Microsoft Dynamics™ CRM 4 For Dummies®

Chapter 2. Using the Outlook Client — Or Not

Microsoft CRM is all about choices. It is very empowering, but it can also get confusing. It can be used in two ways: through the Web or through Outlook (offline or online).

In this chapter, we look at the various ways to access Microsoft CRM. Microsoft calls these clients. The three clients in which you can access Microsoft CRM are:

• The online Outlook client: Access MS CRM within Outlook. The CRM data is read over the internet on the corporate server.

• The offline Outlook client: Access MS CRM within Outlook without an Internet connection. When you are back online, you will automatically synchronize with the corporate server.

• The Web client: Access MS CRM with Internet Explorer 6.0 and higher.

We use the Microsoft CRM Web client in the figures throughout this book. Except as described in this chapter, the other clients look and feel about the same. Most people use either the Outlook clients or the Web client, but you don't really have to make a permanent choice: You can log into one in this session and into another in your next session.

In Microsoft CRM 3, the functionality of the Outlook client was significantly less than that of the Web client. In version 4, that gap has narrowed considerably.

The Microsoft CRM Online Outlook Client

The Outlook client requires that you have software on your computer. This is the first difference between the Outlook client and the Web client, which requires no Microsoft Outlook 2003 / 2007, and Internet Explorer ...