e2a Activity Timeline — Introduction and FAQs
Introduction
The e2a Activity Timeline is a Lightning Web Component (LWC) that displays a record's activity history — emails, tasks, calls, and events — in a single chronological view, in the same style as the standard Salesforce Activity Timeline. The key difference is that it surfaces e2a Email Messages directly on the timeline.
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Why was it introduced?
When customers move from standard Salesforce email handling to e2a, they shouldn't lose the day-to-day functionality their business processes depend on. The native Salesforce Activity Timeline doesn't show e2a emails directly — they only appear indirectly, nested inside a Task — so users had to take extra clicks to reach the actual email. The e2a Activity Timeline closes that gap by replicating the core Salesforce timeline experience while treating e2a emails as first-class entries, making the transition smoother.
How is it different from the standard Salesforce Activity Timeline?
It behaves like the Salesforce timeline you already know, with one important addition: e2a emails appear as their own entries with an email/envelope icon, subject, sender/recipient line, and date — rather than being buried inside a related Task. It can also be extended to support other custom objects, not just e2a Email Messages.
Setup
How do I add the e2a Activity Timeline to a record page?
Add the e2a Activity Timeline to the relevant record page(s) using the Lightning App Builder, the same way you'd add any custom component. Check the component's configuration options for which objects and activity types it surfaces.
Viewing emails and activities
Does it show standard Salesforce emails as well as e2a emails?
Yes. Both standard Salesforce emails and e2a emails appear on the same timeline, correctly interleaved in date order. Each type is visually distinguishable but styled consistently so the timeline reads cleanly.
How do I open an email from the timeline?
Click the email entry's subject or title. An e2a email opens directly in a single click — there's no need to drill into a Task detail page first.
What activity types are supported?
Emails (both standard Salesforce and e2a), Tasks, Calls, and Events. Task and Email activities have the most complete coverage; Call and Event handling was still being reviewed at the time of writing, so confirm behaviour for those against your version.
How do I expand or collapse an entry?
Click the chevron (>) on an entry to expand it inline and view the body/details; the chevron rotates to indicate the expanded state. Click it again to collapse. You can also use Expand All to open every visible entry at once.
What does the Refresh button do?
Refresh re-queries and redraws the timeline so any new or changed activities appear, without needing a full page reload.
What happens if a record has no activities?
The timeline shows a clean empty state (e.g. "No more past activity") with no errors or broken layout.
Filtering
How do I control which activities appear?
Use the Activity Type filter to check or uncheck the types you want to see — for example e2a Emails, Email, Task, Call, Event. Only the checked types are shown.
What date range options are available?
You can filter the timeline by date range. The available options include:
- All time (default)
- Last 7 days
- Last 30 days
- Within 2 months
- Last 6 months
- Next 7 days
When you select a range and apply it, only activities falling inside that window are shown.
Replying and forwarding
Can I reply to, reply all, or forward an email from the timeline?
For e2a emails, these actions open the e2a email client with the necessary fields pre-populated, ready for you to work on.
For standard Salesforce emails, this was a known gap at the time of writing. The intended behaviour is that Reply / Reply All / Forward would also open the e2a email client (so older Salesforce emails can be handled the same way as new e2a emails), but because the e2a client normally expects an e2a Email Message record ID — which a Salesforce email doesn't have — this required additional work. Confirm whether your version supports these actions on standard Salesforce emails.
Setup
How do I add the e2a Activity Timeline to a record page?
Add the e2a Activity Timeline LWC to the relevant record page(s) using the Lightning App Builder, the same way you'd add any custom component. Check the component's configuration options for which objects and activity types it surfaces.
Known limitations / what's next
- Reply/Reply All/Forward on standard Salesforce emails — being finalised; the leading approach is to let the e2a email client read content from a Salesforce email record ID.
- Call and Event activities — under review and may need further updating; Task and Email are the most complete.
For any questions, please contact us at support@ortooapps.com.