Outlook Solutions

Applies to
The information in this topic applies only to the specified Visual Studio Tools for Office projects and versions of Microsoft Office. Project type Application-level projects Microsoft Office version Outlook 2007 For more information, see Features Available by Application and Project Type.

Visual Studio Tools for Office provides project templates you can use to create application-level add-ins for Microsoft Office Outlook. You can use add-ins to automate Outlook, extend Outlook features, or customize the Outlook user interface (UI). For more information about application-level add-ins, see Architecture of Application-Level Add-Ins.

Creating an Outlook Add-in Project

Create Outlook projects by using the Outlook Add-in project template in the New Project dialog box. This template includes required assembly references and project files. Visual Studio Tools for Office provides a version of this template for Outlook 2003, and another version for Outlook 2007.

For more information about how to create an add-in project, see How to: Create Visual Studio Tools for Office Projects. For more information about the project templates, see Visual Studio Tools for Office Project Templates Overview.

Automating Outlook by Using the Outlook Object Model

The Outlook object model exposes many types that you can use to automate Outlook. These types enable you to write code to accomplish common tasks:

• Programmatically create and send e-mail messages.

• Send new meeting requests.

• Search for items in Outlook folders.

For more information, see Outlook Object Model Overview.

Customizing the User Interface of an Outlook Application

The Outlook 2007 UI is different from the Outlook 2003 UI, so you have different customization options.

Outlook 2007

Task	For more information
Add custom tabs to the Ribbon of an Outlook Inspector.	Ribbon Overview
Add custom groups to a built-in tab in an Outlook Inspector.	How to: Customize a Built-in Tab
Add a custom task pane that appears in an Outlook Inspector	Custom Task Panes Overview.
Add a form region that extends or replaces existing Outlook forms.	Creating Outlook Form Regions

Outlook 2003

Task	For more information
Add custom toolbars and toolbar items.	How to: Add Custom Toolbars and Toolbar Items to Outlook
Add menus and menu items.	How to: Add Custom Menus and Menu Items to Outlook

For more information about customizing the UI of Outlook and other Microsoft Office applications, see Office UI Customization.

See Also

Concepts

Outlook Object Model Overview

Creating Outlook Form Regions

Getting Started Programming Application-Level Add-Ins