Siebel Communications Server Administration Guide > Communications Operations for End Users > Sending Email, Fax, and Page Messages >

Sending Email Using Lotus Notes or Microsoft Outlook

This section describes using the Send Email command when your default email client is set to Lotus Notes or Microsoft Outlook. You can send email, optionally including Siebel application content, to any recipient. Email addresses can be retrieved from the Siebel Database, such as for email to employees or contacts.

For additional information on using Lotus Notes or Microsoft Outlook, refer to your documentation for these third-party products. For more information about setting user preferences for using third-party email clients, see Preference Settings for Outbound Communications.

Whether the Recipient field appears in the Recipient/Template dialog box after Step 2 in the procedure below depends on what kind of data currently has the focus when you choose the Send Email command:

• If the current record is a person, such as a contact or employee, then the Recipient field does not appear.
• If the current record is an element such as a service request or account, then the Recipient field appears if generic recipients have been configured. Choose generic recipients such as the contacts associated with the service request.

  NOTE:  Users should generally select a single record before invoking Send Email when using templates for which field substitution will be performed. If multiple records are selected, generic recipients chosen will be drawn from all selected records. However, field substitution applies only to the first selected record, and a single email message is sent to all recipients.

• If the current record is a Siebel attachment or literature item, then the Recipient field appears if generic recipient have been configured. The item will be added as an attachment to the pending email message. (Siebel attachments of type URL are not added as email attachments.)

To send email with Lotus Notes or Microsoft Outlook

1. Optionally, select one or more records of contacts, employees, or other persons for whom email addresses are defined in the Siebel Database. Alternatively, select one or more records of attachments or literature items to send as attachments to the email message.
2. Do one of the following:
   • From the application-level menu, choose File > Send Email.
   • Press F9.
   • Click to the right of Initiate Work Item on the communications toolbar, then click Send Email, or click Initiate Work Item when the displayed ToolTip text is "Send Email." See also Initiating Work Items.
3. In the Recipient/Template dialog box:
   1. From the Recipient field, specify the recipient, or specify no recipient yet.

      If you chose recipients before invoking the command, the Recipient field does not display.

      The available recipients to choose from depend on the application context. For example, if Send Email was invoked from a Service Requests list, the choices are Service Request Contact and Service Request Owner.

   2. From the Message Template field, choose the name of a communications template (of type Body) to insert into the message body.

      Field substitution applies to template text upon insertion. For substitution to work correctly, the fields must exist in the current list or form (containing the focus) in the Siebel application. Field substitution applies to a single selected record only.

      Templates listed here are subject to filtering based on several factors, including channel, language, locale, and whether the template is HTML or plain text. For details, see Template Visibility and Access.

      NOTE:  If the current record type (business component) has a default template associated with it, then you do not need to specify a template. If you do specify a template, its text is appended to the default template text in the email message. Consult your administrator or verify the software behavior to see if a default template has been configured.

   3. From the Attachments field, specify literature items from the Siebel Database to add as attachments, as necessary.

      The literature icon ("paper clip" icon) displays a list of Siebel literature items you can specify as attachments.

      The Attachments field displays the most recently specified attachment, if more than one attachment has been specified. You can add file attachments later, from the Notes or Outlook window. When the message is sent, all email attachments are saved as attachments to the corresponding Siebel activity record.

   4. Click the Change Language/Locale button to change the language or locale, as necessary.

      Setting the language and locale changes the list of available templates to those associated with the language and locale you specify.

   5. In the Recipient/Template dialog box, click OK to continue to the email message window for Lotus Notes or Microsoft Outlook.
4. In the Lotus Notes or Microsoft Outlook email message window:
   1. For the To, Cc, or Bcc fields, do one or more of the following:
      • Verify any recipients that were inserted automatically in previous steps.
      • Specify any additional recipient email addresses from the email directories available through your email client program.
   2. Optionally, verify or enter text for the subject line.

      Text may have been inserted into the subject line automatically when you chose a template.

   3. Optionally, enter and format free-form text, or modify or add to the template text you inserted previously.
   4. Optionally, specify operating system files as attachments to the email message.

      Siebel literature items you previously specified are also saved as attachments for the email message.

      All email attachments are saved as attachments to the corresponding Siebel activity record, which is updated when the message is sent.

   5. Optionally, check spelling for your message, according to what your email client program supports.
   6. Send the message, or cancel if you decide not to send the email message.

      NOTE:  If you cancel the email, the corresponding Siebel activity record (created to track the send operation) is deleted.