Improvements to Syncing Tracked Emails and Meetings in Outlook Classic with Riva Insight

Overview

Riva Insight users have occasionally experienced delays when syncing tracked emails and meetings to CRM. This article outlines the cause of those delays and explains the improvements being rolled out to address them.

This update is intended for Riva Insight users and CRM administrators who want to understand recent enhancements to sync behavior in Outlook Desktop Classic on Windows.

Tracking refers to the process of marking emails or meetings for synchronization with your CRM using the Riva Insight add-in. When an item is tracked, Riva Sync monitors it and ensures it is saved or updated in your CRM system.

What You Need to Know

• This update improves the time it takes for Outlook to update the tracked item from the Outlook Classic mail client to the mail server resulting in a shortened sync speed for tracked items.
• Tracked items will show a Pending category once tracked, but prior to being processed by Riva Sync.
• The category helps Outlook prioritize syncing and also indicate sync status.
• No action is required. Riva is applying this change automatically.

Who Is Affected

This update addresses a sync timing issue that specifically affects users of the Riva Insight Outlook Web Add-in for Insight Cloud when used with Outlook Desktop Classic on Windows. These users may have experienced delays in syncing tracked items to CRM due to how Outlook handles updates between the local client and the server.

However, all users of the Outlook Web Add-in, regardless of whether they use Outlook Desktop or Outlook Web will still see the Pending Category applied to tracked, unsynced items. These categories are part of the enhanced tracking experience and help indicate sync status across environments.

Why Sync Delays Occur

Outlook does not immediately sync changes from the local client to the server. Instead, it uses internal logic to decide when updates are pushed, often prioritizing new items over existing ones. This behavior can result in noticeable delays before tracked items are updated on the server and processed by Riva Sync.

Several additional factors influence Outlook’s sync timing:

• Outlook prioritization logic: Outlook favors syncing new or recently modified items over older, unchanged ones. Existing emails and meetings may be deprioritized unless a change prompts Outlook to re-sync them.
• Cached Exchange Mode: Outlook stores a local copy of mailbox data in an .ost file. Syncing to the server depends on when Outlook decides to push updates from this cache.
• Mailbox size and item count: Larger mailboxes or folders with many items can slow down synchronization.
• Desktop performance: Limited system resources (CPU, disk I/O) can affect how quickly Outlook syncs changes.
• Network connectivity: Unstable or slow connections can delay communication between Outlook and the Exchange server.

These behaviors are consistent with findings from Microsoft and other Outlook support communities. For further reading:

• Microsoft Q&A: Outlook sync delays
• Live to Plant: Troubleshooting Outlook–Exchange sync
• SFWare: Delay in receiving emails in Outlook

What’s Changing

To improve this behavior, Riva is applying a configuration that adds a category tag to tracked items. This prompts Outlook to prioritize syncing the item to the server, allowing Riva Sync to process it more quickly.

As a result of this change, you may notice:

• Tracked items pending sync to CRM will display a 'Pending' category, indicating that Riva Sync has not yet processed them.
• Tracked and synced items will have the "Pending" tag removed once added to CRM.

The category helps Outlook to prioritize syncing the item to the server and also give a visual indicator of whether the item has been successfully synced to CRM.

No action is required from end users. This change is being applied automatically by Riva.

How This Helps

This update improves the reliability and speed of syncing tracked items to CRM by prompting Outlook to prioritize updates to the server. It reduces delays caused by Outlook’s default behavior and gives users clearer visibility into sync status through category labels. The result is fresher CRM data and fewer surprises when tracking emails and meetings.

What’s Not Changing

• This update does not change how users initiate tracking using the Riva Insight add-in.
• CRM sync logic, data mapping, and field behavior remain unchanged.
• Outlook Web (which does have have the delays experienced in Outlook Desktop Classic) users will still see the pending category applied to items.

How to Identify Tracked Items

Tracked items pending sync will show a category label in Outlook. Look for:

• Pending Category – Indicates the item is tracked but has not yet been processed by Riva Sync. This category is temporary and will be removed automatically once syncing is complete.

The category appears in the message or calendar item header within Outlook. They are managed automatically to support tracked items’ prioritization and provide visual feedback to users.

Behind-the-Scenes Configuration

The following settings are being applied by Riva to enable this behavior. 

Riva Insight

CompanySettings.xml

<add key="Feature.Track.TrackStateService.SetOutlookPendingCategory.IsEnabled" value="true" />

Riva Sync

SYNC Policy

<add key="Sync.Crm.PendingCategoryName" value="Pending" />

Note: These settings ensure that Outlook prioritizes syncing both new and existing tracked items. The Pending category is temporary and will be removed automatically once Riva Sync processes the item.

Summary

This update improves the sync timing of tracked items in Outlook Classic by prompting Outlook to prioritize updates to the server. You’ll benefit from faster CRM updates and clearer visual indicators of sync status. No manual configuration is required as Riva is applying this change on your behalf.

If you have any questions or notice unexpected behavior, feel free to reach out to your Riva administrator or contact our support team. We’re here to help.