Workflow: Add rich HTML content in email body

One of the limitations of workflow in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 is the uncapability to add dynamic HTML content. By dynamic, I mean with data from the item that triggered the workflow.

We all know the trick of copy/paste to add static HTML in the mail but to add dynamic content is a different kettle of fish ...

In particular, I think about the following needs:

• Display a table containing the information related to the current record (eg list of contacts from an account)
• Show a link to a form without displaying any url but just a clickable word

Note that it is possible to manage these cases with custom workflow activities. In fact, when you insert a workflow output text in an email, the content is not encoded, ie you can pass HTML tags that will be interpreted as such.

For example:

<a href="aLink">Click here</a>

will just display

Click here

In the same way, you can display HTML table with CRM content and insert it in mail body.

[UPDATE] Code example - Url builder. This code create an hypertext html control that will be used in email body. You can set a text for the hypertext control with the input property and you get back the hypertext control in output property

   1: public class EntityUrlHelper : SequenceActivity

   2: {

   3:     public static DependencyProperty linkProperty = DependencyProperty.Register("link", typeof(string), typeof(EntityUrlHelper));

   4:     

   5:     [CrmOutput("Link")] public string link

   6:     { 

   7:         get 

   8:         { 

   9:             return (string)base.GetValue(linkProperty); 

  10:         } 

  11:         set 

  12:         { 

  13:             base.SetValue(linkProperty, value); 

  14:         }

  15:     }

  16:     public static DependencyProperty textLinkProperty = DependencyProperty.Register("textLink", typeof(string), typeof(EntityUrlHelper));

  17:  

  18:     [CrmInput("Hypertext link text")]

  19:     public string textLink

  20:     { 

  21:         get 

  22:         { 

  23:             return (string)base.GetValue(textLinkProperty); 

  24:         } 

  25:         set 

  26:         { 

  27:             base.SetValue(textLinkProperty, value); 

  28:         }

  29:     }

  30:  

  31:     protected override ActivityExecutionStatus Execute(ActivityExecutionContext executionContext)

  32:     { 

  33:         IContextService contextService = (IContextService)executionContext.GetService(typeof(IContextService)); 

  34:         IWorkflowContext context = contextService.Context;

  35:  

  36:         link = "<a href='http://someUrl/page.aspx?id=" + context.PrimaryEntityId.ToString() + "'>" + textLink + "</a>";

  37:         return ActivityExecutionStatus.Closed;

  38:     }

  39: }