How to display Custom Title and Tooltip in the Outlook ribbon for a Web Based Add-in Button

Question

Good morning,

Within the addin I have made, I have a title and tooltip defined inside of a:

<DesktopFormFactor>

element, and it shows up inside of the proper ribbon group labeled Kwery, and the button says "Improve Draft", which is the proper label that it should have as defined inside of manifest.xml as you can see in the images below (this is on the classic desktop version of Outlook):

Note: This "improve draft" button only appears when a user is composing a reply or composing an email inside of Outlook desktop, that is correct and expected behavior. Otherwise it should say "Kwery"

The issue I am having is that when I access Outlook on the web, when a user is composing an email or replying, it does not say "Improve Draft" but it says "Kwery". Another noticed difference is that the ribbon group that contains it is "Add-ins" not the "Kwery" ribbon group that it has on desktop.
The functionality works as expected this is a purely cosmetic bug, but when searching through the docs I did not see a straight forward way of being able to solve this. I see documented in the add-in docs that there are <MobileFormFactor>components, however this did not seem to fit my use case as this is an issue on Web, not Mobile.

I also asked Claude about this functionality and it responded that it was not possible to define that behavior inside of the manifest file, and said that it is essentially something that Microsoft overrides be grouping together add-in functionality label's in the web version of Outlook.

Just wanted to reach out and see if perhaps I was missing something, or if it is correct that this behavior is not possible.

Thanks,
Michael.

P.S. Including the manifest.xml file for reference:

[Moderator note: personal info removed]

Answer 1

Dear Pope, Mike,

Thank you very much for taking the time to share your question.

After reviewing your request, it appears that your scenario is more closely related to development and customization, specifically regarding UI behavior such as custom titles or tooltips within Outlook. 

I completely understand how important it is to achieve the desired user experience, and I appreciate the effort you’ve already put into exploring this.

This forum is primarily intended to support general Microsoft 365 and Outlook usage scenarios such as account access, configuration, and standard feature-related inquiries, and while always aim to provide helpful guidance whenever possible, development-focused topics, especially those involving custom UI behavior, add-ins, or advanced customization, typically require deeper, platform-specific expertise and are therefore more appropriately addressed within dedicated developer communities.

For this reason, I would kindly recommend posting your question on platforms such as Stack Overflow or the Microsoft Tech Community, where developers and technical specialists actively engage in these types of discussions. These communities are better equipped to provide more in-depth, accurate, and tailored guidance for development scenarios like yours.

Please note that Stack Overflow is an independent, third-party platform and is not operated by Microsoft. As such, any information or guidance provided there is the responsibility of the contributors on that platform, and it is always advisable to carefully review and validate any suggested solutions before applying them in your environment.

I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this redirection may cause, and I truly appreciate your understanding. My intention is to help ensure that your question reaches the most appropriate audience so you can receive the most effective and precise support possible.

If you have any general Microsoft 365 or Outlook-related questions in the future, please do not hesitate to reach out. I would be more than happy to assist.

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Answer 2

Outlook on the web does not use the DesktopFormFactor ribbon configuration in the same way as classic Outlook on Windows. For mail add-ins, the web client groups add-ins under the built‑in Add-ins group and uses the add‑in’s top‑level <DisplayName> (in this case, Kwery) as the visible button label. The custom group label (GroupLabel) and button label (ImproveDraftButton.Label) defined under <DesktopFormFactor> are honored in classic Outlook, but are not applied to the main button surface in Outlook on the web.

Because this behavior is controlled by the Outlook on the web UI, it cannot be changed from the XML manifest. The manifest entries for <Group>, <Label>, and <Supertip> are correct and will continue to work in classic Outlook, but Outlook on the web will still:

• Place the add‑in under the Add-ins group, and
• Show the add‑in button using the add‑in display name (<DisplayName DefaultValue="Kwery"/>) rather than the compose‑specific label (Improve Draft).

There is currently no supported way in the add‑in manifest to make Outlook on the web show a different label (such as “Improve Draft”) or to rename the group from Add-ins to “Kwery”.

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References:

• ExtensionPoint element
• Supertip
• Action element