Command Line Parameter Changes in Outlook

MSDN Blog Postings » Command Line Parameter Changes in Outlook

MSDN Blog Postings » Command Line Parameter Changes in Outlook — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 21:23:20 GMT

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re: Command Line Parameter Changes in Outlook

Simon Morrish — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 13:25:07 GMT

Hi Ryan

I have a problem with Outlook command lines since SP3.

We use shortcuts to open the different folders. Prior to SP3, command lines like the following worked OK:

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\OUTLOOK.EXE" /folder outlook:calendar /recycle

This now gives the "The command line argument is not valid. Verify the switch you are using" error. I've added the /select switch as follows:

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\OUTLOOK.EXE" /folder /select outlook:calendar /recycle

...but still get the same error. I've found I can use /folder and /recycle on their own, or /select on its own, but not all three together.

This is no good for me. I want shortcuts to open the existing outlook instance to a specific folder. How can I now achieve this?

yours,

Simon

re: Command Line Parameter Changes in Outlook

Bob — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 23:38:13 GMT

Hi Ryan,

I’m writing an application that is a library of PDF documents. The UI has buttons that allow the user to open an Outlook message with the selected PDF(s) automatically attached. It works fine for single attachments but I can’t find a way to programmatically open one email message with multiple attachments.

The command line I’m using is: <full path to outlook> /c ipm.note /m “?subject=Requsted Forms from Human Resources” <full path to PDF>

BTW: As far as I can tell /m and /a are mutually exclusive which forces us to rely on implicit attachment when the /m switch is invoked. Am I missing something?

Thanks.

re: Command Line Parameter Changes in Outlook

rgregg — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 23:57:18 GMT

Hi Bob:

Since you're writing an application, I'd recommend you use Outlook COM object model or Simple MAPI to automate the process of creating a new mail item and attaching multiple files to the message.

Because of changes in Outlook 2003 SP3 and later, you can no longer combine /m and /a, even when the /a is implied. Writing OM or SMAPI code to automate this will work better and be more reliable than using command line parameters.

re: Command Line Parameter Changes in Outlook

rgregg — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 23:59:06 GMT

Simon:

Unfortunately the scenario you are attempting is just broken in SP3. If your solution can be adapted to use the Outlook OM to display a new explorer on a particular folder, I would recommend taking that approach. If that isn’t an option, then please contact Microsoft support to report the issue and optionally request a fix.

--Ryan