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Creating Workflow Actions: Send Email

A Send Email action on a workflow rule automatically sends email when the conditions on the workflow rule are met.

NOTE: You can create multiple actions for a workflow rule, up to a maximum of 25 actions for each rule.

The following procedure describes how to create a Send Email action.

Before you begin. To perform the following procedure, you must have the Manage Workflow Rules privilege in your user role. For information on adding privileges to roles, see Adding Roles.

To create a Send Email action

1. Navigate to the rule where you want to create the action:
   1. In the upper-right corner of any page, click the Admin global link.
   2. In the Business Process Management section, click Workflow Configuration.
   3. On the Workflow Rules List page, find the rule where you want to create the action.

      For information about searching for workflow rules in the list page, see Filtering Lists.

2. Click the Workflow Name link on the rule.
3. In the Actions title bar on the Workflow Rule Detail page, click Menu, and select Send Email.

   NOTE: The trigger event on the workflow rule determines what types of actions can be created on the rule.

   TIP: You can create a copy of an existing workflow rule action by clicking the Copy link for the action.

4. In the Workflow Action Edit page, enter a name for the action.
5. If you want to enable the action, select the Active check box.
6. In the From field, select or enter the email address for the sender of the email, as follows:
   • Select the Default Email Address option to use the default address.
   • Select the Current User option to use the email address of the signed-in user who triggers the workflow.
   • Select the Specific Email Address option, and then specify the address.

     When entering the address, the following restrictions apply:

     • You can enter the email address directly, or click the fx icon beside the field, and use Expression Builder to define the email address.
     • Specify only one email address. Multiple addresses are not supported in the From field.
     • If you specify an absolute email address, you must enclose the address in single or double quotation marks.
     • Expression Builder checks only the syntax of the address expressions. It does not check that the address is valid.
     • This field can contain a maximum of 1024 characters.
7. In the To field, select or enter the email address of the email recipient, as follows:
   • Select Specific User or Relative User on Record, and then select the recipient, as follows:
     • If you select Specific User, click the Lookup icon, and select the user.
     • If you select Relative User on Record, select the recipient from the list.

       If you select a team role as the recipient, the workflow rule sends the mail to each user who has the assigned team role.

       NOTE: For accounts, contacts, and opportunities, any custom roles that are added to the record type are available in the list of Relative User on Record recipients. For more information on customizing records, see Record Type Application Customization Page.

   • Select the Specific Email Address option, and then specify the addresses.

     When entering the addresses, the following restrictions apply:

     • You can enter email addresses directly, or click the fx icon beside the field, and use Expression Builder to define email addresses.
     • To enter multiple addresses, use a semi-colon (;) delimiter.
     • You must enclose absolute email addresses in single or double quotation marks.
     • Expression Builder checks only the syntax of the address expressions. It does not check that the addresses are valid.
     • This field can contain a maximum of 1024 characters.

       The following example shows an entry with multiple addresses:

       PRE('<EmailField1>') + ";" + [<EmailField1>] + ";" + "john.doe@company.com"

8. Enter the subject line for the email.

   You can embed functions and field names in the text. Three percent signs (%%%) before and after an embedded function or field name indicate that it is to be converted to a text value.

   For example, the text might include the following:

   A new %%%[<AccountType>]%%% account has been created

   If you type a function or field name directly in the field, you must type three percent signs before and after it. If you use Expression Builder to embed a function or field name, the percent signs are automatically added. If you use Expression Builder to embed a complex expression, the percent signs might not be added at the appropriate places. In that case, ensure that the percent signs are placed before and after the entire expression so that the expression is evaluated correctly.

   For example, %%%Today() + 30%%% adds 30 days to the current date, but %%%Today() %%%+ 30 concatenates 30 to the string representation of the current date.

   To use Expression Builder to embed functions and field names in the field, click the fx icon beside the field. If you are entering only static text, you do not need to use Expression Builder.

   This field can contain a maximum of 1024 characters, including the percent signs before and after the functions and field names.

9. Enter the message for the email.

   You can embed functions and field names in the text, as described in Step 3.

   For example, the text might include the following:

   Hello Mr %%%[<ContactLastName>]%%%,

   This field can contain a maximum of 2000 characters, including the percent signs before and after the expressions.

10. Save the action.

For step-by-step procedures for creating other types of workflow actions, see the following topics:

• Creating Workflow Actions: Assign a Book
• Creating Workflow Actions: Create Integration Event
• Creating Workflow Actions: Create Task
• Creating Workflow Actions: Update Field After Wait
• Creating Workflow Actions: Update Values
• Creating Workflow Actions: Wait

Related Topics

See the following topics for related information about workflows:

• About Workflow Rules
• About Workflow Actions
• About Time-Based Workflow Rules
• Creating Workflow Rules
• Changing the Order of Workflow Rule Actions
• Deactivating Workflow Rules and Actions
• Deleting Workflow Rules and Actions