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Help Topic: Auto Journaling Office365


Office 365 Auto Journaling Setup Guide for TrackerRMS Integration

Overview

This guide will walk you through enabling Office 365 auto journaling to work with your TrackerRMS platform. Auto journaling automatically captures copies of email messages and makes them available for TrackerRMS to import and manage through your O365 plugin connection.

Prerequisites

  • Admin Rights: You must have Exchange Online Administrator or Global Administrator permissions in your Office 365 tenant.

  • TrackerRMS Plugin: Ensure the Users TrackerRMS O365 plugin is already configured.

Important Note: Exchange Online doesn't support delivering journal reports to an Exchange Online mailbox. You must specify the email address of an on-premises archiving system or a third-party archiving service as the journaling mailbox.

Important: Classic Microsoft Purview Compliance portal will be retired by 2024. The new Microsoft Purview portal is recommended.

Step 1: Access the Journaling Configuration

Option A: Microsoft Purview Compliance Portal (Recommended)

  1. Sign in at https://compliance.microsoft.com

  2. Navigate to: Solutions > Data lifecycle management > Exchange (legacy)

  3. Select Journal rules

Option B: Classic Exchange Admin Center (Legacy)

  1. Sign in at https://admin.microsoft.com

  2. Go to: Admin centers > Exchange

  3. In the Exchange Admin Center, go to: Compliance management > Journal rules

Step 2: Configure Undeliverable Journal Reports

Using Microsoft Purview Compliance Portal

  1. Navigate to: Solutions > Data lifecycle management > Exchange (legacy)

  2. Click the gear icon for Settings

  3. Enter: ndr@yourdomain.com in the “Send undeliverable journal reports to” field

  4. Click Save

Using Classic Exchange Admin Center

  1. Navigate to: Compliance management > Journal rules

  2. Click Select address next to “Send undeliverable journal reports to”

  3. Enter: ndr@yourdomain.com

  4. Click Save

Important: Emails sent to this undeliverable address will not be journaled. Use a dedicated mailbox.

Step 3: Create the TrackerRMS Journal Rule

Option A: Journal All Messages (Simplest Setup)

Using Microsoft Purview Compliance Portal

  1. Go to: Journal rules > + New rule

  2. Configure:

    • Send journal reports to: journal@tracker-agent.com

    • Journal rule name: TrackerRMS Auto-Journal

    • Journal messages from: Apply to all messages

    • Type of message to journal: External messages only

  3. Click Next, review, then Submit

Using Classic Exchange Admin Center

  1. Go to: Compliance management > Journal rules

  2. Click + (Add)

  3. Configure:

    • Name: TrackerRMS Auto-Journal

    • Apply to all messages

    • Journal the following messages: External messages only

    • Send journal reports to: journal@tracker-agent.com

  4. Click Save

Basic Configuration Summary:

  • Send journal reports to: journal@tracker-agent.com

  • Name: TrackerRMS Auto-Journal

  • Apply to all messages

  • Journal: External messages only

Option B: Targeted Journaling Using Distribution Groups (Advanced)

Create Distribution Groups

To Include Specific Users Only:

  1. Go to: Teams & groups > Active teams & groups

  2. Add group: Distribution

  3. Name it: TrackerRMS-Journal-Include

  4. Add only desired users

  5. Save the group

To Exclude Specific Users:

  1. Create group: TrackerRMS-Journal-Exclude

  2. Add users you want to exclude

  3. Create a rule that applies to all users EXCEPT this group

Configure Journal Rule with Group Targeting

Using Microsoft Purview Compliance Portal

  1. Go to: Journal rules > + New rule

  2. Configure:

    • Send journal reports to: journal@tracker-agent.com

    • Journal rule name: TrackerRMS Auto-Journal-Targeted

    • Apply to: A specific user or group

    • Type of message: External messages only

  3. Click Next, review, then Submit

Using Classic Exchange Admin Center

  1. Go to: Compliance management > Journal rules

  2. Click + (Add)

  3. Configure:

    • Name: TrackerRMS Auto-Journal-Targeted

    • Apply to: A specific user or group

    • Journal: External messages only

    • Send reports to: journal@tracker-agent.com

  4. Click Save

Group-Based Configuration Summary:

  • Send journal reports to: journal@tracker-agent.com

  • Name: TrackerRMS Auto-Journal-Targeted

  • Apply to: A specific user or group

  • Journal: External messages only

Managing Journaling Scope with Groups

Benefits:

  • Self-service management

  • No TrackerRMS configuration required

  • Audit trail via Office 365 logs

  • Scalable for large teams

Best Practices:

  • Use clear naming (e.g., TrackerRMS-Journal-Include)

  • Document group purpose

  • Review membership regularly

  • Use multiple rules for different departments

Example Scenarios:

  • Journal only Sales team

  • Exclude Executives

  • Department-based journaling

Step 4: Verify Journal Rule Configuration

Using Microsoft Purview Compliance Portal

  1. Go to: Journal rules

  2. Confirm rule appears and Status is On

Using Classic Exchange Admin Center

  1. Go to: Compliance management > Journal rules

  2. Confirm the rule appears with ON checkmark

Step 5: Test the Configuration

  1. Send a test email from a user to an external recipient

  2. Wait 5–10 minutes

  3. Check if journal@tracker-agent.com receives the report

  4. Confirm in TrackerRMS that the message is processed

Understanding Journal Rule Scopes

  • External messages only: Recommended for TrackerRMS

  • All messages: Includes both internal and external

  • Internal messages only: For internal-only capture

Self-Service Journaling Management

Client Benefits:

  • No need to contact TrackerRMS to update journaling users

  • Group membership changes take effect within 15–30 minutes

  • Helps manage cost and compliance flexibly

Common Use Cases:

  • Journal only sales teams

  • Separate rules for executives

  • Temporary project-based journaling

  • Easy onboarding/offboarding

Important Considerations

Security & Compliance

  • Use trusted archiving destinations

  • Monitor journal delivery regularly

  • Ensure compliance with privacy regulations

Performance & Storage

  • Test thoroughly before large-scale rollout

  • Monitor performance after enabling journaling

  • Configure alerts for failed deliveries

Reliability

  • Set JournalingReportNdrTo to get failure notifications

Troubleshooting

If the journal rule isn't working:

Messages not being journaled:

  • Emails in quarantine won’t be journaled until released

  • Check for transport rules interfering

  • Review rule scope

Access Issues:

  • Make sure you have correct permissions