Salesforce: Connect Outlook Email to Log Interactions

Please Note: This functionality currently does not work with shared inboxes

This article provides step-by-step instructions on how to connect Outlook email to the Salesforce Outlook app, log in, and ensure emails are properly logged on a Contact record. Sections of this article include:

• Steps to Connect Outlook to Salesforce
  • Step 1: Add the Salesforce App in Outlook
  • Step 2: Open the Salesforce Outlook App and Log In
    • Outlook app on a PC
    • Outlook app on a Mac
    • Log in to Salesforce in Outlook
  • Step 3: Send and Log an Email to a Contact
• Setting up your Salesforce User Profile for Enhanced Email

Steps to Connect Outlook to Salesforce

Step 1: Add the Salesforce App in Outlook 

1. Start in your Outlook mailbox (via the web or desktop app) 

2. Locate the “Add Apps” option 
   Look for an icon that resembles small squares within a larger square (often called the “Apps” or “Add-ins” icon). 

   

3. Click “Add Apps” 
   This opens the app marketplace for Outlook. 

   

    

4. Search for “Salesforce” 

   1. Enter Salesforce in the search bar and press Enter. 

   2. Important: Choose the official Salesforce.com app, not a third-party app. 

      

5. Add the Salesforce component to your Outlook apps 
   Once added, you should see the Salesforce icon in your Outlook ribbon. 

Tip: If you encounter issues, contact your Microsoft Outlook support team. 

Step 2: Open the Salesforce Outlook App and Log In 

On a PC (Windows): 

• Open Outlook (via the web or desktop app). 
• In the Home ribbon (top toolbar), look for the Salesforce cloud icon. 
• Click the Salesforce icon to open the connection pane on the right-hand side. 
• If you don’t see it: 
• Go to Home → Get Add-ins and confirm Salesforce is installed. 
• Restart Outlook if prompted. 

On a Mac: 

• Open Outlook (via the web or desktop app) 
• Start composing a new email. 
• In the Compose window, look for the Insert menu in the toolbar. 
• Under Insert, select Apps. 
• You will see the Salesforce app you installed—click it. 

• This opens the Salesforce connection pane on the right-hand side. 

Log in to Salesforce in Outlook 

1. In the pane, click Log in to Salesforce. 
2. Enter your Salesforce credentials. 
   • If prompted for a Custom Domain, enter: uofstthomasmn 
3. Pin the Salesforce Panel 
   • Use the three dots menu in the panel and select Pin so it stays visible in Outlook. 

Step 3: Send and Log an Email to a Contact 

Connect your email to the Contact

1. Compose a New Email or open an existing email thread. 
2. Check the Salesforce Sidebar 
3. In Log Email, click Pick Records  

• When you select an email, the sidebar will display related Salesforce records (Contact, Lead, or Account). Ensure that you select Contact from the drop down menu 

Email Ready to Send and Log

1. Toggle Log on Send in the Salesforce panel. 
2. The email will be logged to the corresponding Contact record in Salesforce automatically. 
3. You’ll see Salesforce generates an “emailtosalesforce” address that will appear in the BCC line. Your email message is ready to send and be recorded in Salesforce. 

Check the Activity History on the Contact Record for your email 

• Check to see if email logged in the Contact’s Activity History 

Setting up your Salesforce User Profile for Enhanced Email

1. Login to Salesforce. These instructions are for the Salesforce Lightning experience, so if you are using classic make sure you switch to lightning. If you have issues with the following instructions please contact the Salesforce team for assistance.

Your profile is accessible via the circle in the top left menu. If you have not yet uploaded a photo it should be a picture of Tommie Tomcat.

2. You want to click on 'Settings' in the top part of the menu. 

3. This takes you to where you can change your personal information. The first thing we need to do for email tracking is make sure that your time settings are correct. Salesforce will use this to log the email time. 

4. Make sure your time zone is correct and then hit save.

5. Next we will navigate to the email tab on the side menu. Specifically among the email options we want My Email to Salesforce. 

6. The thing we want to check here is 'My Acceptable Addresses' 

7. The ability to log an email on send relies on the address you are sending from being one of these emails. For most people this means you will want to add your vanity email address (which the system does read as separate). Make sure you are doing so by entering a comma and then the email address, as pictured above.

8. You can now save this and should be good to log your first email. The section above that talks about BCCing a custom email address can be ignored, as the app is doing that for you. It does mean that if someone replies all instead of simply replying it will automatically be logged.

Related Articles 

• Logging into Salesforce in the Outlook Add-On
• Salesforce Outlook App: Logging Received/Existing Emails and Logging Email on Send