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Administering Oracle CRM On Demand > Business Process Management > Workflow Configuration > Creating Workflow Actions: Send Email

Creating Workflow Actions: Send Email

A Send Email action on a workflow rule automatically generates email when the conditions on the workflow rule are met. The email is automatically sent out, irrespective of whether the operation that triggered the workflow rule succeeds or fails. Administrators can see a list of the outbound emails that are currently waiting to be sent in the email monitor. For more information about the email monitor, see Reviewing Your Company's Pending and Sent Emails.

NOTE: You can create multiple actions for a workflow rule, up to a maximum of 25 actions for each rule.

About the From Address in Emails Sent by Workflow Actions

When you specify the From address for the emails that are sent by a Send Email workflow action, you can select one of the following options:

• Default Email Address

  If you select this option, then the From address in the email is donotreply@crmondemand.com.

• Current User

  If you select this option, then the email is sent on behalf of the signed-in user who triggers the workflow. The Sender field in the email is set to donotreply@crmondemand.com. The From address in the email is the email address of the signed-in user who triggers the workflow.

  NOTE: When the Send Email action is performed for a scheduled event, the user who made the scheduled event active is considered to be the signed-in user.

• Specific Email Address

  If you select this option, then the email is sent on behalf of the email address that you specify on the workflow action. The Sender field in the email is set to donotreply@crmondemand.com. The From address in the email is the specific email address that you specified on the workflow action.

NOTE: Oracle CRM On Demand generates a string for each email so that the email can be tracked in the email delivery system at Oracle. In earlier releases of Oracle CRM On Demand, the tracking string was shown in the email. Starting with Release 24, the tracking string is no longer shown in the email, instead, it is stored in a header that is not visible to the email recipient.

About Translating the Subject Line and Message Body Text in Send Email Workflow Actions

After a Send Email action is created, you can optionally edit the action to enter translated versions of the subject line and message body text for the email that is generated by the workflow action. You can enter a translation for each language that is active for your company. If you do not enter a translation of the subject line and message body text for a language, then the version of the text in the default company language is used instead.

When the email action is performed, Oracle CRM On Demand uses the value in the To field of the Send Email action to determine the language for the email, as follows:

• If Specific User or Relative User on Record is selected in the To field, then the language for the email is the user language of the email recipient. If Relative User on Record is selected in the To field, and if the email is being sent to more than one user, then the language for each email is the user language of the recipient of that email.
• If Specific Email Address is selected in the To field, then Oracle CRM On Demand uses the value in the From field of the Send Email action to determine the language for the email, as follows:
  • If Current User is selected in the From field, then the language for the email is the user language of the current user, that is, the signed-in user who triggers the workflow.
  • If Default Email Address or Specific Email Address is selected in the From field, then the language for the email is the default company language.

What Happens If the Send Email Action Is Updated?

When you change the subject line text, or the message body text, or both, in the default company language, you can use the Mark for Translation check box to determine the behavior for the other languages, as follows:

• If you do not select the Mark for Translation check box, then the following happens:
  • For the languages for which a translation was never entered, the subject line and message body text is automatically replaced by the updated text that is specified for the default company language.
  • Any existing translated versions of the subject line and message body text remain unchanged.
• If you select the Mark for Translation check box, then after you save your changes, the subject line and message body text for all of the other languages is overwritten by the subject line and message body text that is specified for the default company language. The text appears in blue font and within brackets for the other languages until you enter the translated version.

  NOTE: If you select the Mark for Translation check box when you update any field on a Send Email action, then when you save your changes, the subject line and message body text for every language is overwritten by the subject line and message body text that is specified for the default company language, even if you did not update the subject line or the message body text in the default company language.

About the Mark for Translation Check Box

The Mark for Translation check box is effective only when you edit an existing Send Email workflow action and the default company language is selected in the Translation Language field. When you create a new workflow Send Email action, the Mark for Translation check box is deselected and read-only. In addition, the Mark for Translation check box is read-only when you select any language other than the default company language in the Translation Language field when you edit the workflow action.

The following procedure describes how to create a Send Email action.

NOTE: The workflow functionality in Oracle CRM On Demand is not intended for use as a tool for mass email sending. If you have a requirement to send a lot of email to your customers, then it is recommended that you use a product such as Oracle CRM On Demand Marketing to fulfill your requirements.

Before you begin. To perform the following procedure, you must have the Manage Data Rules - Manage Workflow Rules privilege in your user role. For information on adding privileges to roles, see Adding Roles.

To create a Send Email action

1. Navigate to the rule where you want to create the action:
   1. In the upper-right corner of any page, click the Admin global link.
   2. In the Business Process Management section, click Workflow Configuration.
   3. On the Workflow Rules List page, find the rule where you want to create the action.

      For information about searching for workflow rules in the list page, see Filtering Lists.

2. Click the Workflow Name link on the rule.
3. In the Actions title bar on the Workflow Rule Detail page, click Menu, and select Send Email.

   NOTE: The trigger event on the workflow rule determines what types of actions can be created on the rule.

   TIP: You can create a copy of an existing workflow rule action by clicking the Copy link for the action.

4. In the Workflow Action Edit page, enter a name for the action.
5. If you want to enable the action, select the Active check box.
6. In the From field, select or enter the address that the email is to be sent from, as follows:
   • Select the Default Email Address option to send the email from the default address.
   • Select the Current User option to send the email on behalf of the signed-in user who triggers the workflow.
   • Select the Specific Email Address option to send the email on behalf of a specific address, and then specify the address.

     When entering the address, the following restrictions apply:

     • You can enter the email address directly, or click the fx icon beside the field, and use Expression Builder to define the email address.
     • Specify only one email address. Multiple addresses are not supported in the From field.
     • If you specify an absolute email address, you must enclose the address in single or double quotation marks.
     • Expression Builder checks only the syntax of the address expressions. It does not check that the address is valid.
     • This field can contain a maximum of 1024 characters.
7. (Optional) In the Reply To field, select the option for the address that automatically appears in the To field when the recipient responds to the email that is sent by the Send Email workflow action, as follows:
   • Leave the field blank if you want the From address in the email to appear in the To field in the email response.
   • Select the Current User option if you want the email address of the signed-in user whose action triggers the workflow rule to appear in the To field in the email response.
   • Select the Specific Email Address option if you want to specify the email address or addresses that will appear in the To field in the email response, and then specify the addresses.

     When entering the addresses, the following restrictions apply:

     • You can enter the email addresses directly, or click the fx icon beside the field, and use Expression Builder to define the email addresses.
     • To enter multiple addresses, use a semi-colon (;) delimiter.
     • You must enclose absolute email addresses in single or double quotation marks.
     • Expression Builder checks only the syntax of the address expressions. It does not check that the addresses are valid.
     • This field can contain a maximum of 1024 characters.
8. In the To field, select or enter the email address of the email recipient, as follows:
   • Select Specific User or Relative User on Record, and then select the recipient, as follows:
     • If you select Specific User, click the Lookup icon, and select the user.
     • If you select Relative User on Record, select the recipient from the list.

       If you select a team role as the recipient, the workflow rule sends the mail to each user who has the assigned team role.

       NOTE: For the Account, Contact, Lead, Opportunity, and Service Request record types, any custom roles that are added to the record type are available in the list of Relative User on Record recipients. For more information on customizing record types, see Record Type Application Customization Page. For information about the recipients to whom you can send email when the workflow action is for the User record type, see Considerations When Creating Workflow Rules for the User Record Type.

   • Select the Specific Email Address option, and then specify the addresses.

     When entering the addresses, the following considerations apply:

     • You can enter email addresses directly, or click the fx icon beside the field, and use Expression Builder to define email addresses.
     • To enter multiple addresses, use a semi-colon (;) delimiter.
     • You must enclose absolute email addresses in single or double quotation marks.
     • Expression Builder checks only the syntax of the address expressions. It does not check that the addresses are valid.
     • This field can contain a maximum of 1024 characters.
     • If an expression that you enter here returns an email address that contains any character that is not supported for use in email addresses in the standard application, then Oracle CRM On Demand cannot send email to that address, even if the Allow Unicode Characters in Email Fields check box is selected on the company profile. For information about the characters that are supported for use in email addresses, see About Special Characters in Email Addresses.

       The following example shows an entry with multiple addresses:

       PRE('<EmailField1>') + ";" + [<EmailField1>] + ";" + "john.doe@company.com"

       NOTE: When you create a Send Email workflow action for the User record type, the Specific Email Address option is not available in the To field. Only the Specific User and Relative User on Record options are available.

9. Enter the subject line for the email.

   You can embed functions and field names in the text. Three percent signs (%%%) before and after an embedded function or field name indicate that it is to be converted to a text value.

   For example, the text might include the following:

   A new %%%[<AccountType>]%%% account has been created

   If you type a function or field name directly in the field, you must type three percent signs before and after it. If you use Expression Builder to embed a function or field name, the percent signs are automatically added. If you use Expression Builder to embed a complex expression, the percent signs might not be added at the appropriate places. In that case, ensure that the percent signs are placed before and after the entire expression so that the expression is evaluated correctly.

   For example, %%%Today() + 30%%% adds 30 days to the current date, but %%%Today() %%%+ 30 concatenates 30 to the string representation of the current date.

   To use Expression Builder to embed functions and field names in the field, click the fx icon beside the field. If you are entering only static text, you do not need to use Expression Builder.

   This field can contain a maximum of 1024 characters, including the percent signs before and after the functions and field names.

10. In the Email Format field, select the format that you want to use for the email message.

    You can select Plain Text or HTML for the message format.

11. Enter the message for the email.

    You can embed functions and field names in the text, as described in Step 8.

    For example, the text might include the following:

    Hello Mr %%%[<ContactLastName>]%%%,

    This field can contain a maximum of 2000 characters, including the percent signs before and after the expressions.

    For information about considerations when using HTML code in the message, and a list of the elements and attributes that are supported, see HTML Code in Workflow Email Messages.

12. Save the action.

The following procedure describes how to enter a translated version of the subject line and message body text in the email.

NOTE: If you do not enter a translation of the subject line and message body text for a language, then the version of the text in the default company language is used instead. If you later change the subject line text, or the message body text, or both, in the default company language in an existing Send Email action, and if you do not select the Mark for Translation check box, then the updates are also applied to the subject line and message body text for any language for which a translation has never been entered.

To enter a translated version of the subject line and message body text for the email

1. In the Workflow Rule Detail page, click the Edit link for the Send Email workflow action for which you want to enter the translation.
2. In the Workflow Action Edit page, in the Translation Language field, select the language for which you want to enter the translation.
3. In the Subject field, enter the translated version of the subject line of the email.

   You can embed functions and field names in the text.

4. In the Message Body field, enter the translated version of the message text.

   You can embed functions and field names in the text.

5. Save your changes.
6. Repeat this procedure for each language for which you want to enter a translation.

NOTE: The language-independent field names and the field-name syntax used in any example expressions in this topic are the field names and the field-name syntax that were used in Expression Builder in releases earlier than Release 29 Service Pack 1. These examples are still valid. However, if you select the corresponding fields for an expression from the Fields list in Expression Builder in Release 29 Service Pack 1 or later, then the field names and the field-name syntax will be different from those shown in the examples. It is recommended that you always select the fields for your expressions from the Fields list in Expression Builder, so that the field names and the field-name syntax are always correct. For more information about the field names and the field-name syntax in expressions, see About Expressions.

For step-by-step procedures for creating other types of workflow actions, see the following topics:

• Creating Workflow Actions: Assign a Book
• Creating Workflow Actions: Create Integration Event
• Creating Workflow Actions: Create Task
• Creating Workflow Actions: Update Values
• Creating Workflow Actions: Wait

Related Topics

See the following topics for related information about workflows:

• About Workflow Rules
• About Workflow Actions
• About Time-Based Workflow Rules
• Creating Workflow Rules
• Changing the Order of Workflow Rule Actions
• Deactivating Workflow Rules and Actions
• Deleting Workflow Rules and Actions