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Problem Statement: Create a macOS Outlook add-in which responds to Calendar move and delete events and calls an API.

Challenge: Most of the links say that this is not possible but there are native Outlook add-ins for Mac already out there. One example is Zoom's New Updates For Outlook Plugin.

How Zoom Plugin appears on an appointment window How Zoom Plugin reacts to when an appointment is moved in calendar

Problem with Office-JS add-in: We know that MS is pushing office add-ins for Mac, however there are some limitations which we cannot live with. Office-JS add-in does not react on move and delete events in a Calendar. I understand that there are notifications that can be subscribed to and required action can be taken. This is also a challenge because our clients won't allow to deploy extra components outside network.

Does anyone have any idea on how to create a native macOS Outlook add-in?

rohit
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1 Answers1

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The add-in you've given as an example isn't a native add-in. It is a web add-in using Office.js. It does not seem to react to events in the Calendar. It is configured for the Calendar read / write surface, so its button appears in that context.

Currently, there is no way to create "native" add-ins for Mac Outlook. If you can describe your scenario and what you aren't able to achieve with web add-ins, we could try and provide a workaround.

Outlook Add-ins Team - MSFT
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  • I have added screenshots to show that Zoom Plug-in is not an Office add-in. Scenerio which we are trying to add is : Call an Internal Deployed API when a meeting is created, Deleted and Moved in Outlook calendar. – rohit Apr 18 '18 at 05:44
  • Hi @Mac-Outlook-Extensibility, Yes it looks like Zoom and Webex plugins for Mac OS are natively developed, but everywhere there is only recommended way to develop such plugins is web-addin only. I am also struggling with so many issues with web addin for Mac platform, and not getting any help on them from MSFT people. It is very disappointing. – Kanak Sony May 11 '18 at 08:57
  • The native add-in model is not supported by outlook Mac and hence no documentation on this. The suggested method is to use the web based model. @KanakSony, kindly let us know what are the issues faced by you and we shall try to resolve those. – Outlook Add-ins Team - MSFT May 15 '18 at 06:18
  • Hi, We have couple of issues - 1.) How can we create .msi /.exe for windows and .pkg /.dmg for Mac distribution - Zoom/webex is having installers and these apps are not distributed via office store. After installation, there code is installed on machines, but in case of web addin - code stays on server. 2.) Web addin ribbon button does not activates (and remains grey out) until User selects a message (this is mentioned in API documentation) but zoom controls remains activated always. (continued in next comment....) – Kanak Sony May 15 '18 at 13:55
  • 3.) Zoom for outlook Mac has - a custom button on the header part of meeting/appointment near Location/Subject/Duration/Starts/Ends .How to do that? (image link for reference)? https://drive.google.com/open?id=1S1SPciql32PQ7xLjpXoLUzQDiNdXbWgm 4.) Outlook addin performance is very slow after deploying on EC2 instance. T2.Medium - server location is US. – Kanak Sony May 15 '18 at 13:56
  • @KanakSony, all the capabilities that you mentioned here are not approved capability. As I mentioned earlier, the Zoom integration is not using any API or capability provided by outlook. Only web add-in is the approved way of building integration. – Outlook Add-ins Team - MSFT May 18 '18 at 09:18