Download and Usage of Retriever for Tailwag – Helpdesk

Retriever for Tailwag and Outlook Synchronization

Retriever for Tailwag is a synchronization application built using the Microsoft .NET Framework. The application allows you to synchronize your Contacts and Calendar Activities between Redtail CRM and a locally installed version (Non Click-to-run) of Microsoft Outlook.

To begin using the application, your first step should be to download and install Retriever for Tailwag. To make sure you are downloading the most up-to-date version of Retriever, from within Redtail CRM, hover over the Help and Resources menu in the upper right corner:

Then, click the "Download Retriever for Tailwag" link in the resulting menu:

You should see a message asking if you want to Run or Save Retriever after clicking the download link - select "Run". Note: you'll only want to download and use Retriever on one machine for use with a specific username / password combination. If you are using Retriever to sync using the same credentials on multiple machines, you will see duplication issues.

If you don’t already have Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 on your machine, you will be prompted to download the framework prior to installation of Retriever. Once you have Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 on your machine, you can click the download link above - then, select the option to "Run." After downloading Retriever, you will need to install it on your computer, using the Installation Wizard included with the download.

The first screen in the Wizard that you will see is the below - just click Next:

The next screen of the Wizard allows you to choose your Installation Folder for Retriever and whether or not the installation should be for all users of the machine:

The Folder path displayed above is the default location for installing Retriever for Tailwag. Note as well that we've checked off "Just Me" in our example - if you are the admin user of a computer that is shared by several people with their own logins for the computer, and you want them all to be able to log into Retriever for Tailwag, you can instead check off "Everyone." After making your selections, click Next.

You'll then see a Confirm Installation screen - click Next and installation will begin.

After you see the indication that installation is complete, click Close.

Once installation is complete, you will see a new icon for Retriever for Tailwag on the desktop of your machine that looks like the below:

Double click this icon to bring up your Setup Wizard for Retriever (first time only - in the future double-clicking will take you straight to the login dialog).

Let's first take a look at your options for each of these Preference tabs in the Wizard:

General Options

Start with Windows - if checked, Retriever will open when you start your computer. (You'll want to choose this option if you plan to Auto Sync).
Start minimized in System Tray - if checked, Retriever will open minimized in Windows' System Tray, rather than on your screen. We recommend this option if you also select "Start with Windows."
Auto Sync - if you select this option, you can indicate a frequency in Days, Hours or Minutes for your Auto Sync to occur. Note: Although you are able to sync in minutes, we highly recommend auto syncing no more than every 1 hour.
Notify about upcoming activities - if you select this option, you will be provided with pop up reminders for your Redtail Calendar items. For instance, if you selected this option and set it to "30 Minutes prior," you would receive popup reminders from Redtail 30 minutes prior to the due date/time for each of your Redtail Calendar items. Note: these reminders are contingent upon Retriever being open (logged into). If you want these notifications, it's best to check off the Start with Windows option, so that you are logged into Retriever upon logging into Windows.

Contacts Options

Download Contacts from Redtail to Outlook - if checked, the contacts in your designated Quicklist(s) will sync from Redtail to Outlook. See this post for what contact data will sync from Redtail to Outlook.
Save Birthdays when downloading Contacts to Outlook - check to save Birthday information on Contacts in Outlook. Please note that Outlook will automatically create birthday reminder appointments in your Outlook calendar. Also note that Retriever will only attempt to sync Date of Birth for contacts on the FIRST time a contact is synced.
Remove Birthday reminders from Outlook Calendar - Remove Birthday reminder appointments from your Outlook calendar.
Advanced - this displays the Contact Folder in Outlook where your Contacts from Redtail will be synced. If you click the browse button here, you can indicate a different folder to sync to or create a new folder in Outlook to sync to:

After clicking this, an Outlook Select Folder dialog will appear where you can make this selection.

Calendar Options

Download Calendar - Check to sync your Redtail Calendar items to your Outlook calendar for the date range you specify here. We highly recommend not syncing more than a year at a time to speed the syncing process up. Note: at this time you do have to manually adjust this date range from time to time, as you near the end of your designated time frame.
Download completed items - If checked, Calendar items in Redtail that have been marked complete will sync to Outlook. If you leave this unchecked, Activities that have been marked complete in Redtail will be removed from Outlook
Update Redtail Calendar - If checked, this allows the sync to be a two way sync for new activities created in Outlook to sync to Redtail. Any updates after syncing to Redtail will need to be done in the CRM.
Upload new activities created in Outlook to Redtail - If checked, calendar items created in Outlook will sync to Redtail. Any updates after syncing to Redtail will need to be done in the CRM.
Upload activities marked as "Private" - If checked, calendar items marked as "Private" in Outlook will sync to Redtail. Any updates after syncing to Redtail will need to be done in the CRM.
Remove Reminder Alerts - If checked, Reminder Alerts will not pop up in Outlook for Calendar items synced from Redtail to Outlook.
Advanced - this displays the Calendar Folder in Outlook where your Calendar items from Redtail will be synced. If you click the browse button here, you can indicate a different folder to sync to or create a new folder in Outlook to sync to:

After clicking this, an Outlook Select Folder dialog will appear where you can make this selection.

Task Options

Download Tasks - Check to sync your Redtail Calendar items with an Activity Type of Task to your Outlook Tasks for the date range you indicate. We highly recommend not syncing more than a year at a time to speed the syncing process up. Note: at this time you do have to manually adjust this date range from time to time, as you near the end of your designated timeframe.
Download completed items - If you select this option, Calendar items in Redtail with an Activity Type of Task that have been marked complete will sync to Outlook Tasks. If you leave this unchecked, Tasks that have been marked complete in Redtail will be removed from Outlook.
Update Redtail Tasks - If checked, this allows the sync to be a two way sync for new tasks created in Outlook to sync to Redtail. Any updates after syncing to Redtail will need to be done in the CRM.
Upload new activities created in Outlook to Redtail - If checked, Tasks created in Outlook will sync to Redtail. Any updates after syncing to Redtail will need to be done in the CRM.
Upload activities marked as "Private" - If checked, Tasks in Outlook marked as "Private" will sync to Redtail. Any updates after syncing to Redtail will need to be done in the CRM.
Remove Reminder Alerts - If checked, Reminder Alerts will not pop up in Outlook for Task items synced from Redtail to Outlook.
Advanced - this displays the Tasks Folder in Outlook where your Task items from Redtail will be synced. If you click the browse button here, you can indicate a different folder to sync to or create a new folder in Outlook to sync to:

After clicking this, an Outlook Select Folder dialog will appear where you can make this selection.

The Tasks tab is the final tab in the Preferences setup wizard. When done, click Finish and you'll then see your Retriever login dialog:

You should use the same Username and Password that you use for your Redtail account to log in to Retriever.

After logging in, you’ll see your main Retriever screen:

Let's take a look at your options under your File menu in Retriever:

Logout - self-explanatory.
Reminders - if, on your General Options in Preferences, you elect the "Notify about Upcoming Activities" option, clicking this will bring up your Redtail CRM Reminder balloon in your system tray from the Retriever icon.
Preferences - this will bring up the same four-tabbed Preferences options you saw during your initial setup and will allow you to make any desired changes to your preferences. At the bottom of each of the Preference dialogs, you'll see a link to View Error Log as well as an Apply button and a Cancel button. If you experience any errors when using Retriever to sync with Outlook, you can always use this link to take a look at what may be causing the issue (or to obtain an error report which you can send to Redtail's Support Team to troubleshoot) The Apply button will save any changes you have made within Retriever's Preferences, while the Cancel button will cancel any changes you have made:

Admin Options - clicking this will provide you with three options:

Clicking on one of these three options will allow you to clear previously synced Contact, Calendar or Task data from Outlook. These options can come in handy if you inadvertently synced data that you did not mean to sync.

Quicklists

After you've reviewed and set your Preferences, you should be ready to start syncing between Redtail and Outlook. If you will be syncing contact data, you will have to select the Quicklist(s) that you want to be a part of the sync process. If you haven't yet set up any Quicklists within your database, you can learn how to do so here. Once you've established your Quicklists, you can select them from the main Retriever window:

In the example above, you can see there are no Quicklists indicated in the Quicklists box. To add Quicklists that you would like to include in your sync to Outlook, click on the plus (+) sign icon: You'll then see a dialog that displays all of the current Quicklists in your database, where you can click your desired Quicklist and then the "Select" button. You'll then see that Quicklist reflected in your Quicklists box in Retriever, and it will be included in the sync to Outlook. You can repeat the process to add more Quicklists (up to a total of three). Please note: If a record exists in more than one Quicklist that is selected to sync, it will duplicate the record in Outlook. In the example below, I've added just one Quicklist to sync:

Retriever for Tailwag and Outlook Synchronization

Comments