Using the Outlook View Control

Availability

Outlook 2002

The OVC version included with the original release of Outlook 2002 had a major security vulnerability and was later replaced in a security update:

• Microsoft Security Bulletin MS01-038: Outlook View Control Exposes Unsafe Functionality

To get the latest version of the OVC, install Office XP Service Pack 2 or any later service pack. See:

• OL2002 Outlook View Control Returns Only the Current Date -- Post SP2 hotfix to add a SelectedDate property

Outlook 2000

The OVC was originally released as part of the Outlook 2000 Team Folders Kit. Since that kit is now officially discontinued, the Outlook 2000 version is available as part of Office 2000 Service Pack 3.

Usage

Basic information is available at:

• Microsoft Outlook View Control Reference (documentation)
• OL2002 General Information About the Outlook View Control
• OL2000 General Information About the Outlook View Control
• OL Developer Information About the Outlook View Control Security Update

If you are using the updated OVC in a web page or other non-Outlook application, omit the View parameter (e.g. <param name="View" value="By Category">) in the initial settings for the control. If you set the View this way, even to value="", more often than not it will cause the control to default to the user's Inbox rather than showing the folder you want. See Outlook View Control View Issue Demo for a demonstration of this problem.

In Outlook 2002 and 2003, you must set the Folder parameter for the OVC. This was not necessary in Outlook 2000, which always displayed the Inbox by default if the Folder was not specified. See OL2002 Outlook View Control Is Blank.

The Outlook 2002 and 2003 OVC versions include a Selection collection for all items selected in the OVC. In Outlook 2000, if the OVC is being used in a folder home page and is displaying that same folder, you can use ActiveExplorer.Selection. A sneaky but messy solution, thanks to Rennie Govenderr at OutlookCode.com, is to open all the items selected and loop through the resulting Inspector objects.

Samples

• Developing Applications with Microsoft Outlook -- Conference session that includes a vacation request form with an Outlook View Control that shows either the user's vacation time to date, using a filter, or the vacations taken by a group of people (from a public folder), depending on the context.
• Script block to handle Outlook View Control events - Outlook 2002 or later
• OVC - Active Explorer Workaround -- Code sample demonstrating how to create a new Explorer object to allow you to execute commands that the OVC itself doesn't support
• Managing Outlook Folders in Office 2003 -- Building new folder home pages with the OVC

Limitations

Outlook 2002 issues fixed in Service Pack 3:

• OL2002 Outlook View Control Returns Only the Current Date - adds a new SelectedDate property
• OL2002 Toolbar Buttons Are Not Available When You Switch Between View Controls on an Outlook Home Folder Page - adds a new ExplorerMultipleControlEvents registry value

Also see:

• OL2000 Outlook View Control's Restriction Property Doesn't Work -- Restriction works only in table and card views
• OL2002 Error Message When You Use Outlook View Control on MultiPage Control
• OL2000 The Wrong Message Is Deleted When You Use the Microsoft Outlook View Control
• OL2002 Outlook View Control Returns Only the Current Date - adds a new SelectedDate property
• Outlook View Controls on a custom Outlook form are reset in Outlook 2003

Notes

Don't use DeferUpdate if you're also planning to apply a Restriction. See the discussion at OVC Restriction Only Functions After Filter.

The Folder parameter is language-dependent. It need the name of the folder or path as seen in the user's Folder List.

Tools

More Information

• Outlook View Control -- article by Michael Gellis
• Troubleshooting the Outlook View Control
• DigiDashLive -- resources for using the OVC in digital dashboards and other web pages
• How to create a resource-only DLL to host an Outlook Today page