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ElizabethCFS Can't sync contacts; Office 2007 & Connect for Outlook 3.2.111
I just installed Connect for Microsoft Outlook, and I can't get it to sync properly.
I set it up to export to Salesforce from Outlook, and I have some contacts in Outlook that I want to export to Salesforce. The contacts are in separate categories, and I have no contacts in my main "Contacts" folder. According to the "Salesforce Options" Contacts tab, each of my folders of contacts is selected to be exported to Salesforce.
When I first hit "Sync," the dialog came up that it was syncing and I got a success message, but nothing new showed up in Salesforce. I tried to manually mark some contacts for syncing, and I got this message:
"This record cannot be marked for sync because the association is invalid."
When I tried to manually associate the contacts, I got this message:
"The Item cannot be associated because it is not linked to a Salesforce record. Please try the association again."
What do I need to do to synchronize these contacts?
Thanks! :)
Elizabeth
I set it up to export to Salesforce from Outlook, and I have some contacts in Outlook that I want to export to Salesforce. The contacts are in separate categories, and I have no contacts in my main "Contacts" folder. According to the "Salesforce Options" Contacts tab, each of my folders of contacts is selected to be exported to Salesforce.
When I first hit "Sync," the dialog came up that it was syncing and I got a success message, but nothing new showed up in Salesforce. I tried to manually mark some contacts for syncing, and I got this message:
"This record cannot be marked for sync because the association is invalid."
When I tried to manually associate the contacts, I got this message:
"The Item cannot be associated because it is not linked to a Salesforce record. Please try the association again."
What do I need to do to synchronize these contacts?
Thanks! :)
Elizabeth
I'm also having the exact same problem. I can't get ANY contacts to synch, i get errors like the ones you mention above.
For me, I can't just mark something for sync. I have to 'associate' the item first. The first time I try to 'associate' something, I also get an error ( as is stated with the original poster ). However, if you press 'ok' on the error message, then use the 'associate window' to link the contact to a specific account then it will complete the association and let you sync.
It doesn't even seem to matter if the company name I have in outlook is identical to the company name for the account in SFDC. It always throws an error for me on 'associate', then I use the 'Change' button on the associate window to set it to an account SFDC recognizes.
I don't know how to get around this, but at least I can synchronize a contact, albeit in a very pain in the ass, manual and one-at-a-time way.
Anyone know why it doesn't auto-associate properly if the company name is the same?
I have to go through the exact same process to get a record from Outlook into Salesforce. This can't be the way it was designed.
The problem seems to be that when you click associate, the company name in Outlook is not able to match with a Salesforce Account.
Hey Salesforce.com people, is this a bug?
Jeff
I also can't find a way to auto-synch a contact into outlook from Salesforce, that might be a better way once you initially synch all your outlook stuff into.
Anyone know how to do that?
I've filed a case with SF support as I do think this is a bug. Meantime, I'm an Outlook developer and am writing an add-in that does the "Mark for Sync" the right way - by finding a matching Account in SF. I'll post it once it's done so others here can use it as well.
Do you have a case number so that I can push the resolution from my end?
RE Case 02074249:
This is a known issue that can sometimes happen with your outlook Contacts. The only workaround we have is to perform the exact steps you are performing, which is to click Change on the Account and then choose the account again. I will escalate this to Tier 2 and check if they might have more information as to why this happens and if there is fix coming.
Thank you,
Erick Sanchez
I'm on exchange, any of the rest of you who are having this problem on Exchange?
http://community.salesforce.com/sforce/board/message?board.id=desktop_integration&message.id=314
it is not "something that sometimes happens" but is an intentional (and IMO a *poor*) design change by the Salesforce developers.
I've written an add-in that automatically does the Associate if there is an exact Account match; will build an installer for it and post it as soon as I can so others can use it if desired.
Message Edited by philseeman on 08-28-2008 12:38 PM
This assumes the account information is already set up in Salesforce. If not, use the 'Associate' button and create an account there.
Steps:
1) Create a category called 'salesforce.com'.
2) Add the 'salesforce.com' category to all the contact you want to upload. You can do this individually or for many contacts at the same time.
3) Click 'Sync'.
It appears that having the category 'salesforce.com' triggers synchronization. Adding a category is much easier than going through the broken Associate button. Just add the category when you create a new contact.
Hopefully this is helpful for everyone. And hopefully Salesforce.com will fix the issue soon so we don't have to work around it.
Attached is the latest info from Salesforce. Everyone go to ideas.salesforce.com and promote a better Outlook connector. (It's crazy that we have to submit this as an enhancement when it is a bug!)
Jeff
From: Kelvin Yip [mailto:kyip@salesforce.com] Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 2008 1:57 PM To: me
Subject: Case 02074249:Please assist customer with Outlook connection problem [ ref:00D062.50035TvWH:ref ]
Dear Jeff,
This case has been escalated to me.
Unfortunately the issue you are experiencing is the way the "Connect of Microsoft Outlook" works at the moment. Whenever you create or mark a new item for sync and has a company name, you will have to manually associate that record to an account within Salesforce. There will be two complaints from our plugin. One upon marking something for sync and one upon associating something.
What I recommend you do is go to our ideas exchange at ideas.salesforce.com to lookup or create this idea to promote. This is were out engineers look to implement new features into our applications.
Thank you,
Kelvin Yip