Linking Other Items to Business Contact Manager

You can link any existing or newly created Outlook item to a BCM account, contact, or opportunity manually. When you install BCM, a Business Contact Manager toolbar is placed on every Outlook Inspector (the window used to display an Outlook item; see Figure 36.30) and every Outlook Explorer (the window used to display an Outlook folder; see Figure 36.31).

Figure 36.30. The BCM Toolbar for an Outlook Inspector enables you to link any Outlook item to a BCM item.

Figure 36.31. Use the BCM Toolbar to link any Outlook item to a BCM item through Outlook Explorer.

To link an existing item to an item in BCM from an Outlook folder (Explorer), use the following steps:

1. Select the Outlook item you want to link.

2. Use the Link to History drop-down list to choose Business Contacts, Accounts, or Opportunities.

3. Click the Choose Business Contact button to display Figure 36.32.

   Figure 36.32. You can select one or many business contacts, accounts, or opportunities to link to an existing Outlook item.

   

4. Choose the Business Contact from the left list and click the button to add the business contact to the right list. You can add multiple business contacts to the right list by selecting them one at a time and clicking the button.

5. If you need to remove a business contact from the list, select the name in the right list and click the button to remove the business contact from the list.

6. Click OK to save your links.

Figure 36.32 also shows you the other accounts, business contacts, and opportunities that the selected item is already linked to.

NOTE

You cannot use the previous steps to remove a link. The only way to remove a link between an Outlook item and a contact, account, or opportunity is to open the BCM item, right-click the linked item in the BCM item's history, and choose Delete. This deletes only the link to the item from the BCM item's history. It does not delete the actual item.

To link an existing Outlook item to a BCM item from within the item itself (an Inspector), use the following steps:

1. Use the Link to History drop-down list to choose Business Contacts, Accounts, or Opportunities.

2. Use the Name drop-down list to select a contact, account, or opportunity.

3. Click the Link to History button to link the item to the selected contact, account, or opportunity.

4. If you want to link the item to more than one BCM item, click the Select [item] button to display the dialog box previously shown in Figure 36.32. You can then select multiple BCM items.

5. When you close the Outlook item you will be prompted to save changes. To persist your link, choose Yes.

Utilizing the Link to History features of BCM can provide you with a true and complete picture of all electronic contact you have with a contact, account, or opportunity.