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Get or set the time when composing an appointment in Outlook

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The Office JavaScript API provides asynchronous methods (Time.getAsync and Time.setAsync) to get and set the start or end time of an appointment being composed. These asynchronous methods are available only to compose add-ins. To use these methods, make sure you have set up the add-in only manifest of the add-in appropriately for Outlook to activate the add-in in compose forms, as described in Create Outlook add-ins for compose forms.

The start and end properties are available for appointments in both compose and read forms. In a read form, you can access the properties directly from the parent object, as in:

Office.context.mailbox.item.start;
Office.context.mailbox.item.end;

But in a compose form, because both the user and your add-in can be inserting or changing the time at the same time, you must use the getAsync asynchronous method to get the start or end time.

Office.context.mailbox.item.start.getAsync(callback);
Office.context.mailbox.item.end.getAsync(callback);

As with most asynchronous methods in the Office JavaScript API, getAsync and setAsync take optional input parameters. For more information on how to specify these optional input parameters, see "Passing optional parameters to asynchronous methods" in Asynchronous programming in Office Add-ins.

Get the start or end time

This section shows a code sample that gets the start time of the appointment being composed and displays the time. You can use the same code, but replace the start property with the end property to get the end time.

To use the item.start.getAsync or item.end.getAsync methods, provide a callback function that checks the status and result of the asynchronous call. Obtain the status, results, and any error using the asyncResult output parameter of the callback. If the asynchronous call is successful, use the asyncResult.value property to get the start time as a Date object in UTC format. To provide any necessary arguments to the callback function, use the asyncContext optional parameter of the getAsync call.

let item;

// Confirms that the Office.js library is loaded.
Office.onReady((info) => {
    if (info.host === Office.HostType.Outlook) {
        item = Office.context.mailbox.item;
        getStartTime();
    }
});

// Gets the start time of the appointment being composed.
function getStartTime() {
    item.start.getAsync((asyncResult) => {
        if (asyncResult.status === Office.AsyncResultStatus.Failed) {
            write(asyncResult.error.message);
            return;
        }

        // Display the start time in UTC format on the page.
        write(`The start time in UTC is: ${asyncResult.value.toString()}`);
        // Convert the start time to local time and display it on the page.
        write(`The start time in local time is: ${asyncResult.value.toLocaleString()}`);
    });
}

// Writes to a div with id="message" on the page.
function write(message) {
    document.getElementById("message").innerText += message;
}

Set the start or end time

This section shows a code sample that sets the start time of an appointment being composed. You can use the same code, but replace the start property with the end property to set the end time. Note that changes to the start or end properties may affect other properties of the appointment being composed.

  • If the appointment being composed already has an existing start time, setting the start time subsequently adjusts the end time to maintain any previous duration of the appointment.
  • If the appointment being composed already has an existing end time, setting the end time subsequently adjusts both the duration and end time.
  • If the appointment has been set as an all-day event, setting the start time adjusts the end time to 24 hours later, and clears the checkbox for the all-day event in the appointment.

To use item.start.setAsync or item.end.setAsync, specify a UTC-formatted Date object in the dateTime parameter. If you get a date based on an input by the user in the client, you can use mailbox.convertToUtcClientTime to convert the value to a Date object in the UTC format. If you provide an optional callback function, include the asyncContext parameter and add any arguments to it. Additionally, check the status, result, and any error message through the asyncResult output parameter of the callback. If the asynchronous call is successful, setAsync inserts the specified start or end time string as plain text, overwriting any existing start or end time for that item.

Note

In classic Outlook on Windows, the setAsync method can't be used to change the start or end time of a recurring appointment.

let item;

// Confirms that the Office.js library is loaded.
Office.onReady((info) => {
    if (info.host === Office.HostType.Outlook) {
        item = Office.context.mailbox.item;
        setStartTime();
    }
});

// Sets the start time of the appointment being composed.
function setStartTime() {
    // Get the current date and time, then add two days to the date.
    const startDate = new Date();
    startDate.setDate(startDate.getDate() + 2);

    item.start.setAsync(
        startDate,
        { asyncContext: { optionalVariable1: 1, optionalVariable2: 2 } },
        (asyncResult) => {
            if (asyncResult.status === Office.AsyncResultStatus.Failed) {
                console.log(asyncResult.error.message);
                return;
            }

            console.log("Successfully set the start time.");
            /*
                Run additional operations appropriate to your scenario and
                use the optionalVariable1 and optionalVariable2 values as needed.
            */
        });
}

See also