Visual Studio 2010 and Visual Studio 2008 provide project templates you can use to create application-level add-ins for Microsoft Outlook. You can use add-ins to automate Outlook, extend Outlook features, or customize the Outlook user interface.
Getting started
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Install Office developer tools, including the Visual Studio Tools for Office runtime and project templates and designers.
Explore topics that help you use the Office developer tools in Visual Studio 2010.
Find answers to common questions about programming Office solutions.
Create an application-level add-in for Outlook.
Create an Outlook customer appointment management solution.
Use developer tools designed to complement Visual Studio Tools for Office.
Interact with the objects that are provided by the Outlook object model.
Working with mail items
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Write code that interacts with mail items in a variety of ways in Outlook.
Watch a video that shows how to use email to send commands to Outlook.
Use the CreateItem method to create a MailItem object that represents a new mail message.
Working with calendar items
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Use the AppointmentItem class to perform a variety of tasks with calendar items.
Use the CreateItem method to create an AppointmentItem object that represents a new appointment.
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Use the ContactItem class in a variety of ways to perform tasks with contacts.
Learn to read data from a custom field of a contact item.
Use the CreateItem method to create a ContactItem object that represents a new contact.
Working with task items
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See how easy it is to take action on selected items in Outlook in this video.
Watch a short video on how build a custom HTML task report in Outlook using the default tasks folder.
Use the CreateItem method to create a TaskItem object that represents a new task.
Working with folders
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Use the MAPIFolder class in a variety of ways to access, create, and customize folders.
Learn how to determine the parent MAPIFolder of an unsaved contact item.
Use the MAPIFolder class methods and properties to access, create, and customize folders.
Working with data
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Expose line-of-business data using WCF Data Services as well as interact with it in Outlook, Word, Excel, and SharePoint.
Build an n-tier Outlook add-in that pulls order history from a database through a service.
Create an Outlook 2007 customer appointment management solution.
Include a database file, such as a SQL Server Express (.mdf) file or an Office Access (.mdb) file, in your Visual Studio Tools for Office solution.
Watch a short video that shows how to hide data you want your add-in to use, but want to keep hidden from the user.
Use the Microsoft Office platform to create a custom solution that allows multiple users to collaborate on the creation of a sales proposal response document.
Extend the Office client and integrate PeopleSoft business data into the context of an information worker's everyday experience.
Customizing the UI
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Create a custom ribbon for the Outlook Explorer Window using Visual Studio 2010 and Office 2010.
Build a WPF control that will display contact information within Outlook.
Customize the Outlook 2007 user interface using Visual Studio Tools for Office 3.0.
Add a Windows Form to an Outlook project and displays the form to the user.
Learn how any UI element that can host Windows Forms controls in an Office solution can also host WPF controls.
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Create a form region to extend a standard or custom Outlook form by using the Outlook New Form Region wizard.
Design a custom form region that appears as a new page in the Inspector window of a contact item.
Add a form region to contact items that automatically displays a map of the contact's address.
Design a form region in Outlook, and then import the form region into an Outlook add-in project by using the New Form Region wizard.
Access the Outlook item in which the form region appears by using the OutlookItem property of the FormRegionControl class.
Learn how to prevent Outlook from displaying a form region.
Specify which Outlook items display a form region by associating the form region with the message class of each item.
Customize a form in Outlook in two ways: by customizing pages of the form, and by creating form regions for the form.
Use the Globals class to access form regions from anywhere within your Outlook project.
Build two Outlook Form Regions and then access form region controls from a custom Ribbon.
Build a custom form region that replaces the default reading pane in Outlook.
Use the Outlook Form Region designer to significantly simplify the development of Outlook 2007 form regions.
Create a mini-OBA that integrates Outlook with Office Small Business Accounting 2008.
Working with custom task panes
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Add a custom task pane by using an application-level add-in.
See how to display a unique instance of a custom task pane with each e-mail message that is created or opened.
Create a custom task pane that users can hide or display by clicking a toggle button on the Ribbon.
Create custom Smart Tags in a Word document.
Working with the ribbon
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The Ribbon is a way to organize related commands so that they are easier to find.
Access the Developer tab to perform a task while you are developing an Office solution in Visual Studio
Add a Ribbon (Visual Designer) or Ribbon (XML) item to an Office project.
Learn to create a custom Ribbon tab by using the Ribbon Designer.
Learn to set the width of a drop down control by using the Ribbon Designer.
Build a custom Ribbon that replaces a standard ribbon button's functionality.
Display a custom Ribbon only in the Microsoft.Outlook.Mail.Compose Inspector.
Learn how to make custom tabs, groups, and controls appear only in cases where the user opens a custom form in Outlook.
Change the order of tabs on a Ribbon by using the Tab Collection Editor.
Add groups and controls to a built-in tab.
Watch a video that demos the key tasks pertaining to customizing the Ribbon for Outlook using Visual Studio 2008.
Add a custom group to the Message tab of an Outlook mail item.
Design one Ribbon by using the Ribbon visual designer, and then re-use that same Ribbon in more than one Office application.
Learn to customize a Ribbon by using XML.
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Use the Ribbon Designer to add controls to the menu that opens when you click the File tab (for Office 2010) or the Microsoft Office Button (for Office 2007).
Create a menu in Outlook that displays a message when you click a button.
Add an icon to a command bar button on a custom menu in Outlook.
Create a toolbar in Outlook that displays a message when you click a button.
Explore one possible way to save and restore the position of an Outlook custom toolbar.
