Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop Administration Guide > How Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop Synchronizes Data > Factors That Determine Which Data Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop Synchronizes >

How Differences in Data Between Microsoft Outlook and the Oracle CRM On Demand Server Affect Synchronization

For the initial synchronization, Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop downloads to Microsoft Outlook all data that resides on the Oracle CRM On Demand server that is available to the user. For an incremental synchronization, the changes that occur to data in Microsoft Outlook and on the Oracle CRM On Demand server play a large role in determining the data that Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop synchronizes. The following changes can occur:

• Data is created, updated, or deleted in Microsoft Outlook.
• Data is created, updated, or deleted on the Oracle CRM On Demand server.

In general, to determine which data is available, Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop does the following work during an incremental synchronization:

1. Uses the set of application configuration filters, user filters that are defined, and the record set configuration.
2. Identifies the differences between the data in Microsoft Outlook and the data on the Oracle CRM On Demand server. The difference is determined by a comparison of the change key values for all records that are available to the user in Microsoft Outlook and the server. The value for the record Id resides in the ROW_ID column of the data table. The value for the time resides in the DB_LAST_UPD column of the data table. Depending on the differences, Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop changes the values in a data set to make sure the data between Microsoft Outlook and the Oracle CRM On Demand server is synchronized, for example:
   • If Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop detects a new record on the Oracle CRM On Demand server during synchronization, then it creates a corresponding record in Microsoft Outlook.
   • If Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop detects a new record in Microsoft Outlook during synchronization, then it creates a corresponding record on the Oracle CRM On Demand server.

For more information, see How Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop Synchronizes Data During an Incremental Synchronization.

How the Remove Local Records Synchronization Preference Affects Synchronization

To enable the Remove Local Records feature, the user can make sure the Remove Local Records Not Matching Filtering Criteria check box contains a check mark. This check box is displayed on the Filter tab of the Synchronization Control Panel. This synchronization preference allows the user to remove data that does not match a synchronization filter. If the user changes synchronization filters when this preference is enabled, even if data is not removed from the Oracle CRM On Demand server, then during synchronization Oracle CRM On Demand Desktop removes Oracle CRM On Demand data from Microsoft Outlook that falls outside of the filters. If this preference is not enabled, and if the user changes a synchronization filter, then data that was synchronized as a result of using a previous filter remains in Microsoft Outlook.

About Differences in Data Access Rules

Differences in data access rules that occur from one synchronization to the next can occur for the following reasons:

• The user downloaded a different customization package with a different configuration of synchronization objects, view modes, or master synchronization filters.
• Oracle CRM On Demand configuration has changed, which can include Role Configuration changes or Access Profiles changes.
• There can also be changes in record visibility through the owner or team or book association changes.