Colligo Contributor makes it easy to upload emails to SharePoint by dragging-and-dropping them directly from the Inbox or other folder to:
Outlook email metadata (eg: To; From; Date) is extracted automatically to SharePoint columns with the correct names. The email and attachment are then stored as a .msg file in SharePoint with a unique name generated from a configurable combination of properties.
Emails can also be moved to SharePoint automatically within Outlook by using Outlook rules or by using the Copy Outlook folder command. If the client is connected to the network, emails are immediately uploaded to the SharePoint server, while emails that are moved when the user is offline are stored along with metadata for automatic synchronization the next time the client comes online.
A standard document library with column names and types that correspond to email message fields (i.e. To, From, Subject, etc.) is all that is required on SharePoint. Email libraries with these characteristics can be easily set up by site administrators, designers, or end users through the use of content types that are available in SharePoint 2007. A sample email document library content type template for SharePoint 2007 is available on the Colligo Support Site. If you do not wish to use content types in the SharePoint library it is possible to add columns directly to the library to enable email metadata mapping.
The standard mapping of Microsoft Outlook email properties to SharePoint columns is as follows:
| Email Metadata | SharePoint Column Name | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Attachment | Attachment | Yes/No |
| Bcc | Bcc | Text |
| Bcc-Address | Bcc-Address | Text |
| Bcc-Type | Bcc-Type | Text |
| Categories | Categories | Text |
| Cc | Cc | Text |
| Cc-Address | Cc-Address | Text |
| Cc-Type | Cc-Type | Text |
| Conversation | Conversation | Text |
| From | From | Text |
| From-Address | From-Address | Text |
| From-Type | From-Type | Text |
| Importance | Importance | Number |
| Received | Received | Date/Time |
| Received-UTC | Received-UTC | Date/Time |
| Sensitivity | Sensitivity | Number |
| Sent | Sent | Date/Time |
| Sent-UTC | Sent-UTC | Date/Time |
| Signed By | Signed By | Text |
| Subject | Subject | Text |
| To | To | Text |
| To-Address | To-Address | Text |
| To-Type | To-Type | Text |
By default, the required SharePoint column display name matches the Outlook message field name shown in the table above. However the mapping can be changed. For example, there may be a requirement to support a different language on the SharePoint site. An email configuration file (named EmailConfig.xml) allows the default mapping from Outlook message field name to SharePoint column display name to be overridden. For more information on email metadata configuration, visit the Colligo Support Site.
SharePoint requires that files be uniquely named when they are stored in the same document library or folder. When an email is moved from Outlook into Contributor, Contributor saves it as a .msg file with a unique filename. The default filename format is: [Sender Name]_[Sent Date-Time]_[Subject]. The format of the filename can be specified by IT administrators through registry settings. Filename formats supports any valid .NET Format String utilizing email fields: Sender Name, Sent Date-Time, and Subject. For further information, visit the Colligo Support Site.
Since metadata is being extracted from emails, there is often no need to manually enter metadata when moving emails to selected SharePoint folders. Hence there is no need for the metadata prompt. To learn more about controlling the metadata prompt, see Turning Metadata Prompt On or Off.
Email metadata can be very useful for finding and organizing emails that have been stored in SharePoint. For example, the property Conversation can be used with a Group By view to organize emails into discussion threads. Emails can also be sorted by Category. Email metadata can also be used to improve findability through SharePoint search.
For security purposes, you may choose to make the SharePoint columns Hidden. Hidden columns are not displayed in the properties page of SharePoint, or Contributor’s default metadata editor dialog box. Contributor extracts metadata into hidden columns, and hidden columns can still be displayed in views, used for filters etc.