Add Toolbar Control In Outlook To Open A URL

[JRomeo]

Hi:

I'd like to add a control to the standard toolbar of the New Appointment
form, that, when clicked captures the selected Start Time and End Time of the
appointment and navigates to a given URL with these items in the query
string.

This control will need to be implemented on the Exchange side since this
functionality will be for a fairly large user base. I'm assuming COM add-ins
are the way to go, but this is my first time doing this. Can anyone point me
to some code I can modify to suit my needs and perhaps how to implement in
Exchange?

Thanks!

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

You'll need to adjust your expectation. COM add-ins are client applications. Nothing you do on the Exchange side can add a custom command to the Outlook toolbars or menus. Your add-in will need to be installed on every client machine.

Your options for building the add-in depend in part on the Outlook version(s) to be supported. They are ....?

 

[JRomeo]

Thanks Sue.

Outlook 2003 and higher.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

You have a choice then of two different add-in architectures -- classic COM add-ins (shared = IDTExtensibility) and VSTO add-ins. I have long articles on both on my site (see signature) with links to lots of resources. The biggest challenge is that your button in Outlook 2007 will need to be on the new ribbon interface if you want users to be able to find it. My fellow MVP Ken Slovak has posted a lot in the microsoft.public.outlook.program_addins forum on issues related to building an add-in for both versions and still being able to handle the ribbon.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Microsoft Outlook 2007 Programming:
Jumpstart for Power Users and Administrators
http://www.outlookcode.com/article.aspx?id=54