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Getting Started > Working with Records > Linking Records to Your Selected Record

Linking Records to Your Selected Record

In Oracle CRM On Demand, you can link one record to another. Linking records gives you access to all related information from the records that you view. As an example, you can see a complete view of customer information by linking contacts, opportunities, and activities to an account record.

Linking associates records with each other so that you and others who have access rights to the record have a full view of the information.

You use Lookup windows to search for and select existing records that you want to link to the record you are working with. Depending on how your company administrator sets up the search layout for a record type for your role, the Lookup window for that record type might be populated with records when the window opens. For more information about Lookup windows and how to use them, see Searching for Records in Lookup Windows. For information about how smart associations can help you to find a record that you want to associate with another record, see About Smart Associations and the Auto-Resolve Functionality.

Linking New and Existing Records

From the record Detail pages, you can do one or both of the following, depending on the record types you are working with:

• Link existing records to a main record.
• Create new records that are automatically linked to the main record.

New records are added to the database at the same time that they are linked to the selected record. For example, an activity you create from the Lead Detail page is linked to the lead, and then appears in the Activities pages.

NOTE: You can also edit some fields on linked records from the main record Detail page if inline editing is enabled. For information about editing linked records from the main records, see Updating Linked Records from Main Records.

The following procedure describes how to link one or more records to your selected record in the related information section of the record Detail page.

To link an existing record to your selected record

1. Select the main record.

   For more information about selecting records, see Finding Records.

2. On the record Detail page, scroll down to the appropriate related information section, and click Add.

   Depending on the record types that you are linking, either a multiassociation Lookup window or a list page opens.

3. Do one of the following:
   • In the multiassociation Lookup window, click Select for each of the records that you want to link to your main record, and then click OK.
   • In the list page, click the Lookup icon next to the field to open the Lookup window, and then click Select for the record that you want to link to your main record.

The following procedure describes how to create a new record and link it to your selected record.

NOTE: Depending on the record types that you are working with, you might not be able to create a new, linked record from your selected record.

To create a new record and link it to your selected record

1. Select the main record.

   For more information about selecting records, see Finding Records.

2. On the record Detail page, scroll down to the appropriate related information section, and then click New.

   NOTE: In some cases, the New button is not available in the related information section. Instead, you must click Add and then click New in the Lookup window to open the form where you can create the new record.

3. In the Edit page, create a new record and save it, by clicking either Save or Save and Continue:
   • If you click Save, then Oracle CRM On Demand saves the new record and navigates you to the main record’s Detail page.
   • If you click Save and Continue, then Oracle CRM On Demand saves the new record and navigates you to the child record’s Detail page so that you can associate additional content to the child record, for example, notes and attachments.

     NOTE: This navigation only applies to child records that can have other associated record types through related information sections. For example, attachments and notes do not have the Save and Continue button available.

     In either case, Oracle CRM On Demand automatically links the new record to the main record.

The following procedure describes how to remove or delete a linked record from the related information section of the record Detail page.

To remove or delete a linked record

1. Select the main record.

   For more information about selecting records, see Finding Records.

2. On the record Detail page, scroll down to the appropriate related information section.
3. In the row for the record that you want to remove or delete, select one of the following options from the record-level menu:
   • Remove. This option disassociates the records without deleting either of the records.
   • Delete. This option deletes the linked record. A deleted record is moved to the Deleted Items page and is permanently removed from the database after 30 days.

     NOTE: Where multiassociation Lookup windows are available, you can also remove linked records by clicking Remove for each of the linked records in the multiassociation Lookup window.