Salesforce Email Template Link tricks

Salesforce is one of the best CRM system in the marketing today. With cloud computing and easy to understand layout, Salesforce can make sales rep’s life so much easier , especially for those traveling on the road.

One of the recent features in Salesforce is the Email template and Workflow. These features allows you to create triggers or workflow process making your company more efficient.

One of the request I got today  was to create a email alert that contains salesforce links so the sales rep can quickly look at his or her accounts right away instead of searching through the system. Since the email template allows you to build link, here are the steps to creating a salesforce links:

1. Create a new Email Template (HTML)
2. Highlight the word you want to link, in this example we want to create an account link
3. Click on the Link Button
   
4. A pop up should appear with the “http://”
5. If we want to create a Salesforce link, the first thing we should do find out the region code, for example (https://na1.salesforce.com/, https://na2.salesforce.com/)
6. Find out the region code for your location, it should be listed  on the web address when you log into Salesforce.
7. You would want to type “Https://regioncode.salesforce.com” In this example we will use na1 for region code so we should type “Https://na1.salesforce.com/”
   
8. Add the Account Id field value, {!Account.id}
9. Click Ok

Now we have added a salesforce link that will automatically take you to the corresponding account, saving sales rep’s time.

Additional links that can be used:

Keep old user’s email

• Email has become as important as our physical home address.
• Keeping a user’s email even after they are no longer with the company has become very important.
• With a company that has high turn over rate, it is important to consolidate all ex-employee’s email in one single location.
• Create a “Trash Can” account in active directory to store all the incoming emails.
• Things to do before putting old user’s email address in a trash can account
  -Backup or Archive old user’s mailbox first
  -If you have a email spam filter, make sure to change the setting so all incoming email going to the old user’s email address are being push to the trash can account

1. Go to your domain controller and open up active directory
2. You can either add a new users or create an OU to keep the regular users and the trash can separate
3. Make sure to create a exchange mailbox with the new user
   
4. Click on the E-Mail Addresses Tab and click New
5. Select the SMTP address and enter the old user’s email address
   *Make sure the SMTP address is removed from the original user in AD first or else it will not work
   
6. Click Ok and Apply when your done.

• Now you can go ahead and remove the old users from Active directory and run a cleanup agent in the exchange to remove the old mailbox.
• This trick allows you to keep all the old users’ email in one mailbox  while being able to capture any potential emails that might come in from new or old client.

Slow Outlook- Freezing when creating or replying new emails

One of my co-worker had a problem regarding slow computer, he mention that his computer was slow and everything was just freezing.  The first thing was to find the cause of the problem, he mention that whenever he opens Outlook 2003, everything would start to slow down. Luckily I was able to watch him reply a new message, I  noticed that his email would freeze-up and the letters he typed did not appear right away.

Turning on the task manager show a 100% spike in CPU whenever replying or creating emails

The solution was to remove any additional add-in and do a detect and repair on Outlook 2003. The add-in outlook 2003 slows the system down, which explains why there is always a huge spike in CPU usage whenever a new email is opened.

Here are some other helpful Tips to speed up Outlook 2003:

# 1: Start Outlook in Safe Mode
======
1. Quit Outlook. Click Start menu, and click Run.
2. In the Open box, type: “Outlook /safe” (without the quotation marks).
Notes: There is a space character between Outlook and the forward slash (/).
3. Click OK.
4. Open an email. What is the result?

If it works fine, perform the following steps to fix the issue.

If it doesn’t work fine, you will need to do a detect and repair or reinstall outlook again.

#2 check addin registry keys
============
Exit Outlook.
Backup the registry then remove any outlook addin SUBkeys which are at the following locations:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins\
HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins
Start outlook to test the issue.

If the issue persists, go to next step.

#3 Rename the Cache Files
======
Search for the following four files and rename them by changing the file extension from “.dat” to “.old”. These four files are temporary
cache files that Outlook 2003 loads on startup. (Be sure to check the “Search hidden files and folders” box under “More advanced
options”)

outcmd.dat
extend.dat
frmcache.dat
views.dat

Generally the files can be located in the folder C:\Documents and Settings\<LogName>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft
\Outlook\. Some of them may not exist, please ignore it.

Note: The folder is hidden by default. Please use the following method to show it:

1. From the Start menu, go to Settings–>Control Panel–>Folder Options.
2. Go to View tab and select “Show hidden files and folders”. The hidden folder will be shown then.
3. Start Outlook to see if the problem is resolved.

If the issue persists, go to next step.

#4 check nopreview
==========
Exit Outlook.
Click Start > Run > type “outlook /nopreview” (without the quotation marks). Click OK.
If it works fine, the issue is mostly caused by a corrupted message in the inbox folder. If the issue persists, let me know.

If anything is unclear or if you have any other concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

There are three possible causes to the problem:

# Instant messenger. The fix is to disable the link to Instant Messenger on Outlook’s Tools, Options, Other tab.
# Network connectivity issues when you are using mapped network drives, including slow networks or inaccessible mapped drives. The fix is to uncheck the box for the dialog to always ask whether to open/save the attachments or disable mapped drives.
# Alternative input support in Office 2003. This allows you to use speech or handwriting instead of typing. Disable alternative input following instructions in How to turn off the speech recognition and the handwriting recognition features in Office 2003.

#5 Remove Outlook Addin Installer Programs

Start- Control Panel – Add or Remove Program – Outlook Addin Installer

*If you do not see one, move on to the next step

#6 Add or remove a COM add-in

1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Other tab.
2. Click Advanced Options, and then click COM Add-Ins.
3. Do any of the following:
* To enable an add-in, select the check box next to the add-in.
If the COM add-in you want is not listed, you need to add it to the Add-ins available list. Click Add, click the add-in (.exe or .dll file) you want, and then click OK.
* To disable an add-in, clear the check box next to the add-in.

To remove an add-in, clear the check box next to the add-in you want to remove, and then click  Remove.

#7 Change the Security Zone of Outlook 2003

Outlook 2003 – Tools – Options- Security Setting- Change the Security Zone from Restricted sites to Internet

#8 Perform a detect and Repair

Outlook 2003 – Help – Detect and Repair

*Checks for any files that might be corrupted and replaces them.

Welcome

Welcome to helpdesk4you, the reason for this site was to gather various helpdesk problems that I encounter through my work or personal experience to help others who are having the same issues.

I will be posting various problems IT related problems and my solutions.