Dynamics 365 Gmail Configuration and Client Installation

Is your organization currently using Microsoft Outlook but leveraging Gmail for their email interaction? You’re not alone. While some organizations decide to fully make the transition to Outlook given the obvious integrative capabilities with Dynamics 365, you can still configure Gmail to work for email engagement. The following will outline the steps to install and configure Outlook and Gmail within Dynamics 365.

For Gmail to integrate with Dynamics 365 correctly, it is important to enable the functionality inside of Gmail to permit external users to access their mailbox using POP3/SMTP protocols. To verify this is enabled in your mailbox please follow the below instructions. These steps should be completed by each user who wants to use Dynamics 365 to send email through their Gmail account:

1. Open a web browser and visit https://mail.google.com.
2. Click Settings and select the Forwarding POP/IMAP tab.
3. In the POP3 Download section, select Enable POP for all mail that arrives from now on ratio button.
4. In the When messages are accessed with POP drop down list select archive Gmail’s copy and click Save Changes.

In this section we will be configuring the Dynamics 365 Email Server Profile to connect to Google’s Gmail service. The Email Server Profile is used as a parent object to associate to each child Email Mailbox so each mailbox understands how to connect back to Google’s servers. Since we are using Gmail and not Exchange, we will need to create a new Email Server Profile and then tell each Mailbox to use the new Email Profile using a Dynamics 365 Bulk Edit.

1. Navigate to your Dynamics 365 instance using your web browser.

2. Select Settings > Email Configuration > Email Server Profiles.

3. Click New button dropdown arrow, select the POP3/SMTP Server button, and complete the below fields:

• Name: (You can use anything here, like Gmail)
• Incoming Server Location: pop.gmail.com
• Outgoing Server Location: smtp.gmail.com (optional for receiving only setup; if you use Gmail with your work or school account, enter mail.domain.com)
• Authenticate Using: Credentials Specified by User or Queue
• Use same settings for Outgoing: Yes

4. Expand the Advanced tab.

• Incoming Port: 995
• Outgoing Port: 465 (optional for receiving only setup)

5. Click Save and Close.

In this section, we will be enabling Server-Side Synchronization, which is the mechanism that permits incoming emails to be promoted into the Dynamics 365 database from an Outlook user with the Dynamics 365 add-in installed, against the mailboxes in our environment that will be utilizing the Email Server Profile we created in the previous step.

1. Navigate to Settings > Email Configuration > Email Configuration Settings.
2. Click Ok.

In this section, we will be combining the work we have completed in previous steps and will approve selected mailboxes to utilize the Gmail Email Server Profile that we created. Once this section is complete, Dynamics 365 will be fully set up to utilize Gmail as its email provider. This will allow for email that has been previously tracked to be promoted into the Dynamics 365 database automatically.

1. Go to Settings > Email Configuration > Mailboxes.
2. Select the mailbox you would like to configure.
3. Click the Edit button in the ribbon.
4. Change the Mailbox to use the below settings:
   • Server Profile: Select Gmail using the lookup icon on the right-hand side
   • Incoming Email: Server-Side Synchronization or Email Router
   • Outgoing Email: Server-Side Synchronization or Email Router
   • Appointments, Contacts, and Tasks: Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Outlook
5. Under the Credentials section, select Yes for Allow to Use Credentials for Email Processing and enter the credentials of your Gmail account.
6. The format to enter your username is as follows, recent: <username>@gmail.com (ex. recent: catapulterp@gmail.com).
7. Click Save in the ribbon.
8. Click Approve Email in the ribbon.
9. Now hit Test and Enable Mailbox.
10. When you get to the dialog “Sync items with Exchange from this Dynamics 365 Organization only, even if Exchange was set to sync with a different Organization,” leave the checkbox unticked and click Ok.
11. Go to the Alerts link under Common on the left pane.
12. If there are no alerts, wait for a few seconds and click the refresh button on the right-hand side of the All Errors, Warnings, and Information tab. You should see three alerts coming up. Since we are configuring only the Incoming Email and Outgoing Email, make sure the Incoming/Outgoing Email related alert is successful.

Repeat the above steps for each mailbox that you would like to configure to use Gmail Email Server Profile.

This section will describe the steps required to install the Dynamics 365 Client on a workstation. Once complete, you will have the ability to track new emails and have them promoted into Dynamics 365. The Client is an add-in for Microsoft Outlook that will add a ribbon and allow you to easily access Dynamics 365 from within the Outlook interface.

1. Create a new folder on your desktop (or on your hard disk if you prefer) and name it CRM.

2. Log into your Dynamics 365 website.

3. In the upper right corner of your Dynamics 365 portal, click the gear icon and select Apps for Dynamics 365.

4. Select Download Dynamics 365 for Outlook.

5. In the next window, make a note of your Dynamics 365 tenant URL. If the download does not start automatically, click on Click this link if it’s not.

6. If you are using Internet Explorer or Edge, you will be prompted to Run or to Save this download file. Select Save As and save it to the folder you created in step 1.

7. Double click on the file named CRM2016-ClientOnlineInstaller-ENU.exe.

8. You will be asked to extract the files. Navigate to the same folder where you put your .exe file in step 6.

9. Wait for the Dynamics 365 installation wizard to download all the necessary files in the background to complete the installation of the Dynamics 365 Client.

10. Accept the License Agreement and hit Next.

11. Click on Install Now and when complete, press Close.

12. Start Outlook and sign into your Dynamics 365 account.

13. Select Dynamics 365 Online and click Connect.

14. It is possible that you will be prompted again for your username and password, in which case use <username>@<your organization>.onmicrosoft.com and the password you have been sent. Select the organization you want to connect to (from the Select organization drop down list) and click Select.