Exchange Online Feature Activation

The product integrates with Microsoft Exchange through SmartObjects. To enable integration between the product and Exchange, activate an instance of the Exchange Online feature.

  1. The Exchange Online feature activation allows you to integrate with Microsoft Exchange Online or a Microsoft Exchange on-premises server.
  2. The Exchange instance created by this feature is not linked to any product wizards. All Exchange wizards use the Exchange service types configured at time of installation.
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  • Refer to the Product Compatibility, Integration and Support sheet to determine which versions of Exchange you can use with this feature.
  • The EWS URL of the Exchange Server must be discoverable by the Feature Activation page. If you are using K2 Cloud and connecting to an on-premises Exchange server, the EWS URL must be exposed to the internet (or alternate connectivity such as ExpressRoute needs to be in place) so that the environment can reach the EWS URL.

You create a new Exchange service instance by using the Exchange Online feature activation.

To activate the feature, you must be an Administrator on your environment, and have administrator rights on your AD instance, or be a global administrator on your AAD instance.
  1. Browse to the Features page in Management.
  2. Select the Exchange Online feature and click New Instance.
  3. Specify a name and description for your new Exchange instance.
  4. Enter the EWS URL. The default EWS URL shown is universal for all Exchange Online tenants. Contact your Exchange administrator if you don't know your EWS URL.
  5. Select which authentication to use when authenticating users with Exchange.
    AuthenticationInstructions
    OAuth

    Use this setting to connect to Exchange Online.

    K2 Cloud requires OAuth to connect to Exchange Online and you need to be an O365 Global Administrator to activate the feature.
    Your browser must allow popups when using OAuth to activate this feature.
    Domain

    Enter the domain name.

    Your domain name is the server system name that hosts your business on your network, such as denallix.com. You can use the words based name or the Internet Protocol (IP) address. For Exchange Online and Office 365 this is typically [yourcompanyname].onmicrosoft.com. If you don't know your domain name, speak with your IT administrator.

    The Configuring Exchange page shows the configuration steps.

    For the Relying Parties step, a new window opens that allows you to sign into Azure Active Directory. Use the username and password of an AAD account with tenant global administrator rights to login. The AAD account needs to be part of the Global Administrator role in O365. More info here: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/about-office-365-admin-roles-da585eea-f576-4f55-a1e0-87090b6aaa9d. After the login you will be asked to trust the Exchange Online for K2 app. Click Accept to allow the app to access the necessary resources and services. After permission is granted, the product adds the relying parties and redirects you to an Authorization Successful page. Return to the feature activation page and click Continue. Use the Reopen Tab button if you need to make changes.

    For the OAuth Token step, a new window opens asking you to login and trust the Exchange Online for K2 app again. Use the username and password of an AAD account with tenant global administrator rights to login. The AAD account needs to be part of the Global Administrator role in O365. Click Accept. After permission is granted, the product will obtain your token and redirects you to an Authorization Successful page. Return to the feature activation page and click Continue.

    Use the Retry button to re-start the Configure Exchange page from the beginning.

    Once you've completed all four steps, click Done to complete activation of the Exchange instance.

    Email Address

    Enter the email address and click Add.

    The K2 SQL Account will use this email account to send and receive emails, tasks and appointments when executing the Exchange Online SmartObjects. For example, when an email is sent from within a workflow it will be sent from this account.

    The email address must be a valid email account on the Exchange service.

    Ensure the domain name and domain in the email address match.

    By default, the Email Address field is pre-populated with the email address of the person who is activating the feature. We recommend you set up or use a generic common mailbox rather than an individual mailbox.

    If the Email Address field is left empty and the feature is configured with OAuth authentication, a workflow executing an Exchange online method will fail with an “Exchange Impersonation SOAP header must be present for this type of OAuth token” error.

    Integrated
    When connecting to on-premises systems from your environment, you must use static credentials. See KB002939: Connecting to On-Premises Data from K2 Cloud for more information about how to do this for supported systems.
    Static
    When connecting to on-premises systems from your environment, you must use static credentials. See KB002939: Connecting to On-Premises Data from K2 Cloud for more information about how to do this for supported systems.
  6. Your new Exchange service instance is created once the Exchange Online feature is activated. Exchange SmartObjects are auto-generated when the service instance is created. See the Exchange Online Service Type and Exchange SmartObject Reference topics for more on the SmartObjects that are generated.

Please keep in mind the following considerations:

  • Integration with Microsoft Exchange requires either Active Directory (AD) or Azure Active Directory (AAD).
  • The Exchange instance created by this feature is not linked to any wizards. You can use the Exchange SmartObject methods of the service in workflows you design in the Designer. All Exchange wizards use the Exchange Online service brokers configured at time of installation.

  • If you send invalid data to the Sensitivity property of the Task SmartObject list method, the method returns every entry in the SmartObject.

  • Any folder created to contain Task items cannot be renamed. In Outlook go to the Tasks tab. Expand My Tasks and then Tasks. These folders can’t be renamed using the Exchange REST API.
  • Always use the Exchange feature activation page to register new instances and edit existing service instances.
  • Your workflow will go into an error state if you reach any of the Microsoft Exchange limits, the error thrown by the Exchange Server will be displayed in the workflow's error message.
  • Using the OAuth authentication mode and executing the Exchange Online SmartObjects from a workflow uses the SQL account and the mailbox defined in the Email Address field on the feature activation page. You must use the OnBehalfOf property to create the appointment or task in the mailbox of the specified account. Use the From property to create an email from the mailbox of the specified account.
  • When using the From property of the Email SmartObject to send an email on behalf of another user, the sending user account must have Send On Behalf of or Send As permissions. You configure these permissions in Microsoft Outlook - for more information see Allow members to send as or send on behalf of a Group. If you do not assign permissions, you may get an error message saying: "The user account which was used to submit this request does not have the right to send mail on behalf of the specified sending account. Cannot submit message.".
  • When using OAuth, Impersonate, or Static authentication modes and executing the Exchange Online SmartObjects from a SmartForm, the form uses the logged on person's mailbox.

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