When you create a new activity type, you can designate whether end users can use the type or not. You can also specify the specific areas of the system in which they can use the type.
The main purpose of these settings is to make it easier for end users to select the correct types when working in the Web Client and Windows Client. For example, filtering activity types that are only relevant for automatically generated activities out of the Add Activity dialog box keeps the list of valid types short and ensures that users don’t accidentally select the wrong type when creating an activity.
See the following topics:
- Types Available to End Users
- Hidden Types
- Change How an Activity Type Displays to End Users
- Hide an Activity Type from End Users
- Using Activity Types for Calendar Items
Types Available to End Users
For activity types that should be available to end users, you can select from three options that control where the type is available. The following table summarizes the options and describes the areas where users will see the types in the Web Client, their PIM (Outlook), and Windows Client.
| Option | Web Client/PIMs | Windows Client |
|---|---|---|
| Display in the list of types available when creating or editing | Activity type is available in the Add/Edit dialog box. Users can select the type when creating and editing activities. | Activity type is available in the Add/Edit dialog box. Users can select the type when creating and editing activities. |
| Display in the list of types available when searching/filtering |
Activity type is available on the General Activity Search page. Users can use the type as criteria in an activity search. The type is also included in the list when filtering by type on the Company/Person Overview and Activities pages. |
Activity type is available when filtering activities by type in the Contact Details view. Note that all activity types are always available as criteria for Windows Client searches. |
| Display on the Customize Watch List / Alerts page and the Reporting Activity Options filter |
Activity type is available on the Configure Alerts pages. Users can select to filter their alerts by the type. Note that activities that use types without this option can still be displayed on the My Alerts page when the user is not filtering by type, for instance, if the user chooses to view All Items. |
Activity type is available in the dialog boxes for creating a custom report. Users can choose to filter the set of activities included on the report by type. |
Note that changing the above settings for an activity type does not change or hide any of the activities that currently use the type. For example, if you clear the Display in the list of types available when creating or editing option, existing activities that use the type are still available when viewing the list of activities for a contact.
Similarly, deselecting the option Display in the list of types available when searching/filtering for a particular type just means that users can’t use that type as criteria in a search. Searching for activities using other criteria can still find activities using the type.
Making an Activity Type Available for Creating and Editing
In this example, the type Presentation is a custom activity type added to InterAction. The Display in the list of types available when creating or editing option is selected for this new type.
[A] Add/Edit Activity dialog box in the Web Client. The newly added activity type is displayed in the drop-down list.
[B] Add/Edit Activity dialog box in the Windows Client. The newly added activity type is displayed in the drop-down list.
Making an Activity Type Available for Searching and Filtering
In this example, the type Presentation is a custom activity type added to InterAction. The Display in the list of types available when searching/filtering option is selected for this new type.
[A] The General Activity Search form. The newly-added type is available as search criteria.
[B] The dialog box used to filter a list of activities. The newly-added type is available here.
Making an Activity Type Available for Alerts
In this example, the type Presentation is a custom activity type added to InterAction. The Display on the Customize Watch List page and the Reporting Activity Options filter option is selected for this new type.
[A] The type is available on the Configure Alerts page. The user can choose whether to include or exclude activities with this type when customizing the view.
Making an Activity Type Available in Custom Windows Client Reports
In this example, the type Presentation is a custom activity type added to InterAction. The Display on the Customize Watch List / Alerts page and the Reporting Activity Options filter option is selected
[A] When setting options for displaying activities on a report, you can choose to include specific types.
[B] The new activity type is available in the list.
Hidden Types
In addition to controlling where an activity type is displayed, you can also completely hide a type. In this case, end users do not see the type when creating or editing activities, when filtering or searching, or in their alerts.
You typically hide activity types in the following situations:
-
You want to delete the type from the system, but there are existing activities that use the type that should not be deleted or changed.
In this case, you can hide the type to prevent its use in the future. Existing activities that use the type are unchanged. For details, see “Removing Activity Types” in Creating and Editing Activity Types and Groups.
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The type is used for special processing, but should not be used by end users.
The out-of-the-box System type is an example of this situation. This type is used for activities generated during certain processes such as Association Cleanup and Duplicate Merge. End users do not need to create or search on the type, so completely hiding it is a good solution.
Note that hiding a type does not change or hide any activities that use the type. Therefore, even though users cannot use the System activity type, they can still see activities that were created using it when viewing the list of activities for a contact.
Change How an Activity Type Displays to End Users
- Edit the type as described in “Edit an Activity Type” in Creating and Editing Activity Types and Groups.
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Under Status, make sure the Display this type to users (active) option is selected, then select the check boxes as needed.
You can select from the following options:
- Display in the list of types available when creating or editing
- Display in the list of types available when searching/filtering
- Display on the Customize Watch List / Alerts page and the Reporting Activity Options Filter
For details about what these options mean, see Types Available to End Users.
You must select at least one check box! If none of the options apply, change the Status to Hide this type from users (inactive).
- Choose the OK button to save your changes.
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Choose the Close button to close the Manage Activity & Appointment Types dialog box.
The changes are available in the Web Client and the Windows Client immediately.
Hide an Activity Type from End Users
Also see “Removing Activity Types” in Creating and Editing Activity Types and Groups.
- Edit the type as described in Edit an Activity Type.
- Under Status, select the Hide this type from users (inactive) option.
- Choose the OK button to save your changes.
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Choose the Close button to close the Manage Activity & Appointment Types dialog box.
The changes are available in the Web Client and Windows Client immediately.
Using Activity Types for Calendar Items
If you are using Microsoft Outlook as your organization’s PIM, you can choose to enable synchronization between calendar items (appointments) and InterAction. Appointments in InterAction are similar to activities, although they can only be created in the PIM.
Appointments can use the same activity types used by regular activities. Since not all activity types make sense for appointments, you can choose the specific types you want to make available.
- Edit the type as described in Edit an Activity Type.
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Select the Make this activity type available for calendar items check box.
When adding meetings and appointments to InterAction from Outlook, only the types with this check box selected will be available.
- Choose OK to save the changes.
- Choose the Close button to close the Manage Activity & Appointment Types dialog box.
Note that this option has no effect until you enable calendar synchronization.