About communication history items in Business Contact Manager

A communication history item is one of several types of items linked to an Account, Business Contact, Opportunity, or Business Projectrecord.

To view communication history items linked to records in Business Contact Manager for Outlook, first open a specific record.

How?

1. On the Business Contact Manager menu, click one of the following: Accounts, Business Contacts, Opportunities, or Business Projects.

2. Select the record you want to view.

Then, on the record form, on the Ribbon, in the Show group, click History.

The types of communication history items that can be linked to a record are shown in the following table.

Type of item	Found in this type of record
Business Note	Account, Business Contact, Opportunity, Business Project
Mail Message	Account, Business Contact, Business Project
Opportunity	Account, Business Contact
Task	Account, Business Contact, Opportunity
Appointment	Account, Business Contact, Opportunity, Business Project
Phone Log	Account, Business Contact, Opportunity, Business Project
File	Account, Business Contact, Opportunity, Business Project

An Opportunity that is linked to either an Account or a Business Contact will show as a communication history item for that Account or Business Contact. In addition, an Opportunity linked to the primary Business Contact of an Account will automatically be linked to that Account.

Create and link communication history items

All communication history items except files can be created from within a record and then linked to that record.

How?

Create a communication history item

1. On the Business Contact Manager menu, click Account, Business Contact, Opportunity, or Business Project.

2. On the Ribbon, in the Show group, click History.

3. In the Communication history items section, click New.

4. Select the type of communication history item you want to create (such as a business note, e-mail message, opportunity, task, appointment, or phone log).

   Note: You cannot create a new file in the Communication history items section. Instead, click File to select an existing file to link to this record.

5. Complete the form for your new item, and then save it.

You can also link existing items, such as files, e-mail messages, appointments, and tasks, to a record.

How?

Link an existing e-mail message, appointment or task to a record

1. Open the Outlook item that you want to link to a record.

2. On the Business Contact Manager toolbar, click Link to Record.

3. In the Link to a Business Contact Manager record dialog box, in the Folder list, click the type of record that you want to link the item to.

4. In the list, select all records that you want to link the item to, and then click Link To. The Link To box then includes all records that the communication history item is linked to.

5. To create a new Account, Business Contact, Opportunity, or Business Project, click New.

6. To open a selected Account, Business Contact, Opportunity, or Business Project, click Open.

Link an existing Microsoft Office Excel*, Publisher*, or Word* file to a record

1. Open the file in Excel 2007, Publisher 2007, or Word 2007 that you want to link to a record, and do one of the following:

   • In Excel 2007 or Word 2007, on the Ribbon, on the Business Contact Manager tab, in the Business Contact Manager group, click Link to Record.

   • In Publisher 2007, on the Business Contact Manager toolbar, click Link to Record.

2. In the Link to a Business Contact Manager record dialog box, in the Folder list, click the type of record that you want to link the item to.

3. From the list, select all the records that you want to link the file to, and then click Link To. The Link To box includes all records that the file is linked to.

4. To create a new Account, Business Contact, Opportunity, or Business Project, click New.

5. To open a selected Account, Business Contact, Opportunity, or Business Project, click Open.

*The stand-alone edition of Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager can be used with the 2007 or 2003 versions of Excel, Publisher and Word. The Business Contact Manager toolbar and menus are not available in Excel 2003, Publisher 2003, or Word 2003.

Tip: To ensure that all e-mail messages to or from an Account or Business Contact are included in the communication history of a record, open an e-mail message that you want to link to the record, and, on the Business Contact Manager toolbar, click E-mail Auto-link. Attachments are not included with the e-mail message.

View all communication history items

You can view all your communication history items in the Communication History folder.

How?

View all your communication history items

1. On the Business Contact Manager menu, click Communication History.

2. On the View menu, point to Current View, and then select the way you want the communication history items to appear.