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Automation (formerly OLE Automation) allows one program to control another
program by either issuing commands or retrieving information
programmatically. You can use the code examples in this article in
Microsoft Word 97, Microsoft Excel 97, Microsoft Visual Basic, or any other
program that supports Automation.
Early vs. Late Binding
You can use either "early" or "late" binding to start an automation
session. Late binding uses either the GetObject or CreateObject command to
initialize Outlook. For example, the following code sets an object to the
Outlook program, which is the highest level object in the Outlook object
model. All automation code must first define an Outlook.Application object
in order to access any of the other Outlook objects below that.
Dim objOL as Object
Set objOL = CreateObject("Outlook.Application")
To use early binding, you first need to "Reference" the available Outlook
Object Library. To do this from Visual Basic (VB) or Visual Basic for
Applications, on the Visual Basic Editor Tools menu, click References.
Select "Microsoft Outlook 8.0 Object Library" from the list and click OK.
The object library file is Msoutl8.olb and by default installs to the
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office folder.
Once you reference the Outlook Object Library, you can use the following
syntax to start an Outlook session:
Set ol = New Outlook.Application
Using early binding has two important advantages. First, code using early
binding runs faster than code using late binding (CreateObject/GetObject).
Second, because you reference the Outlook Object Library, you can get on-
line Outlook programming help using the object browser and Help system.
The Outlook Object Model
The Outlook object model provides all of the functionality necessary to
manipulate data stored in Outlook folders. However, there is limited
functionality available to control Outlook itself. For example, there is no
programming method to change the Options settings on the Tools menu, in
Outlook via the object model.
You can use the CommandBars object provided by Microsoft Office to execute
commands that are assigned to either toolbar buttons or menu items. For
example, you can use the CommandBars object to execute the Tools/Dial/New
Call command to bring up the New Call dialog box.
Most programming solutions need to interact with the data stored in
Outlook. Outlook stores all of it's information in Messaging Application
Programming Interface (MAPI) folders. Therefore, after you set an object
variable to Outlook.Application, you will commonly set a "Namespace" object
to MAPI:
Set ol = New Outlook.Application
Set olns = ol.GetNamespace("MAPI")
Once you set the NameSpace object, you are ready to set the next object to
a folder within the MAPI Namespace. One common way of doing this is by
specifying Outlook's "default" folders, which are the folders at the same
folder level as the Inbox that receives incoming mail. The following code
will set the objFolder object to the default Contacts folder:
Set ol = New Outlook.Application
Set olns = ol.GetNamespace("MAPI")
Set objFolder = olns.GetDefaultFolder(olFolderContacts)
Once you are programmatically at the folder that contains the items you
wish to either use or create, you must use appropriate code to accomplish
your programming task. See the section below for some common programming
examples.
SAMPLE CODE FOR COMMON PROGRAMMING TASKS
Create a New Default Task Item
Sub CreateNewDefaultOutlookTask()
Dim ol As Object
Dim NewTask As Object
' Set the application object
Set ol = New Outlook.Application
' You can only use CreateItem for default items
' Vbaoutl.hlp lists other Outlook constants to create other items
Set NewTask = ol.CreateItem(olTaskItem)
' Display the new task form so the user can fill it out
NewTask.Display
End Sub
Create a New Task Using a Custom Form
Sub CreateNewContactFromCustomForm()
Dim ol As Object
Dim olns As Object
Dim objFolder As Object
Dim AllContacts As Object
Dim NewContact As Object
' Set the application object
Set ol = New Outlook.Application
' Set the namespace object
Set olns = ol.GetNamespace("MAPI")
' Set the default Contacts folder
Set objFolder = olns.GetDefaultFolder(olFolderContacts)
' Set objAllContacts = the collection of all contacts
Set AllContacts = objFolder.Items
' Add a new contact the AllContacts collection using the
' "IPM.Contact.MyForm" form
Set NewContact = AllContacts.Add("IPM.Contact.MyForm")
' Display the new contact form
NewContact.Display
End Sub
Sample Subroutine Loops Through All the Default Contacts
Sub GetOutlookContacts()
Dim ol As Object
Dim olns As Object
Dim objFolder As Object
Dim objAllContacts As Object
Dim Contact As Object
' Set the application object
Set ol = New Outlook.Application
' Set the namespace object
Set olns = ol.GetNamespace("MAPI")
' Set the default Contacts folder
Set objFolder = olns.GetDefaultFolder(olFolderContacts)
' Set objAllContacts = the collection of all contacts
Set objAllContacts = objFolder.Items
' Loop through each contact
For Each Contact In objAllContacts
' Display the Fullname field for the contact
MsgBox Contact.FullName
Next
End Sub
Tips for Using the Help File
When you use the Vbaoutl.hlp help file, create a shortcut to the file on
your desktop or the Start menu. If you start this Help file from within
another program's Visual Basic Editor, you will not see the Help Contents
tab. Opening the Help file directly gives you more control when navigating
through the contents of the file.
For more information on how to install the Vbaoutl.hlp file, please see the
following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
166738
OL97: How to Install Visual Basic Help
If you're not sure if the Outlook object model supports something you're
trying to do, open the Vbaoutl.hlp help file and click the Find tab and
search for some keywords related to what you are trying to accomplish. If
you do not find a help topic, it is safe to assume the object model does
not support that feature.
Resources for Outlook Automation
There are many resources for learning how to program using Outlook. For
more information on available Outlook programming resources, please see the
following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
166368
OL97: How To Get Help Programming with Outlook
The following list includes some important resources for automating
Outlook, located on the Microsoft Outlook Developer Forum:
- Microsoft Office 97 Developer Edition "Microsoft Office 97 Visual Basic
Programmer's Guide," Chapter 5, "Microsoft Outlook Objects," 95-115,
available on the Microsoft Web site:
- Microsoft Office 97 Developer Edition "Microsoft office 97 Object Model
Guide," Chapter 7, "Object Model Diagrams," 4-33, available on the
Microsoft Web site:
- The Microsoft Outlook 97 Automation Server Programming Model, available
on the Microsoft Web site:
NOTE: Because the Microsoft Web site is regularly updated, the site
address may change without notice. If this occurs, link to the Microsoft
home page at the following address: