How to close add-in pane in outlook Mail App read scenario through JavaScript Api (office.js) - outlook-addin

I have developed a Mail App (Read Scenario) Add-in for Outlook365. After certain task performed I would like to see add-in pane collapse automatically. Is there any method defined yet in office.js API to do so?

If you are talking about Outlook Online(outlook as a web app), then I am afraid there's no method defined yet in Office.js to collapse the task pane yet. But I agree it is an important scenario and we will absolutely add it to our backlog.
Thanks,
Sky

Related

Multiple Outlook Add-ink Panes Displaying at the Same Time

We have developed an Outlook web Add-in but currently when the task pane is open and we open another outlook add-in, our one closes and is replaced with the last selected one. Is there a way to have the task panes stack next to one another so that you can have more than one task pane open at the same time. Appreciate that screen real-estate is an issue but at least 2 would be nice. I thought that I had seen this working somewhere.
Currently there is no way to have two add-ins open side-by-side. We track Outlook add-in feature requests on our user-voice page. Please add your request there. Feature requests on user-voice are considered, when we go through our planning process.
You can make your add-in pinnable, this way your add-in will not be closed when another add-in is opened.

How to access "message bar" in Outlook?

When I enable "Out Of Office" automatic messages in Outlook 2010, the "message bar" is filled in with a warning text. I would like to use such a feature to inform the user of my own feature being enabled.
I cannot find any reference to programmatic access to this bar. I found something about the statusbar, but it is not usable in VBA in Outlook.
I am not even sure the proper English name of this feature is "message bar"; I am referring to the same bar which in Word is used to inform user that a document is "dangerous" because coming from internet.
Is this message bar exposed in VBA for Outlook?
I tried finding other methods to inform the user, so I started studying the Ribbon: if I could make my own tab visible I could use it as a "message bar", but Ribbon is managed by Outlook differently from other Office programs, so most of examples available around are not applicable/working in Outlook.
I was able to programmatically create a tab and add a button to it, but then I can't make the tab visible.
I also tried using property "position" of the commandbar: not just msoBarTop but also msoBarBottom or msoBarPopup, but Outlook ignores my efforts.
But maybe managing the Ribbon in Outlook with VBA should be addressed in a separate question (there are some questions about it here, but I could not find useful tips for me; I have no access to VB VSTO).
The area you are referring to is used to implement Mail Tips. Although you can create custom ones through the Exchange Admin Center , they cannot be interacted with via code.
Manipulating Ribbon controls to show states or user messages is not really recommended, as the Ribbon is generally a static thing (except in case of menus, dropdowns and Galleries).
If your goal is to show a transient alert, a better approach would be to use the Windows SDK to show Windows notifications. If having your alert hosted in Outlook is of the utmost importance, then look into using Form Regions or an add-in with Task Panes to display your messaging. Or even a simple VBA MessageBox or User Form.
Also note that your usage of the CommandBar is really only applicable to Outlook 2007 and earlier - there are no more CommandBars in newer versions, just the Ribbon.

Outlook add-in button on calendar overview

Is it possible to add a button to the command ribbon for the calendar overview in outlook. The PrimaryCommandSurface extensionpoint doesn't seem to be supported in Outlook add-ins. Adding a button to the appointment edit window isn't enough, because I need to perform an action for the whole calendar.
Currently the feature you requested, Outlook add-in button on command ribbon for calendar overview, is not a part of the product. However, we track Outlook add-in feature requests on our user-voice page. Please add your request there. Feature requests on user-voice are considered when we go through our planning process.
[Outlook Add-ins Engineering Team]

VBA when user clicks Send as Attachement

My company has an issue with Outlook when it is triggered to open by Excel that causes Outlook to hang indefinitely when loading (an issue which cannot be easily fixed). We have a few workbooks with custom ribbons where we now check that Outlook is open first before allowing the user to send via email. The problem is that this doesn't account for users that still use the File > Save & Send > Send as Attachment.
I would like to know if anybody knows about a process by which I can add on a routine to the existing button that we could save as an Excel Add In on everyone's Excel that checks first if Outlook is open? I have the Outlook check written so I'm just needing help with finding a way to run it.
Any help is appreciated.
Alternatively you could disable Send as Attachment.
I wouldn't know what is important so I won't copy parts here.
How do you disable “Save and send” in Excel 2010 (in the File ribbon (called backstage in Office 2010)?
Disable the Send button in the Office Menu
You may consider repurposing the ribbon controls. See Temporarily Repurpose Commands on the Office Fluent Ribbon for more information.
Unfortunately the Backstage UI doesn't allow to repurpose controls from the XML markup. You may consider hiding the built-in UI and rebuilding it fully with custom commands. Thus, you will be able to handle the commands on your own. You can read more about that in the Introduction to the Office 2010 Backstage View for Developers article. Also see the Customizing the Office 2010 Backstage View for Developers article.

Custom View for my plugin in Outlook 2010 / 2007

I'm working to load my WPF control into outlook as a plugin. The only way it allows me to do is to add a custom task pane (which works perfectly fine), which is kind of hard at the UI. To maintain Outlook consistency, I would like to add my own view in the right-view of Outlook, so if the user clicks on some item in the navigation pane, I show my view. This would allow me to show Outlook data in my custom implementation to enhance the UX.
Can someone please let me know how to do this?
-Fahad
Fahad,
Please google up "outlook form region". This sounds like exactly what you need - create your own form region (using outlook's developer tab) and re-register a specific mail for that.
example:
reg.Create(HKEY_CURRENT_USER, _T("Software\\Microsoft\\Office\\Outlook\\FormRegions"))
Best of luck!
Nili