Programming Applications for Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 (3rd Edition) (Developer Reference)

Get the definitive guide to learning how to exploit the built-in functionality in Outlook 2007. Written by two experts on Outlook extensibility, this book delivers practical guidance and extensive code samples to help you extend, adapt, and customize information flow to the desktop. Discover how to: Programmatically create built-in item types to expose Outlook functionality in your solution; Use the Items collection and Table object to access containers for Outlook items; Connect to shared folders, Internet calendars, and RSS subscriptions; Write event handlers and hook up event delegates for Outlook objects; Implement programmatic search and organizational schemas; Add controls at design-time or runtime to help you build rich form regions; Extend the Office Fluent Ribbon with customized task panes and property pages; Develop trusted add-ins that do not display security prompts; Write registry keys, install required assemblies, and deploy your solution. Companion Web site includes: Code samples in Microsoft Visual Basic and Visual C#; Reusable code snippets; Add-in templates and samples Cover......Page 1 Copyright Page......Page 2 Dedication......Page 3 Contents at a Glance......Page 4 Table of Contents......Page 5 Foreword......Page 19 Acknowledgments......Page 22 Why We Wrote This Book......Page 24 Part I: Introducing Microsoft Office Outlook 2007......Page 25 Part IV: Providing a User Interface for Your Solution......Page 26 Sample Code on the Web......Page 27 Code Snippets......Page 30 Building the Sample Add-Ins......Page 31 Support for This Book......Page 32 Part I: Introducing Microsoft Office Outlook 2007......Page 34 Chapter 1: What’s New in Microsoft Office Outlook 2007......Page 35 Form Regions......Page 36 Security......Page 38 Table Object......Page 39 Improved Search......Page 40 Enhanced Events......Page 41 SelectNamesDialog Object......Page 43 Sharing Objects......Page 44 Rules Objects......Page 45 PropertyAccessor Sample Code......Page 46 Developer Reference......Page 48 Summary......Page 49 Why Integrate with Outlook?......Page 51 Different Types of Outlook Integration......Page 53 Data Integration......Page 54 Functional Integration......Page 56 Data Integration......Page 58 Business Logic......Page 61 User Interface Integration and Data Presentation......Page 62 InfoPath Forms......Page 70 Architecture......Page 72 Outlook Object Model......Page 73 Form Regions......Page 75 MAPI as a Platform Component......Page 77 Simple MAPI......Page 83 Deemphasized and Phased-Out Components......Page 84 Visual Basic for Applications......Page 85 Visual Studio Tools for Office......Page 86 Managed Versus Native Code......Page 87 Add-In Model......Page 88 Summary......Page 89 Part II: Quick Guide to Building Solutions......Page 90 Introducing the Instant Search Add-In......Page 91 Install the Outlook Add-in Templates......Page 92 Creating the Instant Search Add-In......Page 93 Writing Code......Page 95 The InitializeAddin Method......Page 96 Adding Instance Variables......Page 97 ItemContextMenuDisplay Event......Page 98 ContextMenuClose Event......Page 100 The DisplayInstantSearchExplorer Method......Page 101 Writing Code for Submenu Click Events......Page 102 Building the Add-in Project......Page 103 Creating a Shim Project......Page 104 Creating a Setup Project......Page 108 Installing the Instant Search Add-In......Page 111 Troubleshooting......Page 112 Debug Mode......Page 113 Debugging Code......Page 114 Summary......Page 115 Introducing the Instant Search Add-In......Page 116 Install the Outlook Add-in Templates......Page 117 Creating the Instant Search Add-In......Page 118 Writing Code......Page 120 InitializeAddin Method......Page 121 Adding Instance Variables......Page 122 ItemContextMenuDisplay Event......Page 123 ContextMenuClose Event......Page 126 DisplayInstantSearchExplorer Method......Page 127 Writing Code for Submenu Click Events......Page 128 Creating a Shim Project......Page 130 Creating a Setup Project......Page 134 Installing the Instant Search Add-In......Page 137 Troubleshooting......Page 138 Debug Mode......Page 139 Debugging Code......Page 140 Summary......Page 141 Part III: Working with Outlook Data......Page 142 Introduction to Built-in and Custom Item Types......Page 143 Understanding MessageClass......Page 145 Creating an Item......Page 146 MailItem, PostItem, and SharingItem Objects......Page 150 Compose MailItem......Page 151 Read MailItem......Page 160 Adding an Electronic Business Card......Page 164 Create a To-Do Item......Page 165 PostItem Object......Page 167 AppointmentItem Object......Page 168 One-Time Appointments......Page 169 All-Day Events......Page 171 Appointment Attendees......Page 172 Recurring Appointments......Page 174 MeetingItem Object......Page 182 Working with Contact Properties......Page 186 Electronic Business Cards......Page 188 Creating a Recurring Task......Page 190 TaskRequestItem Object......Page 191 Working with Task Requests......Page 192 DistListItem Object......Page 194 NoteItem Object......Page 195 StorageItem Object......Page 196 Summary......Page 198 Exchange Server......Page 199 Accounts Collection and Account Object......Page 201 Stores Collection......Page 202 Adding or Removing a Store Programmatically......Page 203 Working with the Store Object......Page 204 An Overview of Folder Types......Page 206 Folders Collection......Page 208 Folder Object......Page 210 Working with the Folder Object......Page 211 Folder Properties and Methods......Page 215 Folder Permissions......Page 219 Assigning Folder Permissions......Page 220 Assigning Roles......Page 221 Performance Considerations......Page 222 OutlookItem Helper Class......Page 223 Items Collection......Page 224 Table Object......Page 229 Summary......Page 242 Exchange Global Address List......Page 243 Offline Address Book......Page 244 Other Address Book Providers......Page 245 The CreateRecipient Method......Page 246 Working with the Recipients Collection Object......Page 248 Obtaining the SMTP Address of a Recipient......Page 251 The AddressListType Property......Page 252 Finding a Specific AddressList Object......Page 253 Determining the Contacts Folder for a Contacts Address Book......Page 254 The AddressEntries Collection and AddressEntry Object......Page 255 The AddressEntryUserType Property......Page 256 The GetAddressEntryFromID Method......Page 257 Displaying AddressEntry Details......Page 259 Getting Availability Information for a User......Page 260 Working with ExchangeUser Properties......Page 262 Obtaining an ExchangeUser Object from an AddressEntry Object......Page 263 The GetDirectReports Method......Page 264 The GetMemberOfList Method......Page 265 The ExchangeDistributionList Object......Page 266 The GetExchangeDistributionListMembers Method......Page 267 The SelectNamesDialog Object......Page 268 Using the SetDefaultDisplayMode Method......Page 269 Dialog Caption and Recipient Selectors......Page 270 Setting the InitialAddressList Property......Page 271 Using SelectNamesDialog.Recipients......Page 273 Summary......Page 274 Writing Event Handlers in Managed Code......Page 275 Hooking Up Events in Visual Basic .NET......Page 277 Hooking Up Events in C#......Page 279 Application Object Events......Page 282 Explorers Collection Event......Page 287 Explorer Object Events......Page 290 Folder Object Events......Page 292 Inspectors Collection Event......Page 293 Inspector Object Events......Page 296 Items Collection Events......Page 297 Item-Level Events......Page 298 Namespace Object Events......Page 302 OutlookBarPane Object Events......Page 303 OutlookBarShortcut Object Events......Page 304 Stores Collection Events......Page 305 Reminders Collection Events......Page 306 Views Collection Events......Page 307 Summary......Page 308 Sharing in iCalendar Format......Page 309 Sharing a Calendar Through E-Mail......Page 310 Saving a Calendar to Disk......Page 311 Saving an Appointment to Disk......Page 312 Opening an iCalendar File......Page 313 RSS Feeds......Page 314 SharePoint Folders......Page 315 Internet Calendars......Page 317 Using the SharingItem Object......Page 318 Sharing a Folder with a Sharing Invitation......Page 319 Requesting Folder Access with a Sharing Request......Page 320 Processing a Sharing Item......Page 321 Summary......Page 323 The Categories Collection and Category Objects......Page 324 Assigning One or More Categories to an Item......Page 326 Displaying the Categories Dialog Box......Page 327 Controlling Visibility of the To-Do Bar......Page 328 Creating To-Do Items That Appear in the To-Do Bar......Page 329 Overview of Rules Programming......Page 330 Rules Collection......Page 333 The Rule Object......Page 337 The RuleActions Collection......Page 339 The RuleConditions Collection......Page 341 Get or Set Action or Condition Properties with an Array......Page 344 Rules Sample Add-In......Page 345 When to Use a Search Folder......Page 346 Enumerating Search Folders......Page 347 Creating a Search Folder Programmatically......Page 348 Objects That Derive from the View Object......Page 352 Adding or Removing a View Programmatically......Page 353 Specifying Fields in a View......Page 354 Sorting Items in a View......Page 356 The AutoFormatRules Collection......Page 357 Summary......Page 361 Outlook Query Languages......Page 362 AQS......Page 364 DASL......Page 369 Filtering Recurring Items in the Calendar Folder......Page 381 Time Zones Used in Comparison......Page 383 Conversion to UTC for DASL Queries......Page 384 Integer Comparisons......Page 385 DASL......Page 386 Logical Operators......Page 387 Search Entry Points......Page 388 Performance......Page 391 Read-Only vs. Read/Write......Page 392 Windows Desktop Search......Page 393 Summary......Page 394 Part IV: Providing a User Interface for Your Solution......Page 395 Decoding the User Interface......Page 396 The Explorer Window (The Explorer Object)......Page 397 The Explorers Collection......Page 398 The Inspector Window (The Inspector Object)......Page 402 The Inspectors Collection......Page 403 Making the Most of Navigation Modules......Page 405 Adding Structure with Navigation Groups......Page 407 Removing Folders......Page 409 Customizing the Reading Pane......Page 410 Context Menus......Page 411 Folder Home Pages......Page 414 Summary......Page 415 Introduction to Form Regions......Page 416 Form Region Types......Page 417 Standard Form Types......Page 420 Becoming Familiar with Form Region Design......Page 421 Designing a Form Region......Page 422 Adding Controls......Page 424 Working with Fields......Page 428 Polishing Your Form Region......Page 431 Step 1: Creating a Form Region......Page 436 Step 2: Writing Business Logic......Page 440 Step 3: Registering the Form Region......Page 448 Advanced Form Region Methods......Page 458 Summary......Page 459 The Outlook Combo Box......Page 460 The Outlook Command Button......Page 461 The Outlook Option Button......Page 462 The Outlook Business Card Control......Page 463 The Outlook Category Control......Page 464 The Outlook Contact Photo Control......Page 465 The Outlook Frame Header Control......Page 466 The Outlook InfoBar Control......Page 467 The Outlook Page Control......Page 468 The Outlook Sender Photo Control......Page 469 The Outlook Time Zone Control......Page 470 The Outlook Time Control......Page 471 Adding Controls to the Control Toolbox......Page 472 Adding Controls Programmatically......Page 473 Programmatic Access to Controls......Page 475 Summary......Page 477 Introducing Ribbon Extensibility......Page 478 What Happens with Existing Code......Page 479 Installation Instructions......Page 483 Modifying Your Code to Use RibbonX......Page 484 Authoring Ribbon XML......Page 486 IRibbonExtensibility Interface......Page 487 Detecting Errors......Page 490 NewInspector Event......Page 491 OutlookInspector Class......Page 492 IRibbonControl Object......Page 493 Summary......Page 495 Custom Task Panes......Page 496 Implementing a Custom Task Pane......Page 497 Adding a Custom Task Pane in an Add-In......Page 500 Custom Property Pages......Page 503 Designing a Custom Property Page......Page 504 Summary......Page 511 Part V: Advanced Topics......Page 512 Scenarios for PropertyAccessor......Page 513 Objects That Implement PropertyAccessor......Page 514 Obtaining a Specific SchemaName String......Page 515 The Proptag Namespace......Page 516 Named Property ID Namespace......Page 517 Named Property String Namespace......Page 518 Office Namespaces......Page 519 DAV Namespaces......Page 520 The GetProperty Method......Page 521 The SetProperty Method......Page 522 The GetProperties Method......Page 523 The SetProperties Method......Page 524 The DeleteProperties Method......Page 525 Multivalued Properties......Page 526 Helper Methods......Page 527 Detecting and Reporting Error Conditions......Page 529 Property Size Limitations......Page 530 Summary......Page 531 Creating a Setup Project......Page 532 Registry Keys Required for an Add-In......Page 533 .NET Framework Version 2.0......Page 535 Visual Studio Tools for Office Runtime......Page 536 Primary Interop Assemblies......Page 537 Writing Custom Actions......Page 539 Summary......Page 540 Code Security for Outlook 2007......Page 541 Guard Principles......Page 544 Security Warning Types......Page 545 Detecting Trusted State......Page 547 Restricted Properties and Methods......Page 548 Trustable Shared Add-Ins......Page 553 Trust Center......Page 554 Group Policy Security for COM Add-Ins......Page 557 Configuring a Security Policy......Page 558 Trusting an Add-In......Page 559 Form Region Policy......Page 562 Folder Home Page Policy......Page 563 Summary......Page 564 Index......Page 565 About the Authors......Page 591 Get the comprehensive reference for extending Microsoft Office Outlook 2007. Many knowledge workers rely on Office Outlook to help them structure their days managing e-mail messages, calendars, contacts, and tasks. Now, with new extensibility features in Office Outlook 2007, developers can create add-ins that allow data from other tools and applications to be hosted within Outlook 2007. By gathering more information together in one application and one so familiar users can experience increased levels of productivity. This complete guide shows developers how to exploit the new features in Office Outlook 2007 to extend, adapt, and customize information flow to the desktop. Includes code samples in Microsoft Visual Basic® and Microsoft Visual C#®. Delivers authoritative platform guidance to inform developers when add-in and form customizations are appropriate. Provides add-in templates and extensive code samples in Visual Basic and Visual C# (with additional information about Visual C++). Features end-to-end sample applications. Visit the catalog page for Programming Applications for Microsoft® Office Outlook® 2007Visit the errata page for Programming Applications for Microsoft® Office Outlook® 2007Download the supplemental electronic content for Programming Applications for Microsoft® Office Outlook® 2007

Get the definitive guide to learning how to exploit the built-in functionality in Outlook 2007. Written by two experts on Outlook extensibility, this book delivers practical guidance and extensive code samples to help you extend, adapt, and customize information flow to the desktop.

Discover how to:

• Programmatically create built-in item types to expose Outlook functionality in your solution
• Use the Items collection and Table object to access containers for Outlook items
• Connect to shared folders, Internet calendars, and RSS subscriptions
• Write event handlers and hook up event delegates for Outlook objects
• Implement programmatic search and organizational schemas
• Add controls at design-time or runtime to help you build rich form regions
• Extend the Office Fluent Ribbon with customized task panes and property pages
• Develop trusted add-ins that do not display security prompts
• Write registry keys, install required assemblies, and deploy your solution

Companion Web site includes:

• Code samples in Microsoft Visual Basic and Visual C#
• Reusable code snippets
• Add-in templates and samples