Use Outlook category to track appointments and emails
Server-side synchronization allows tracking of emails, appointments and tasks in Outlook with a special category Tracked to Dynamics 365. Assigning this category to an email, appointment or a task in Outlook syncs the item to customer engagement apps (Dynamics 365 Sales, Dynamics 365 Customer Service, Dynamics 365 Field Service, Dynamics 365 Marketing, and Dynamics 365 Project Service Automation). Similarly, removing the category from a tracked email, appointment or task untracks it from customer engagement apps.
You can also select multiple items and assign the Tracked to Dynamics 365 Outlook category to them thereby tracking all of them to customer engagement apps. Quickly identify tracked items by observing the presence of this category in your Inbox and other folders.
Configure category-based tracking through an OrgDBOrgSetting
As of version 9.1.0.4039 or higher, category tracking is on by default.
Tip
To determine your version, sign in to customer engagement apps, and in the upper-right side of the screen, select the Settings button 
> About.
Use category to track Outlook items
Once the Tracked to Dynamics 365 category is available in Outlook, you can use it to track the following Outlook items.
Track an email by assigning it the Tracked to Dynamics 365 category. The category assignment can be seen immediately in Outlook. At this time, the email is marked for tracking. server-side synchronization will sync the email to customer engagement apps within 15 minutes, based on the email synchronization setting.
If an email is tracked and is categorized as Tracked to Dynamics, removing the category will untrack the email. However, the corresponding email activity record is not deleted.
Tip
You can set up a rule in Outlook to assign or remove a category. See Manage email messages by using rules.
Note
Server-side synchronization will automatically categorize emails in Dynamics 365 recipient mailboxes if the email being processed has already been tracked into Dynamics by another user or queue recipient of the same email.
Only emails that match the Dynamics 365 direction code will be automatically categorized when the system setting Track emails sent between Dynamics 365 users as two activities is enabled.
For example, emails which are tracked and sent from Outlook to other Dynamics 365 users will not appear as categorized in the Outlook recipient mailboxes because they represent the "received" copy of the email. This is to allow the Dynamics 365 recipient to track an incoming copy of the email as per the system setting noted above.
Appointment
You can track an appointment by assigning it the Tracked to Dynamics 365 category. The appointment will be tracked and synced to customer engagement apps based on server-side synchronization rules.
If an appointment is tracked and is categorized as Tracked to Dynamics, removing the category will untrack the appointment. However, the corresponding Dynamics 365 apps appointment activity record is not deleted.
Task
Note
Assignment of tasks to people that is captured in Outlook will not be synced to customer engagement apps.
Use category-based tracking with App for Outlook
If you have Dynamics 365 App for Outlook, you can use category-based tracking with App for Outlook.
The following table lists different scenarios of tracking.
| Action | Result |
|---|---|
| Assign the Tracked to Dynamics 365 category to an email/appointment | Server-side synchronization will sync email/appointment within 15 minutes. Loading App for Outlook on that item will display the tracked status. |
| Track an email/appointment using App for Outlook | Email/Appointment is tracked. The Tracked to Dynamics 365 category is assigned immediately. |
| Removal of the Tracked to Dynamics 365 category on an email/appointment | Server-side synchronization will untrack the item in about 15 minutes. Loading App for Outlook on that email will display the tracked status. The activity record is not deleted from customer engagement apps. |
| Untrack an email/appointment using App for Outlook | Email/Appointment is untracked and Tracked to Dynamics 365 category is removed. |
Delegate users
If you allow someone else to manage your email and calendar by providing them delegate access, the delegate can access your categories in Outlook, if the delegate has Editor permissions.
If your mailbox has the Tracked to Dynamics 365 category, the delegate can track your emails and appointments by assigning the Tracked to Dynamics 365 category.
Category-based tracking with Dynamics 365 for Outlook
Category-based tracking is not supported with Dynamics 365 for Outlook. We recommend that you do not enable OrgDBOrgSetting TrackCategorizedItems on an organization set up to use Dynamics 365 for Outlook.
Disable category-based tracking
You can disable category-based tracking for the Dynamics 365 apps organization by disabling OrgDBOrgSetting TrackCategorizedItems.
Note
If you disable OrgDBOrgSetting TrackCategorizedItems, the Tracked to Dynamics 365 category is soft-deleted, with the category assignment retained in Outlook. If you delete the category from the master list, it will be deleted permanently.
FAQ
Can I track my Outlook contacts by assigning the Tracked to Dynamics 365 category?
No, category-based tracking is not supported for Outlook contacts.
What happens if I rename the Tracked to Dynamics 365 category?
If you rename the category, server-side synchronization will continue to identify the category by its ID and it will be used to track and untrack Outlook items.
Note
For delegate scenarios, a category name difference between the delegate and primary mailbox owner is not supported and may result in unexpected behavior. We recommend matching the category name on the delegate and primary mailbox owner.
What happens if I delete the Tracked to Dynamics 365 category?
If you delete the category, server-side synchronization will recreate it on the Exchange server in about 15 minutes.
When I turn on OrgDBOrgSetting TrackCategorizedItems for the first time, will my previously tracked items be assigned the Tracked to Dynamics 365 category?
No, server-side synchronization will not go back in time to assign the category to already tracked items.
If I assign the Tracked to Dynamics 365 category to an Outlook conversation thread, what happens?
If you categorize a conversation thread as Tracked to Dynamics 365, all the emails in that thread are assigned the category and hence will be tracked.
Can I assign Tracked to Dynamics 365 category to recurring appointments?
If you categorize a recurring appointment as Tracked to Dynamics 365, all the individual environments of the appointment are assigned the category and will be tracked.
What happens when a Tracked email fails?
By default, failed auto tracked emails will be retried in a new synchronization cycle – approximately every 15 minutes. Retries will be done up to 5 times. If the retries fail after 5 attempts, the email will be assigned the category Tracked to Dynamics 365 (Undeliverable) and no further retries will occur. Auto tracked emails which fail with the following errors will be retried:
- Promotion of emails fail due to a plugin configured in the customer environment.
- Promotion of emails fail because of timeouts from either customer engagement apps or Microsoft Exchange.
- An email is rejected with InvalidSender or because of some unknown decisions.
- Emails fail and are undeliverable if the owner of the queue doesn't have the correct security role assigned to them. Without the correct security role, the owner won't be able to own the email record tracked by the queue.
After 5 retries, if the failure to promote the email was due to a plugin error, try fixing the plugin. Then, assign the Track to Dynamics 365 category to manually track the undelivered emails to get them tracked in customer engagement apps.
How do I remove category-based tracking through OrgDBOrgSetting?
To disable the special Tracked to Dynamics 365 Outlook category, you need to enable the OrgDBOrgSetting in your organization. Customer engagement apps provides the OrgDBOrgSettings tool that gives administrators the ability to implement specific updates that were previously reserved for registry implementations.
- Follow the instructions in this article for steps to extract the tool.
- After extracting the tool, disable the OrgDBOrgSetting TrackCategorizedItems.
- Disabling the OrgDBOrgSetting will remove the category Tracked to Dynamics 365 on all Exchange mailboxes of the organization which have server-side synchronization enabled in about 15 minutes.
You can also use this tool to edit the OrgDBOrgSetting TrackCategorizedItems.