KB: Outlook Object Model Limitations

...I added a new category for this post called "KB" which is for noting KB articles that are new or important...

The Outlook Object Model does not provide full access to all the features of the application. The following KB article details some of the limitations of the object model.

294869 Description of limitations in Outlook object model
https://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;294869

...This article was written for Outlook 2003's version of the object model. It also provides links to some of the earlier versions of Outlook as well. It is always important to research the limitations of any API you choice to implement a messaging solution. Some of the other office products give you an API which will essentially give you access to everything the UI will. Outlook is not one of them...

...Another point that is not noted in the article is that the Outlook Object Model is only supported for interactive use and not in background processes. This means that OOM code is not supported in server side script in web pages or within a Windows service or COM+ component. If you need to use OOM in a web application it would have to be in client side script and preferrably in an ActiveX Control...