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

Sending Email Using the Native Siebel Email Client

This section describes using the Send Email command when your default email client is the native Siebel email client. 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.

Editing and formatting controls for Send Email message text are described in Editing and Formatting Controls for Send Email and Send Fax.

Whether the Pick Recipient dialog box appears after Step 2 in the following procedure 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 Pick Recipient dialog box does not appear. The Send Email window appears.
• If the current record is an element such as a service request or account, then the Pick Recipient dialog box appears if generic recipients have been configured. Choose generic recipients such as the contacts associated with the current 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 Pick Recipient dialog box does not appear. The Send Email window appears, and the item is added as an attachment to the pending email message. (Siebel attachments of type URL are not added as email attachments.)

To send email with the native Siebel email client

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.

     The Pick Recipient dialog box appears, if you did not specify recipients in Step 1. If you chose recipients before invoking the command, the Send Email window appears; go to Step 4.

3. In the Pick Recipient dialog box, specify the recipient or specify no recipient yet.

   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.

   The Send Email window appears.

4. For the From field, specify the profile to represent who is sending the message.

   The profiles listed are those created for communications drivers that support email, such as Internet SMTP/POP3 Server. In some cases, a profile may be inserted automatically. You can specify a default profile in the User Preferences screen, Outbound Communications options.

5. For the To, Cc, or Bcc fields, do one or more of the following:
   • Verify any recipients that were inserted automatically in previous steps.
   • Type any additional recipient email addresses. Note that email addresses you enter are not automatically validated. You must verify that the email addresses you enter are valid.
   • Use the address book to enter additional recipients. Click the To, Cc, or Bcc button and explicitly specify individual persons from the address book dialog box. For each intended recipient, check the To, CC, or BCC check box. After specifying all recipients, click OK. Verify that the addresses appear correctly.
6. Optionally, for the Body drop-down list, choose the name of a communications template (of type Body) to insert into the message body.

   A template may be configured to be inserted automatically, according to where you invoked the Send Email command. (Administrators: for more information, see Configuring Default Templates for Send Email Command.)

   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.

   You can insert more than one template. Any template you choose is appended to the existing text.

   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.

7. 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.

8. Optionally, verify or enter text for the subject line.

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

9. Optionally, enter and format free-form text, or modify or add to the template text you inserted in Step 6.

   For information about the available text-editing controls, see Editing and Formatting Controls for Send Email and Send Fax.

10. Optionally, if you are editing in plain text mode, you can click the Remove HTML Tags button, at upper right, to remove any HTML tagging that may be present in your message text.
11. Optionally, click the icons on the lower right to specify operating system files ("paper clip" icon) or literature items ("document" icon) as attachments to the email message.

    The attachments icon lets you specify files from the operating system as attachments, and displays a list of all files and literature items previously specified for the email message.

    The literature icon displays a list of literature items you can specify as attachments.

    The Attachments field displays the most recently specified attachment, if more than one attachment has been specified. All email attachments are saved as attachments to the corresponding Siebel activity record, which is updated when the message is sent.

12. Optionally, check spelling for your message.
13. Click Send, or click 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.