Hello,

I want to create an application that integrates with Outlook.

The following are some of the requirements that I have.

I want to have my own custom item type. Items of this type will be
stored inside an Outlook folder. That item type is not really a good
fit with any of the existing built-in Outlook item types (Mail, Post,
Note, Contact, etc). At a push, if I *had* to base it on an existing
type I would probably use 'Post', but I really don't want to do that.

When I click on the folder in the left pane that stores items of my
custom type, I want a list of the items in that folder to be displayed
in the right hand pane, but I want the display to be under my control,
so I generate the list and decide what properties or 'fields' of each
item are shown in the list. Essentially, I want total control over the
display of the right hand pane when you select my folder in the left
hand pane.

In addition, I want to customise the context menu you see when you
right click on the folder in the left pane.

I also want to customise (or have complete control over) the context
menu that appears when you select one of my custom items in the right
hand pane. When one of these items is 'Opened' (either from the context
menu or a double click) I want to show a form that displays all the
information about that item. This form can be potentially very complex,
including lots of controls.

I've done lots of research about the various technologies associated
with Outlook, and am aware about custom form design and add-ins, along
with the different APIs involved (Outlook Object Model, CDO, Extended
MAPI, Redemption). I've generated a simple add-in using C# that makes
use of the OOM and CDO, but that doesn't give me the tight integration
I require.

I don't really want to use VBscript to control the custom form; I would
prefer to use something more powerful such as one of the .NET
languages. I've read about the problems of using MAPI in C#, and have
no problem with using C++ if I have to.

This all needs to work in Outlook 2000, 2002 and 2003.

I'd be grateful if someone could confirm that the things I am
describing above can be done in Outlook. I also have the following
specific questions:

(1) Is it true that to define my own custom item type and code a
complex form for it in C#/C++ I will have to use Extended MAPI? None of
the other APIs see to be suitable.

(2) What APIs do I use for hooking into the menus?

(3) I'm sightly worried about how much control I have over the list of
custom items on the right hand side display when you select my folder
in the left hand side. How would I hook into Outlook to provide my own
display here?

Thanks in advance.

Rob

i can implement your all requirement using c#