[Outlook] Adding a new form in "FolderView" - any way to get rid of the original "Folder View"?

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[Outlook] Adding a new form in "FolderView" - any way to get rid of the original "Folder View"?
 
Chris McAtackney


Guest


I've added a new form to the Explorer in Outlook as follows;

myFormItem.ExplorerLayout = ADXOlExplorerLayout.FolderView;

When Outlook loads, my form seems to be created in addition to the default "Folder View" in Outlook, rather than replacing it. This results in a header being visible, as well as some form switcher interface (a drop down and some arrow controls)

[img]http://imgur.com/njYTDFq[/img]

My question is... can I make my form be the only form that shows up? In certain situations (based on user actions with other controls elsewhere), I only want my form to show up in the FolderView - I do not want the default Outlook one to be available.

Is this possible?

Thanks for your help,
Chris 

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Posted 21 Jan, 2014 09:51:15 Top
Andrei Smolin


Add-in Express team


Posts: 18830
 Joined: 2006-05-11
Hello Chris,

Consider using ADXOlExplorerLayout.WebViewPane.

I suggest that you search the manual - see the PDF file in the folder {Add-in Express}\Docs on your development PC. There are some useful notes regarding this layout.


Andrei Smolin
Add-in Express Team Leader
Posted 22 Jan, 2014 01:02:11 Top
Chris McA


Guest


Hi Andrei,

I had looked at the WebViewPane, but the trouble is that I still require the "Reading Pane" to be viewable - which as far as I can tell it is not when using the WebViewPane - is this correct?
Posted 22 Jan, 2014 02:38:22 Top
Andrei Smolin


Add-in Express team


Posts: 18830
 Joined: 2006-05-11
Chris,

Yes, WebViewPane hides the Reading Pane.

With ADXOlExplorerLayout.FolderView, you can call ADXOlForm.Activate in the ADXOlForm.ADXBeforeFormShow event to show your form automatically when switching to that folder. You cannot hide the controls allowing the user to switch to the list of items.


Andrei Smolin
Add-in Express Team Leader
Posted 22 Jan, 2014 03:09:42 Top
Chris McA


Guest


Hi Andrei,

Hm, that's a shame that I can't hide the control that allows the user to switch forms. Is this just something that Outlook doesn't provide any control over via the APIs? Even in any unsupported way?

On another tangent, regarding the Reading Pane - are you aware of any method or approach that would allow the reading pane control to be programmatically initialised and hosted, say in a Win Forms host control?

Thanks,
Chris
Posted 22 Jan, 2014 03:53:22 Top
Andrei Smolin


Add-in Express team


Posts: 18830
 Joined: 2006-05-11
Chris,

#1. Outlook doesn't provide this.
#2. No such way exists.

What are you trying to achieve? Could you please provide more details?


Andrei Smolin
Add-in Express Team Leader
Posted 22 Jan, 2014 05:20:11 Top
Chris McA


Guest


Andrei,

At a very basic level, I want my own custom item list to appear for certain folders, whilst still preserving the reading pane capability.

Obviously the reading pane is driven by the currently selected item, but I would control that in the background based on the actions of the user in my custom item list.

I've tinkered with the idea of applying a view to the folder which has all the columns removed, or some other combination of settings which render it unusable or invisible, but haven't gotten too far with this approach yet.
Posted 22 Jan, 2014 05:40:08 Top
Andrei Smolin


Add-in Express team


Posts: 18830
 Joined: 2006-05-11
Chris,

Unfortunately, Add-in Express doesn't support creating a form to replace the list of items in the Outlook Explorer window. We will consider implementing this but I wouldn't like to give any promises.


Andrei Smolin
Add-in Express Team Leader
Posted 22 Jan, 2014 08:46:19 Top
Chris McA


Guest


Andrei,

That's no problem - thanks for taking the time to discuss my requirements here.

I think I can probably achieve the result I want by using a control which implements the IPreviewHandler functionality and embedding this in a form displayed in the WebViewPane.

I've been able to prototype a limited version of this myself, and I think with some refinement I can end up with something that roughly matches what Outlook provides.

Thanks again - much appreciated!
Chris
Posted 22 Jan, 2014 08:52:41 Top