Last updated: 2025-12-02

Protect Communication History - Correspondence and Documents

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Overview

This section describes what happens to SmartOffice correspondence

and documents when the [Protect

Communication History](/help/pro/protect/communication/history/-/introduction) feature is enabled for an office.

When linked to an [archived

contact](/help/pro/protect/communication/history/-/contacts), correspondence and documents are archived along with the

contact.

Note: [Intra-office

e-mail messages](/help/pro/intra-office/e-mail) are treated like SmartPad notes for the purposes of

Protect Communication History ([learn

how notes are protected](/help/pro/protect/communication/history/-/smartpad/notes)). Also, [SmartOffice

alerts](/help/pro/alert/center) are not protected or archived by Protect Communication History

because they are not linked to contacts.

For the purposes of Protect Communication History, correspondence encompasses:

E-mail messages (including attachments)

Printed letters

Correspondence sent through or posted to SmartOffice becomes read-only

immediately after Protect Communication History is enabled. When a user

opens sent correspondence from the contact's [Letters/Documents

content link](/help/pro/contacts/and/businesses/-/letters/documents/content/link), SmartOffice displays a notification that the file will

not be modifiable.

Users who try to delete correspondence are notified that deletion is

not possible.

Documents posted to SmartOffice become read-only immediately after Protect

Communication History is enabled. When the user opens a document, SmartOffice

displays a message informing the user that the document cannot be modified

for compliance reasons.

This restriction applies only to the content of a document. Users can

modify the SmartOffice file description, category keyword and SmartView

for Clients visibility of a document for better record keeping and organization.

Users who try to delete documents are notified that deletion is not

possible.

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