Introduction

Vtiger CRM plugin for Outlook helps you sync your contacts, events, and tasks between Vtiger CRM and Outlook. You can also configure the sync direction and indicate the data flow between Vtiger CRM and Outlook. Emails you receive in your Outlook can also be attached to appropriate entities in your Vtiger account. More importantly, the synchronized data respects profiles and sharing rules in your Vtiger CRM.

To know more about the Microsoft Outlook plugin + Vtiger CRM features and benefits, click here.

Benefits

The Vtiger Outlook plugin gives you the ability to perform the following actions:

• Login automatically
• Sync contacts, calendar events, and tasks between 
• Attach emails in Outlook to Leads, Organizations, Contacts, and Vendors in Vtiger CRM
• Check duplicate records 

Feature Availability

Microsoft Outlook Plugin is also available in the Help Desk Starter and Help Desk Professional editions.

Prerequisites

We suggest you make sure you meet the following prerequisites before installing the Vtiger CRM Plugin for Outlook.

The plugin is supported in the following operating systems:

• Windows 10
• Windows 8
• Windows Server 2008

The Outlook versions supported are:

• Microsoft Outlook 2010
• Microsoft Outlook 2013
• Microsoft Outlook 2016

Outlook checklist

Depending on the Microsoft Outlook plugin version, you will need to download the corresponding Vtiger CRM Plugin for Outlook. Make sure you download the correct version of the Vtiger CRM Outlook plugin that fits your Outlook. Here is a list to help you determine whether you’re running a 32-bit version or a 64-bit version of Outlook.

Vtiger CRM 32-bit Outlook Plugin supports:

• Microsoft Outlook 2010 32-bit
• Microsoft Outlook 2013 32-bit
• Microsoft Outlook 2016 32-bit

Vtiger CRM 64-bit Outlook Plugin supports:

• Microsoft Outlook 2010 64-bit
• Microsoft Outlook 2013 64-bit
• Microsoft Outlook 2016 64-bit

Installing the Plugin

Once you have determined the correct version of Outlook and the operating system you have, you are ready to download the plugin. You can download the Vtiger CRM Outlook plugin from the official add-ons page. 

Once you download the plugin, you must install it in your system. 

Follow these steps to install the Vtiger CRM Plugin for Outlook:

1. Go to the file location.
2. Double-click on the file to start the download.
3. Click Next.
4. Accept the terms of the license agreement. 
5. Click Next.
6. Click Install.
7. Click Close.

The plugin is successfully installed in your system.

If the above process and steps are not working for you, you have an alternate way to activate the plugin. Read on...
 

Activating Vtiger Outlook Plugin from the Add-ins section

You can manually enable the plugin if the above steps do not work for you. This is an optional step if the plugin does not show up after the installation.

Follow these steps to enable the plugin from the add-ins section:

1. Go to File. 
2. Click Options.
3. Select Add-Ins. 
4. Click Go.
5. Search for the Vtiger Outlook.
6. Enable the checkbox beside it.

You will find the Vtiger under the Add-Ins section.

Actions Possible in the Plugin

Vtiger CRM plugin for Outlook helps you capture the most meaningful customer communications on Vtiger and Outlook. After successfully installing the Outlook plugin, you can view it under the Add-Ins tab in your Microsoft Outlook application.
 

Logging in

Upon installation, you will need to click Vtiger CRM > Login to get started.

In the Login popup, you will need to provide the following details:

1. Vtiger CRM URL - Log into your Vtiger CRM account and copy your URL from the address bar ― not all, but up to od1.vtiger.com.
2. User Name - Enter your Vtiger CRM username. You can find it on the My Preferences page.
3. Access Key - Enter the Access Key. You can find the Access Key on the My Preferences page.
4. Click Login.

After logging in to Vtiger CRM, the following tabs are highlighted in Outlook: 

• Attach Emails
• Synchronize Contacts
• Synchronize Calendar 
• Synchronize Tasks

Let us learn more about them one by one.

Attaching Emails

You need not have to miss meaningful customer conversations. You can select an email and attach it to the corresponding record in a selected module in Vtiger CRM. You can attach emails to Leads, Contacts, Organizations, Deals, and Vendors.

Follow these simple steps to attach an email to the corresponding record in Vtiger CRM:

1. Select any email.
2. Click on Attach Email.
3. Select the desired module from the drop-down. 
4. Click Select Field to search for different fields.
5. Click Search Vtiger CRM.
6. Select a record from the results. 
7. Click Attach.

If a record doesn’t exist in the search results, you will get a popup that says, ‘No matching records in Vtiger CRM.’ You can then create a new record in Vtiger by clicking the Create button. On successful creation, a confirmation popup will appear.

Synchronizing Contacts

The two-way synchronization of Contacts makes sure that Vtiger CRM and Outlook are up-to-date from time to time.

Follow these simple steps to synchronize contacts from Outlook to Vtiger CRM and vice versa:

1. Click Synchronize Contacts.
2. After fetching Vtiger CRM data, a pop-up will display the updates done on both ends (Vtiger CRM and Outlook).
3. Click Show Details to see the information on the records to be updated.
4. Click Accept Changes to update changes on both ends.

Synchronizing Calendar

The calendar represents Events in Vtiger CRM terminology. The two-way synchronization of events makes sure that you will only have to maintain a single calendar. You do not have to switch between Outlook and Vtiger CRM.

Follow these simple steps to synchronize events from Outlook to Vtiger CRM and vice versa:

1. Click Synchronize Calendar to sync events.
2. After fetching Vtiger CRM data, a pop-up will display the updates done on both ends (Vtiger CRM and Outlook).
3. Click Show Details to see the information on the records to be updated.
4. Click Accept Changes to update changes on both ends.

Synchronizing Tasks

The two-way synchronization of tasks makes sure that you’ll only have to maintain a single calendar. You do not have to switch between Outlook and Vtiger CRM.

Follow these simple steps to synchronize tasks from Outlook to Vtiger CRM and vice versa:

1. Click Synchronize Tasks to sync tasks.
2. After fetching Vtiger CRM data, a pop-up will display the updates done on both ends (Vtiger CRM and Outlook).
3. Click Show Details to see the information on the records to be updated.
4. Click Accept Changes to update changes on both ends.

Setting up Basic Preferences

Vtiger CRM Outlook plugin gives you the flexibility to configure key preferences to manage different operations.

Follow these simple steps to configure key preferences:

1. Click the Vtiger CRM drop-down.
2. Click Preferences.
3. Here you will see three tabs:
   1. General - Under the General tab, you can set up the following preferences:
      1. Login - Enable the check-box Auto-login at the start of Outlook to log in automatically without having to enter login details.
      2. Attach Email - Enable the check-box Edit message while attaching the email to modify the email content before attaching the email to the desired module in Vtiger CRM.
      3. Conflict Resolution - Conflicts might occur while syncing records. To resolve conflicts, you can set up preferences well in advance.
         1. Ask me - Decide upon conflict.
         2. Outlook wins - Preference will be given to records in Outlook to records in Vtiger CRM.
         3. Vtiger CRM wins - Preference will be given to records in Vtiger CRM to records in Outlook.

2. Synchronization - Under the Synchronization tab, you can set up the following preferences:
   1. Folder - You can select the folder to synchronize the records from. Generally, the parent folder is selected by default. You can also select the desired folder (even a subfolder) to synchronize records from or to the selected folder.
      1. Click on the Folder icon to select the desired folder.
      2. Click on the Cross mark icon to delete synchronization history.
   2. Settings - Default settings allow synchronization of personal records. However, if you do not want to synchronize personal Contacts, Calendars, and Tasks, you can disable the corresponding checkboxes.
   3. Sync Direction -You have complete control over the records you sync. You can configure the Outlook plugin to sync records in whichever direction you need.
3. Other - Under the Other tab, you can set up the following preferences:
   1. Logs - If you encounter any issue while performing any operation within the Vtiger CRM Outlook plugin, we suggest you send us the debug file. This file will help us to find out what’s going wrong, and it makes troubleshooting easy for us. Follow these simple steps to generate the debug file:
      1. Click the Vtiger CRM drop-down.
      2. Click Preferences.
      3. Click the Other tab.
      4. Enable the Enable to debug log checkbox.
      5. Click OK.
      6. Repeat the operation that was not working fine for you (Ex: Sync Calendar, attaching email, etc.)
      7. Come back to the Preferences page again. 
      8. Click Debug in the Other tab.
      9. It will generate a file. Give us the file, we will give the fix in return.
   2. Language - The Vtiger CRM plugin for Outlook supports a list of languages. Select the desired language from the drop-down.
   3. Calendar Activity Type - Vtiger supports two types of calendar events: Calls and Meetings. Tasks in Outlook are synced as to-dos in Vtiger. While Outlook meetings are synced as calendar meetings in Vtiger, you’ll need to configure what Appointments in Outlook should be synced as. Depending upon your configuration, your appointments can be synced as calls or meetings in Vtiger CRM.