

You enter the following placeholder in the Subject field of the email template:

%subject%
The Work item subject field contains the following text. This field is located in the Properties form for the workflow approval step.

Action required: A purchase requisition is assigned to you for approval

THEN:

In the email that is generated and sent to users, the placeholder %subject% is automatically replaced with the following text:

Action required: A purchase requisition is assigned to you for approval

For more information about placeholders, see the next section in this topic.

In the Layout field, select either XSLT or HTML, depending on how the message should be displayed.

Click E-mail message. In the form that is displayed, enter the contents of the message.

If you want the message to be automatically generated, enter %message%. To better understand how this placeholder works, see the example listed in the following table.

SCENARIO:

You are creating an email template for a purchase requisition workflow.

IF:

Assume the following:

You enter the following placeholder as the message of the email template:

%message%
The Work item instructions field contains the following text. This field is located in the Properties form for the workflow approval step.

Purchase requisition %Purchase requisition.PurchReqId% has been assigned to you for approval.

This purchase requisition totals %Purchase requisition.Approval amount%, and has been submitted by %Purchase requisition.Worker.createdBy%.

Note

The text in between the % symbols are placeholders you can insert when you configure the workflow. In this example, the placeholders will be replaced with specific data related to purchase requisitions.

THEN:

In the email that is generated and sent to users, the placeholder %message% is automatically replaced with the following text:

Purchase requisition PR-0108 has been assigned to you for approval.

This purchase requisition totals USD 5000, and has been submitted by Jimmy Matney.

For more information about placeholders, see the next section in this topic.

Save the message.

Use placeholders

Placeholders can be used when you create email templates. The placeholders will be replaced with text that is specific to the feature for which you’re creating the email template.

For example, suppose you are creating an email template that will be sent to users who must approve purchase requisitions. If you enter %message% in the body of the email template, the placeholder %message% will be replaced with the text that was entered in the workflow configuration properties.

The following placeholders can be added to email templates. The placeholders you should use depend on whether you chose to create the email template using HTML or XSLT.

HTML placeholder	XSLT placeholder	Information that is displayed in the email message
%subject%	alert/subject	The subject that is defined in the configuration properties of the related feature.
%message%	alert/message	The message that is defined in the configuration properties of the related feature.
%event%	alert/event	The event that occurred.
%occurred%	alert/occurred	The date on which the event occurred.
%for%	alert/for	The record in which the event was observed.
%data%	alert/data	Detailed information.
%company%	alert/company	The company at which the event occurred.

Specify when each template should be used

After you have created email templates, you must specify when each template should be used. For instructions about how to do this, see the documentation for the features for which you created the email templates.

For example:

If you created email templates for workflows, see Configure email settings for the workflow system for information about how to configure the workflow system to use these templates.
If you created email templates for alert rules, see the Define an email identification for alerts for information about how to configure alert rules to use these templates.
If you created email templates for collection purposes in the Accounts Receivable module, see Set up collections for information about how to configure Accounts Receivable to use these templates.

5. Monitor email messages that are waiting to be sent

Use the following procedures to monitor outgoing email messages.

View the status of outgoing email messages

Use the following procedure to monitor the status of email messages that are waiting to be sent.

Click System administration > Periodic > E-mail processing > E-mail sending status.
If you want the form to list all email messages—including the ones that have been sent successfully—select the Also show sent e-mails check box.
View the status of each email message in the Status column.
- When a message has been sent, its status is Sent.
- When a message is waiting to be sent, its status is Waiting.
  
  The Waiting status is followed by a number "n" in parentheses, such as 1. This number indicates the number of attempts made to send the email message. The number cannot be more than the number of retry attempts specified in the retry schedule. (For more information about the retry schedule, see the following section.)
- When a message wasn’t sent successfully—and no retry attempts are scheduled—its status is Failed.
  
  If you’d like to try to resend this message, click Restart send. The retry schedule will be followed when attempting to send this message.

Establish a retry schedule

You can set up a retry schedule for messages that were not sent successfully. The retry schedule specifies how many attempts you want made to send email messages, and the time period between each attempt.

The retry schedule must be set up in such a way that the AOS server is not overloaded. The time intervals between attempts must increase gradually. For example, the first retry attempt might occur after one minute, the second attempt might occur after one hour, the third attempt might occur after one day, and so on. To distribute the workload, the retry schedule can be set up on multiple AOS servers, as well.