E-mail templates are a great feature available in Dynamics CRM.  When Microsoft introduced the ability to access them directly from within Outlook in CRM 2011, it became even more efficient to quickly grab a template for any outgoing email.  In order to use an email template, you first have to track the email in CRM.  So the process works something like this: create an Outlook email | click the Track in CRM or Set Regarding button | select a template | send the email.

There are situations, however, in which you might want to use a template, but you do not want to track the email to CRM.  For example you may want to send a confidential email to a job candidate.  Sure, CRM can be configured to work with the HR group specifically for recruiting – with all the required security.  But many businesses have not fully configured CRM for this purpose – but they still have a recruiting process that could be made more efficient by using email templates.  How can individuals with this requirement still leverage email templates in CRM?  The good news is that it is fairly simple.

Follow the steps below to use an email template without having to track the email in CRM:

1. Create the template in CRM as you normally would.

2. Create a new email in Outlook.

3. Click the Track in CRM or Set Regarding button (if you want to use fields in your email template from the underlying CRM record, then make sure to regard the email to the appropriate record).

4. Click the Template button and choose the template that you want to use.

5. And here’s the trick … now just click the “Untrack” button (the same button that is usually labeled “Track in CRM”) before hitting Send.

Voila!  When you send the email, it is not tracked in CRM, but you still got the benefit of using a CRM template to create the email!