MVP Helmut Obertanner contributed two new code samples recently in May:

• How to: Import Appointment XML Data into Outlook Appointment Objects
• How to: Obtain and Log On to an Instance of Outlook  

These code samples are presented in managed code (C# and Visual Basic). They are particularly interesting because they demonstrate the use of the .NET Framework Class Library together with the Outlook Primary Interop Assembly. "How to: Import Appointment XML Data into Outlook Appointment Objects" shows how to use the Microsoft COM implementation of the XML Document Object Model (DOM) to load and process appointment data in XML and return the data in Outlook AppointmentItem objects. "How to: Obtain and Log On to an Instance of Outlook" shows how to use Microsoft Language Integrated Query (LINQ) to verify if there is an Outlook process running on a computer.

You can view these code samples on the Office Online version of the Outook 2007 Developer Reference:

1. In Outlook, click F1.
2. Click the down arrow next to Search.
3. Under Content from Office Online, select Developer Reference if it is not already selected.
4. In the text box adjacent to Search, type a related search string such as "XML", "appointment", or "import" to find the topic "How to: Import Appointment XML Data into Outlook Appointment Objects".
5. Similarly, type a search string such as "log on" or "Outlook instance" to find "How to: Obtain and Log On to an Instance of Outlook".

Starting from this update, you can select from the TOC or search for the topic "Latest Additions to the Outlook Developer Reference" to see updates to the Outlook 2007 Developer Reference in the most recent quarter. Code samples from Helmut in the last couple of months are listed there.

As usual, you can also select from the TOC or search for the topic "How Do I ... in Outlook" which lists all the how-to topics in the Outlook developer help.