InterAction automatically sends email messages in certain situations. This feature is primarily used for sending requests and notifications when merging duplicate contacts.
You must configure InterAction for your email system before InterAction can successfully send email messages.
Most users do not receive email notifications. They are primarily sent to administrators and folder owners. Email messages are not sent to professionals or secretaries unless they use the Windows Client.
Email Messaging Settings
If you do not configure the email settings, InterAction generates errors when attempting to send automatic messages.
To configure InterAction’s email messaging features, set the following options:
- Company Domain Name
- SMTP Server Settings
- SMTP Authentication Settings
- Default Email Address
You configure all these settings in the Messaging tab of the InterAction Configuration dialog box in InterAction Administrator. To access this dialog box, choose the Configuration entity in the main window of InterAction Administrator, then choose the Messaging tab.
Messaging Tab of the Configuration Dialog Box
Company Domain Name
The company domain name is the portion of an Internet email address that displays after the @ (at) symbol. In the email address emroberts@interaction.com, the domain name is interaction.com.
You can set the company domain name for your company in InterAction Administrator. When specifying email addresses for users and groups, you only need to enter the first part of the address for addresses at the company domain. InterAction automatically combines this value with the specified domain name and the @ symbol to form the correct address.
When setting user and group email addresses, you can enter addresses for a different domain by entering the full address. For instance, if most users are on the company domain, but two are not, you just need to specify the full address for those two users.
SMTP Server Settings
The SMTP settings are used to connect to the email server to send messages.
The server name is the name of your email server. It can be specified by the server name, for example, interfacemail, or by its IP address.
The port number is the number of the communications port your email system uses. Normally this is 25. If necessary, consult the documentation for your email system to determine the correct number.
SMTP Authentication Settings
You can optionally configure the InterAction email settings to use SMTP authentication. This is an authentication step through which the client logs into the mail server during the process of sending email. This ensures that the true identity of the sender is known. SMTP authentication allows InterAction to relay mail while denying relay service to unauthorized users such as spammers.
To use SMTP authentication, select the Use SMTP Authentication check box. Then enter the credentials to use (login name, password, then confirm the password) for logging into the mail server when system generated email messages are sent.
The Windows Client, Web Client, and API use these SMTP authentication settings for messages. However, you can configure the Application Server to override these settings. See Configuring Email Settings for Application Server for details.
Default Email Address
InterAction normally uses the default e-mail address when the correct email recipient does not have an email address.
For example, if an end user does not have the access rights to merge two duplicate contacts, InterAction sends a merge request email message to someone who does have access.
Depending on the location of the contacts, the first choice for this recipient is the email address for the group granted merge all duplicates permission. If this group does not have an email address defined, InterAction uses the default e-mail address instead.
The To email address specified for the default is the recipient of these messages.
From Email Address
As part of the default email address, you can specify the address used as the From address for all messages sent by InterAction. This can be either the current user’s email address or a specific address.
Normally, you should use the current user option. When InterAction sends the email message, it is from the currently logged in InterAction user. This lets the message recipient quickly see who made the request.
Note that some email systems still use the current user name for the display name for the messages. However, the actual sender of the message is the default email address.
In certain situations, you may want messages to be from one user. This is useful in the following situations:
- Individual end users do not have their own email addresses
- Your organization has other restrictions on the email system
When you select this option, all messages sent by InterAction are from the default From address specified.
Configuring and Testing the Email Messaging Settings
You use InterAction Administrator to configure the email messaging settings.
Configure the Email Messaging Settings
- In InterAction Administrator, double-click Configuration.
- Choose the Messaging tab.
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Enter the Company Domain Name for your company.
For details, see Company Domain Name.
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Enter the Server Name and Port Number for your email server.
For details, see SMTP Server Settings.
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To use SMTP Authentication, select the Use SMTP Authentication check box, then enter the credentials to use when logging into the mail server.
For details, see SMTP Authentication Settings.
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Under Default E-Mail accounts, enter the To and From addresses for the person who receives messages when the intended recipient does not have an address.
These values are normally the same.
For details, see Default Email Address.
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Select the option you want for the From address.
For details, see From Email Address.
- Test the email settings to make sure messages can be sent. See “Test the Email Settings,” later, in the next section for details.
- When you are finished configuring the email settings, choose OK.
Test the Email Settings
- Configure the email notification as described in Configure the Email Messaging Settings.
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Choose Test Settings.
InterAction Administrator attempts to send a test message to the specified default email address, using the provided SMTP information. The message is from the specified default From email address. The default From address also is included in the CC field to test the From address.
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InterAction Administrator displays a message indicating whether the test email message was sent. Based on this message, do one of the following:
If Do This The email message was sent successfully Check the appropriate mailbox and verify that the test message arrived.
If the message did not arrive, you may need to correct the settings in Configuration > Messaging.
InterAction Administrator could not connect to the server The SMTP settings are probably incorrect. Check the settings and try again. - When you are finished testing and updating the settings, choose OK.