VBA Developer Mode?

Question

Hi Community.  DPA here.  See attached screenshot.

 

I need pointed in the right direction.  I don’t know how to get started in VBA Developer mode in Outlook.  I have read through both the “Visual Basic Guide” and the “Office VBA Reference/Outlook” in Learn about objects, methods and properties.

 

I don’t know what to do next.  How does one create a Project?  Is there documentation/training that explains the Project windows and the inter-relationship among those windows when developing a Project?

 

I am not asking how to write code.  I am just asking in general about the steps to create an Outlook VBA Project itself.  Thanks.

Answer 1

Dear @DPA,

Good day! Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum!

Based on your description, I understand that you're new to Outlook VBA development and are looking for guidance on how to get started with creating an Outlook VBA project. You've reviewed the VBA documentation but need help understanding the VBA Project structure, the purpose of the Project Explorer and related windows, and the general steps involved in setting up and working with an Outlook VBA project.

As a starting point, please review the this article: Run in Developer Mode in Outlook, which explains how to enable and run Outlook in Developer Mode by displaying the Developer tab in the Outlook ribbon.

Based on your question about creating a VBA project, it may be helpful to know that Outlook works differently from applications such as Excel or Access. Outlook supports a single VBA project, Project1, which is stored as VbaProject.OTM. The VBA project is automatically provided by Outlook, and developers typically add modules, forms, and code within this existing project rather than creating separate VBA projects from scratch.

For more information about Outlook VBA projects and project management, please review the following articles:

• Using Visual Basic for Applications in Outlook
• Manage and distribute Outlook VBA projects

Additionally, if you feel there is a need for more documentation regarding Outlook VBA project architecture, onboarding, or training materials, I encourage you to submit feedback through the Microsoft Feedback Portal for review by the appropriate product and documentation teams: https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/

Thank you for your kindness and understanding!

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Answer 2

As stated new versions of outlook no longer support VBA, as they are they are html and JavaScript based. This allows the same code to run on the server website and the desktop client

For the new outlook (and other office products) you create JavaScript addins.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/dev/add-ins/outlook/apis

for look and feel you use the Fluent UI toolkit:

https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/fluentui#/

While office uses react, you can use another framework. But office has a complete react library for Fluent UI.

https://github.com/microsoft/fluentui

Answer 3

Hi @DPA

Old Outlook -> Outlook → Developer → Visual Basic.

New Outlook for Windows → NO VBA Support

Microsoft removed:

• VBA
• COM Add‑ins
• Macros
• Custom forms
• Local PST access
• Local rules

Thanks.

Answer 4

In Outlook, there is only one VBA project at a time: Project1. Outlook does not create multiple named VBA projects the way some other Office apps or Visual Studio do. That single project is stored as VbaProject.OTM for the current user.

A practical way to get started is:

1. Enable the Developer tab
   In Outlook, go to File > Options > Customize Ribbon, select Developer, and click OK.
2. Open the VBA environment
   On the Developer tab, choose Macros, type a macro name, and click Create. This opens Visual Basic for Applications.
3. Understand what “the project” is in Outlook
   All Outlook VBA code lives inside that one project, Project1. A project can contain:
   • code modules
   • UserForm modules
4. Use the Visual Basic Editor to build inside Project1
   The Visual Basic Editor is where modules are created and removed, UserForms are designed, and code is edited. It also includes development tools such as an Object Browser and debugger.
5. Know the Outlook-specific limitation
   Outlook supports only one VBA project at a time. If a different VBA project must be run, Outlook must be closed, the current VbaProject.OTM renamed, the other project named VbaProject.OTM, and then Outlook restarted. If several solutions are needed regularly, they can be manually combined into one VbaProject.OTM.
6. Choose the right model for the goal
   Outlook VBA is intended as a personal macro development environment and is not designed for broad deployment or distribution. If the solution is meant for more than a few people, the recommended path is an Outlook COM Add-in.

For form scripting specifically, the Developer tab also gives access to Design This Form and View Code for the Script Editor, but that is separate from the main Outlook VBA project model.

For learning the editor and project structure, the most relevant starting points are:

• the Outlook VBA overview for how Outlook organizes VBA code into Project1
• the Office VBA getting-started article for how the Developer tab and Visual Basic Editor fit together
• the Outlook developer home for broader Outlook development guidance

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References:

• Run in Developer Mode in Outlook
• Using Visual Basic for Applications in Outlook
• Getting started with VBA in Office
• Create a macro in Outlook
• Outlook