Activity Types

Use activity types to categorize and manage activities and to determine where activities of a certain type display in Vision and in Connect for Microsoft Outlook (if you use this software).

Examples of activity types are meetings, tasks, phone calls, and so on. You specify an activity's type in the Type field when you create the activity record.

You set up user-defined activity types in the Activity Type code table in Configuration > General > Code Tables. System-provided activity types also appear in the Activity Type code table, which you cannot change or delete.

Activity Types and Their Display Setting

An activity type has a display setting associated with it in the Display field on the Activity Type dialog box for the Activity Type code table in Code Tables Configuration. The display options — Calendar, Task, or Activity Manager Only — determine where the type of activity displays in Vision and Connect for Microsoft Outlook after you create the activity. The display setting does not affect where you can create different types of activities. You can create any type of activity anywhere that you can create activities in Vision. In Connect for Microsoft Outlook, there are different forms for entering calendar, task, and generic activities, so you must create activities from the correct location in order to use the correct form.

You select a display setting for the user-defined activity types that you create, but not for system-provided activity types.

The system-provided activity types and their display settings in Code Table Configuration are as follows:

System-Provided Activity Type	Display Setting
Email	Activity Manager Only
Mailing	Activity Manager Only
Merge	Activity Manager Only
Meeting	Calendar
Phone Call	Calendar
Task	Task
Touchpoint	Activity Manager Only
Milestone	Activity Manager Only

Activity types with an Activity Manager Only display setting are non-calendar and non-task activities that are considered to be generic activities. Examples are email messages and mailings.

Where Activities Display in Vision and Connect for Microsoft Outlook

Activities display in the following Vision and Connect for Microsoft Outlook locations based on the option that you select in the Display field for an activity type in Code Table Configuration:

Option Selected in the Display Field	Where the Activity Displays in Vision	Where the Activity Displays in Connect for Microsoft Outlook
Calendar	Calendar Activity Manager Activities grid on associated Vision records in the Contact, Client, Opportunity, and Vendor Info Centers	Calendar Activities folder Activities grid on associated Vision contact, client, opportunity, and vendor records
Task	Calendar, when a user selects the option to view tasks Activity Manager Activities grid on associated Vision records in the Contact, Client, Opportunity, and Vendor Info Centers	Task folder Activities folder Activities grid on associated Vision contact, client, opportunity, and vendor records
Activity Manager Only	Activity Manager Activities grid on associated Vision records in the Contact, Client, Opportunity, and Vendor Info Centers	Activities folder Activities grid on associated Vision contact, client, opportunity, and vendor records