Emails

Overview

The Emails module enables individual users to send and receive emails from within Sugar.

Email actions

You can use the Emails module for the following tasks:
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Compose and send emails
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View and process emails on external mail servers without downloading them into the Sugar database
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Import emails into the Sugar database for necessary action
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Associate an imported email with a related Sugar record such as a bug or an account to create a communication thread for future reference
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Create a related record, such as a bug, from an email
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Search for imported emails based on specific parameters
Options to check for incoming emails, compose emails, and configure mail settings display at the top of the Emails home page. The page is divided into panels: the left panel contains the Folders list and the Search field; the top half of the right panel lists emails, and the bottom half of the right panel displays the contents of the email that you select from the list above.

Configuring Email Settings

Settings in Emails enable you to manage how you view and compose emails. Some settings are pre-configured with default values. Other settings are optional. You can customize these settings to suit your requirements.
Sugar supports the IMAP protocol for viewing emails in your external mail accounts and for sending emails composed in Sugar. UsingIMAP enables you to access IMAP folders selectively on the mail server in Sugar.
The Settings window displays tabs for General settings and for Mail Account settings.

General Settings

The General Settings tab (within the Settings tab) displays options to specify the character set, signature, automatic/manual checks for incoming emails and so on. Some of these settings have default values which you can modify. General Settings apply to all your personal mail accounts in Sugar.
To specify general settings
1.
Click the Settings tab at the top of the page.
This opens the Settings pop-up box.
2.
Enter values for any of the following fields in the Settings pop-up box:
Check for New Mail. If you want the system to check your mail accounts automatically for new emails, select a time interval from the drop-down list. The default setting is to check emails manually.
Send Plain Text Emails Only. Check this box to send emails in plain text format instead of the default HTML format.
Character Set: Specify the default character set for outbound emails from this drop-down list.
Signatures. Select an existing signature for your outbound emails from this drop-down lists. To create a signature, click Create located next to the Signature field, enter a name for the signature, input text for the signature and click Save. To use a signature image file located on a hosted website, click the Insert Image icon on the HTML toolbar, and enter the URL.
Signature above reply. Select this box to place your signature above the content of the email to which you are responding.
Emails per Page. Specify the number of emails that you want displayed per page in the pane containing the email list. The email list is paginated to enable you to view the specified number of emails within each page.
Folder Management. This section displays sub-folders in the My Emails folder, along with the default folders My Drafts and Sent Emails. Highlight the folders that you want displayed in the Folders tab.
3.
Click Done to save your preferences.

Mail Accounts

You can create one or more personal mail accounts in Sugar to view emails from your external mail accounts in Sugar. You can import these emails into Sugar if needed.
Group mail accounts are used to view and distribute emails addressed to the organization rather than an individual user. Only administrators can set up group mail accounts. Administrators and users can view and distribute these emails for necessary action. As a user, you can subscribe to group mail account.
For outbound emails, the administrator can setup a default SMTP server that you can use to send mails. You can also specify a different SMTP server. The administrator can specify the email address, user name, and password for all users. You can change this information to suit your requirements. Your User page displays your default settings.

To create a mail account

1.
Click Settings at the top of the page.
This displays the Settings window
2.
Click the Mail Accounts tab in the Settings window.
3.
Click Add inthe Mail Accounts section.
This displays the Mail Account Properties page.
4.
Enter information for the following fields in the Incoming Email section:
Mail Account Name. Enter a name for the mail account in Sugar.
User Name. Enter the username of your external mail account.
Password. Enter the password of your external mail account.
Mail Server Address. To access a Gmail account, click Prefill Gmail Defaults to autofill the mail server address, port number, and protocol. For other accounts, such as Yahoo, enter the address of the external email server from which emails will be viewed in Sugar.
Mail Server Protocol. Select IMAP from this drop-down list.
This displays the following fields:
Monitored Folders. By default, the system monitors the Inbox. To monitor other folders, click Select and view a list of available folders in the external mail account. To select multiple folders, press SHIFT or CONTROL on your keyboard.
Trash Folder. To select a Trash folder from the Folders list, click Select.
Sent Folder. To add a folder to view your outbound emails, click Select.
Use SSL. If your mail server supports secure socket connections, selecting this box will force SSL connections when importing emails into Sugar. This box is automatically selected when you click the Prefill Gmail TM Defaults link.
Mail Server Port. The system automatically populates this field with the port number for IMAP.
5.
Click Test Settings to ensure that the specified information is correct. An error message is displayed if errors are detected.
6.
Enter the following information in the Outgoing Email section:
From Name. This field is automatically populated with your first and last names.
From Address. Enter the email address you want to display in the From field of emails that you send.
Reply to Address. Enter information in this field if you want responses to your emails to be directed to an email address other than the one specified in your incoming email account.
Outgoing SMTP Mail Server. Select an existing SMTP server from the drop-down list or select Add to specify a new SMTP server. For more information, see To add a mail server for outbound emails.
7.
Click Done to create the mail account.
This displays the mail account in the Mail Accounts table in the Settings window. The outbound mail server that you specified displays below in the Outgoing SMTP Mail Servers section.
All mail accounts that you create are listed in the Mail Accounts tab of the Settings page, and are marked active by default. Group mail accounts that you are allowed to access also appear in this list. When you deactivate a mail account, the account is not listed on the Folders tab and emails from that account will not display in the Sugar inbox.
8.
To specify a default mail account, select the Default button corresponding to the mail account name. The Fromname and email address associated with the default mail account are used when you compose emails in Sugar.
9.
To create another mail account, click Add in the Mail Accounts panel in the Settings window and repeat the process described above.If not, click Done to close the Settings page.
To edit or delete a mail account or an outgoing mail server, click the Edit icon or the Delete icon respectively. You cannot delete Group mail accounts.

To add a mail server for outbound emails

1.
Click the Add button located below the Outgoing Mail Server list.
This displays the Outbound Mail Server Properties page. You can select Gmail, Yahoo!, Exchange, or Other.
2.
Add the applicable server:
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To add the Gmail server or the Yahoo! server, click the appropriate button, and enter the email address and password in the fields below
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To add an Exchange server or a different server, click Exchange or Other respectively, and enter the server name
3.
If the mail server requires authentication to send out emails, select the Use SMTP Authentication? box, and enter the user name and password in the fields below.
4.
To check if the outgoing email settings are correct, click Send Test Email.
If the settings are incorrect, Sugar displays an error message.
5.
Click Done to add the mail server.
The mail server displays in the Outgoing Mail Server drop-down list on the Mail Accounts tab.

To manage mail accounts

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To view incoming emails in your inbox, click Check Mail while viewing the inbox or right-click the mail account and select Check Mail.
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To mark the email as read, unread, flagged, or unflagged, select the email, right-click, and select Mark and then select the appropriate option.
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To refresh the mail account view, right-click the account, and select Synchronize.
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To delete the mail account, right-click the account, and select Delete Folder.
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To rename the mail account, right-click the account and select Rename Folder. Enter a new name in the Mail Account Name field and click OK.
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To empty the Trash folder, right-click the account and select Empty Trash.
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To clear the email cache directory in Sugar, click Clear Cache Files.

Email Folders

A folder can be an inbox or a local folder. The system displays inboxes and users can create local folders. Sugar automatically creates a folder for every mail account that you configure. Emails in these folders reside on the mail server of the associated mail account. All emails in your local folders reside in the Sugar database.
Sugar provides a local folder named My Email containing emails that are imported into Sugar and those that are assigned to youand your direct reports reside. The two sub-folders, My Drafts and My Sent Emails, contain your email drafts and emails that you sent out, respectively. To group and store imported emails, you can create additional local folders.
Sugar lists folders in the General tab of the Settings window. In order to view a folder in the Folders tab of the Emails home page, you must select it in the General tab.

To create a folder

1.
To create a local folder in Sugar, right-click My Email and select Create Folder in the Folders tab.
The Add New Folder dialog box displays on the page.
2.
Enter a name for the folder and click OK.
The new local folder is now listed under Folders in the left-hand panel. This folder is not associated with any of your mail accounts. You can import emails into this folder from any of your mail accounts.
3.
To create a new folder for an external mail account, select the account’s inbox in the Folders tab, right-click, and select Create Folder; click OK.
4.
To create a sub-folder, select an existing folder in the account, right-click, select Create Folder, and click OK. Alternatively, drag the folder and drop it into the other folder in the account.

To manage accounts and folders

1.
To check for new mail in your external mail account, right-click the account in Sugar, and select Check Mail.
2.
To synchronize the contents of your external mail accounts with the view in Sugar, select the account, right-click, and select Synchronize.
3.
To delete a folder, select it, right-click, and choose Delete Folder. Click OK to confirm the action.
4.
To rename a folder, select it, right-click, and choose Rename Folder. Enter the new name in the Rename Folder window and click OK to confirm the action.
5.
To remove deleted emails from the account’s trash bin, right-click the account or one of the folders, and selectEmpty Trash.

Composing and Managing Emails

When you compose an email, if you have configured multiple mail accounts, you can choose the account from which to send the email. By default, the system uses the signature and character set specified on the General tab of the Settings window, and assigns the email to your default teams as specified in your User Preferences. When composing an email, you can also specify an email template and change the signature. You can associate an email with another record when you compose the email, or after you send it out.
To compose an email without leaving a record’s List View or Detail View, use the Quick Compose form. To access this form, click the record’s email address in a module’s List View, the record’s Detail View, or the Compose Email button in the Activities sub-panel of the record’s Detail View.

To compose an Email

1.
On the Emails Home page, click Compose Email.
Alternatively, you can click the email address from a module’s List View or a record’s Detail View, or click the Compose Email button in the Activities sub-panel of a record’s Detail View. This will display the Quick Compose email form.
2.
On the Compose Email page, enter information for the following fields:
From. To route the email through a specific mail account, click the down arrow to select an existing one from the drop-down list. The list contains all the outbound mail account servers set up by you or the System Administrator.
To. Click this button to select recipients from the address book, or manually enter the names of the recipients in this field. For more information on the address book, see Using the Address Book.
To send a copy of the email to other individuals, click Add CC and enter their email addresses in the CC field, or click the CC button to add recipients from the address book. To send a blind copy of the email to other individuals, click Add BCC and enter their names in the BCC field, or click the BCCbutton to select recipients from the address book.
Subject. Enter the subject of the email.
Enter the email text in the body field. To apply standard formatting options such as font face, size, bold, italics, indentation and color, highlight the text and click the appropriate buttons on the toolbar. You can select the desired style, format, and font from the appropriate drop-down list.
To send the email in plain text, click the Options tab in the right-hand panel and select the Send in Plain Text box.
3.
To attach a file to the email click Attach Files.
The Attach options display in the right panel. To select a file from your local machine, click Add File and click Browse to navigate to the file location; To attach a file located in the Sugar repository, click Add Documents and click Select to choose the document from the Document List. To remove the document, click Remove.
4.
To populate the email with the contents of an email template, click Options and select from the Templates drop-down list in the Options panel. For more information, see Creating Email Templates.
5.
To change the signature from the default, in the Options panel, select the signature from the Signatures drop-down list.
6.
To associate the email with a related record, select the module from the Relate to drop-down list located at the top of the page, and then click Select to specify the record from the module’s List View.
When you type a character in a field, the system performs a quick search of possible values and presents a list of values starting with that character. Typing additional characters restricts the search results.
When searching for a name, Sugar respects the Name Display Format setting on the User Preferences page. If the setting specifies “s f l” (Salutation First Last), then Sugar displays a list of first names that start with the specified character. For example, if you enter “A”, the system displays first names starting with “A”. Similarly, if the Name display format specifies “s l f”, then the system displays last names starting with “A”.
7.
To send the email, click Send; to save the email as a draft, click Save Draft. The saved drafts appear in the My Drafts folder.
After you send the email, to view its related records, select it in the Sent Emails folder, right-click, and click View Relationships. Sugar displays the email’s record page, which lists related records such as accounts, contacts, attachments and so on. You can view existing relationships and create new ones from this page.

To view and manage emails in the Sugar inbox

•
To check for new emails in a personal email account, select the account and click Check Mail.
•
To view an email in the panel below, select it in the List View and click it once. To view an email in a separate tab, double-click it in the List View.
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Right-click an email in the inbox to perform any of the following actions:
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To import the email, open the email and click Import to Sugar.Alternatively, select the email in the List View, right-click, and select Import to Sugar. For more information, see To import emails to Sugar.
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To respond to the email, select Reply.
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To respond to all recipients of the email, select Reply All.
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To forward it to another individual, select Forward and enter the email address of the recipient.
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To delete an email when you view it, click Delete; to delete multiple emails, select them from the email list and click Delete.
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To print the email, click Print.
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To mark an email as unread, read, flagged, or unflagged, select Mark, and choose the option of your choice.
•
To view multiple emails, select two or more emails from the list, right-click, and select Open Multiple Messages.
•
To create a record from the email, open the email and select the record type from the Quick Create drop-down list. For more information, see To create a record from an imported email.
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To view the email header information or the raw email text for debugging purposes, click View and select Display Headers and Display Raw Email respectively from the drop-down menu.
•
To update information such as email assignments and status change for multiple emails, select them from the Emails list and use the Mass Update panel as described in Editing and Deleting Multiple Records.
•
To assign an imported email, select it from the list, right-click, and select Assign To. See To assign emails to usersfor more information.
•
To associate an email with another Sugar record, select the email from the Group mail inbox, right-click, and selectRelate. See Associating Imported Emails with Other Sugar Records for more information.

Using the Address Book

When composing an email, you can select email recipients from the address book, which lists existing users, contacts, leads, targets, and accounts. By default, all of these individuals are listed in the address book. However, you can filter the list if you want to view a specific group such as contacts or users. You can also search for an individual by first name, last name, email address, or account name.
To use the address book
1.
To view the address book, click the To button on the Compose Email page.
The Address Book window displays on the screen. If the list is paginated, the page number display below. You can click the right arrow to move to the next page or the left arrow to move to the previous page. You can also click a page number to go directly to that page. To move to the first page, click the double-left arrow and to move to the last page, click the double-right arrow.
2.
To select email recipients, select them in the address book and click Add To. To add recipients to the CC list, clickAdd To CC; to add recipients to the BCC list, select Add To BCC.
The selected names display in the Selected column.
3.
To filter the listings displayed in the address book, select the filter from the Recipient Type drop-down list.
The address book listing changes to display only the specified individuals.
4.
To search for an individual, enter a letter or a keyword such as first name, last name, email address, or account name in the Search field and click the adjacent button. When you enter a letter, Sugar will display all first names, last names, and account names that start with that letter.

Importing Emails into Sugar

Importing emails from external mail accounts or from email clients, such as Microsoft Outlook, enables you to manage them in Sugar. You can assign imported emails to other users for follow-up, and relate them to records. Imported emails display in the My Emails folder. You can also view unread imported emails in the My Emails Dashlet, if you can add it to your Home page.

To import emails to Sugar

1.
On the Folders tab, click the inbox of your external mail account in Sugar
2.
Select the emails that you want to import, right-click, and select Import to Sugar. Alternatively, drag the email from the list to a local folder.
The Import Settings window displays on the screen.
3.
Enter information for the following fields:
Assigned To. To assign it to a different user, click Select to select from the Users List View.
Relate To. To relate the email to another record, select the module from the drop-down list, and then click Select to select the record from the module’s List View.
Delete message from server. Select this box to delete the email from the external email server after you import it to Sugar.
4.
Click Import to Sugar to import the emails into Sugar.
Sugar displays a message after the email has been successfully imported. The import email now displays in your My Emails folder.

To assign emails to users

To assign one or more imported emails from your My Emails folder or from a Group account to a different user, do the following:
1.
Select the email from the list, right-click, and select Assign To.
The Assign To dialog box displays on the screen
2.
To assign a user, click the Select button adjacent to the Assigned To field, and choose from the list of existing users.
The selected user’s name displays in the Assigned To field.
3.
To change an assigned user, select Replace and then click Select to choose a different user.
4.
Click Assign.
The emails no longer display in your My Emails folder or the Group account folder, but instead, appear in the My Emails folder of the assigned user.

Searching for Imported Emails

You can search for imported emails using one or more of the following fields: Subject, From, To, Date From, Date Until, Relate To, Assigned To, and Attachment. The Date From and Date Until time range applies to emails that were sent as well as emails that were received.

To search for imported emails in Sugar

1.
Navigate to the Search tab located in the left-hand panel of the Emails home page.
The Subject, From, and To fields display in the panel. Click More to view all the Search fields.
2.
Enter the appropriate information to search for imported emails in the system.
3.
Click Search.
The search results display imported emails assigned to you and your direct reports in the List View.

Associating Imported Emails with Other Sugar Records

You can associate an email with records in other modules, such as accounts, contacts, and bugs, during any of the following processes:
•
Importing emails: In the Import Settings window, you can select a record from another module using the Relate Todrop-down list and the adjacent field.
•
Viewing emails: When you open an email, click the Quick Create drop-down list to select the record that you want to create, such as a bug, case, contact, lead, or task. Sugar creates the new record and associates it with the email. Related emails are listed in the History sub-panel of the record’s Detail View.
Alternatively, select the email from the list, right-click, and select Relate. In the Relate Email window, select the module from theRelated To drop-down list, and click Select to choose the record with which to relate the email.
•
Composing emails: You can use the Relate To drop-down list and adjacent field, located at the top of the page, to select a record from another module.

To relate an email with another record

1.
Select the email from the list, right-click, and select Relate.
The Relate Email dialog box displays on the screen.
2.
Select the record type from Relate To drop-down list, and click Select to view the list of records and choose one.
3.
Click Relate to create the association.
The email is now associated with the selected records and is listed in the History panel of the record’s detail page.

To create a record from an imported email

1.
To create a record such as a bug or a case, open the email, click Quick Create, and select the record type from the drop-down list.
The appropriate Quick Create form displays on the screen. The screen illustrated below displays the Quick Create form to create a lead.
2.
Enter the necessary information and click Save to create the record.
If you have not already imported the email, it will be imported and associated with the new record when you use Quick Create to create the record.

Creating Email Templates

You can use email templates to create form letters for automated email responses to inbound emails and for email campaigns. For example, when you receive an email regarding a bug or a case, you can send out an automatic reply stating that the matter will be addressed.
For email campaigns, you enter the message in the template and then specify the variables such as the target names and addresses from the campaign target list. The system inserts these variables into the template to create a personalized email for each target. When you create an email template, you can embed images and attach files from the Sugar repository or from your local file system.
When you create a template for an email campaign, you can insert tracker URLs into the template to track campaign activity. For more information on email campaigns, see Executing an Email Campaign.

To create an email template

1.
Select Create Email Template from the Actions bar on the Emails tab.
If you are creating an email template for email campaigns, navigate to the Email Marketing record from an Email or Newsletter campaign’s Detail View, and click the Create link that is located next to the Email Template field.
2.
Enter information for the following fields:
Name. Enter a name for the template.
Assigned to. To assign the template to a user, click the arrow button and select from the Users list.
Description. Enter a brief description about the template.
Insert Variable. From the drop-down list, select the record (for example Contact) and select a field such as Name and click Insert.
The system displays the variable in the Body field.
3.
Insert Tracker URL. This field displays only when you create the template from the email marketing record of an email campaign. From the drop-down list, select the tracker URL to insert and click Insert URL Reference.
The Body field displays a link named Default link text. The adjoining field displays the tracker name for plain text format. Use this if you want to display the email in plain text format.
4.
Subject. Enter the title of the message.
5.
Body. Enter the email message. You can also embed images and add URL links.
To view and use the HTML editor, click HTML in the Body field.
6.
To apply standard formatting options such as font face, size, bold, italics, indentation and color, highlight the text and select the appropriate option in the Body field.
7.
Send Text only. Select this box to display the email in plain text format. You can choose this option if an email client cannot render HTML code.
Attachments: To attach a file, click Browse to navigate to its location on your local machine, and select it. To attach an existing document from the Documents module, click Sugar Document and select it from the Document List.
To embed an image file in the template, click the paper clip icon that displays next to the file; to remove the attachment, click theRemove button.
8.
Click Save to create the template.

To manage email templates

•
To search for a template, enter the name or description in the Search sub-panel on the Email Templates page, and click Search.
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To view the details of a template, click the template name from the list on the Email Templates page.
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To edit the template, on the detail page, click Edit, make the changes, and click Save.
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To duplicate the template, on the detail page, click Duplicate and click Save.
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To delete the template, on the detail page, click Delete; to delete some or all the templates, select them from the list on the Email Templates Home page, and click Delete.
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To export one or more templates, select the templates from the list on the Email Templates Home page, and clickExport.
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To deselect templates that you selected in the list, click Clear All.
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