Hello,

I am in the process of creating new Views in Outlook 2007 (C#, VSTO 2008)
and one criteria is to display the Icon property for tasks in both to the
Task Pane, and the To-do Bar.

I am able to programatically create new Views that work perfectly in the
Task Pane, however, I have been unable to figure out how to programmatically
modify the view used in the to-do bar. If any one can point me in the right
direction, I would greatly appreciate it as all I would like to do is add the
Icon property.

Thanks,
Ryan Taylor

The To-Do Bar is actually a view of a search folder. The search folder,
To-Do Search, is stored under the Store.RootFolder. You can access it using
this code (assuming you want to get at the To-Do Search folder in the
default Store and "ns" is a NameSpace object:

Outlook.Store defaultStore =
ns.GetDefaultFolder(Outlook.OlDefaultFolder.olFold erInbox).Store;

Outlook.Folder toDo =
defaultStore.GetSpecialFolder(Outlook.OlSpecialFol ders.olSpecialFolderAllTasks);

From there you can access the Views collection of the folder and proceed
normally.
--
Ken Slovak
[MVP - Outlook]
http://www.slovaktech.com
Author: Professional Programming Outlook 2007
Reminder Manager, Extended Reminders, Attachment Options
http://www.slovaktech.com/products.htm


"Ryan Taylor" wrote in message
...
Hello,

I am in the process of creating new Views in Outlook 2007 (C#, VSTO 2008)
and one criteria is to display the Icon property for tasks in both to the
Task Pane, and the To-do Bar.

I am able to programatically create new Views that work perfectly in the
Task Pane, however, I have been unable to figure out how to
programmatically
modify the view used in the to-do bar. If any one can point me in the
right
direction, I would greatly appreciate it as all I would like to do is add
the
Icon property.

Thanks,
Ryan Taylor

Hi Ken,

Thank you for your quick reply. I tried what you suggested however it
didn't seem to work. I have included the relevant portion of code below, if
you could take a look at it and what I might have missed from your sample, I
would greatly appreciate it.

I am basically just analyzing the current view of the to-do bar and if it
doesn't have the Icon property, trying to add it. I noticed that it WILL add
the icon to the to-list view that you can choose from the task pane, however
it does not seem to add it to the view showing on the to-do bar.


Code
=============
public void somemethod()
{
Folder inboxFolder =
_app.Session.GetDefaultFolder(OlDefaultFolders.olF olderInbox) as Folder;
Folder todoBarFolder =
inboxFolder.Store.GetSpecialFolder(OlSpecialFolder s.olSpecialFolderAllTasks)
as Folder;
EnsureIcon(todoBarFolder);
}

private void EnsureIcon(Folder todoBarFolder)
{
TableView view = todoBarFolder.CurrentView as TableView;
bool containsIcon = false;
foreach (object o in view.ViewFields)
{
ViewField field = o as ViewField;
if (field == null)
continue;
if (field.ViewXMLSchemaName.Equals(ICON_NAME,
StringComparison.InvariantCultureIgnoreCase))
{
containsIcon = true;
break;
}
}
if (!containsIcon)
{
view.ViewFields.Insert(ICON_NAME, 1);
view.Save();
}
}
=============

The biggest difference that I see from your code and mine is that I am using
_app.Session, instead of going through the namespace, but I tried both and it
didn't seem to make a difference.

Thanks,
Ryan

"Ken Slovak - [MVP - Outlook]" wrote:

The To-Do Bar is actually a view of a search folder. The search folder,
To-Do Search, is stored under the Store.RootFolder. You can access it using
this code (assuming you want to get at the To-Do Search folder in the
default Store and "ns" is a NameSpace object:

Outlook.Store defaultStore =
ns.GetDefaultFolder(Outlook.OlDefaultFolder.olFold erInbox).Store;

Outlook.Folder toDo =
defaultStore.GetSpecialFolder(Outlook.OlSpecialFol ders.olSpecialFolderAllTasks);

From there you can access the Views collection of the folder and proceed
normally.
--
Ken Slovak
[MVP - Outlook]
http://www.slovaktech.com
Author: Professional Programming Outlook 2007
Reminder Manager, Extended Reminders, Attachment Options
http://www.slovaktech.com/products.htm


"Ryan Taylor" wrote in message
...
Hello,

I am in the process of creating new Views in Outlook 2007 (C#, VSTO 2008)
and one criteria is to display the Icon property for tasks in both to the
Task Pane, and the To-do Bar.

I am able to programatically create new Views that work perfectly in the
Task Pane, however, I have been unable to figure out how to
programmatically
modify the view used in the to-do bar. If any one can point me in the
right
direction, I would greatly appreciate it as all I would like to do is add
the
Icon property.

Thanks,
Ryan Taylor

I guess it all depends on the view itself. I was able to use similar code to
add ReminderTime to the ToDo Bar view, but even though the field is now
there in the view XML and ViewProperties collection it doesn't show up in
the view itself in the UI. The ToDo Bar has some formatting that's on it
that's very hard to change. It has that Arrange By and other things that
prevent some data from showing up.

--
Ken Slovak
[MVP - Outlook]
http://www.slovaktech.com
Author: Professional Programming Outlook 2007
Reminder Manager, Extended Reminders, Attachment Options
http://www.slovaktech.com/products.htm


"Ryan Taylor" wrote in message
...
Hi Ken,

Thank you for your quick reply. I tried what you suggested however it
didn't seem to work. I have included the relevant portion of code below,
if
you could take a look at it and what I might have missed from your sample,
I
would greatly appreciate it.

I am basically just analyzing the current view of the to-do bar and if it
doesn't have the Icon property, trying to add it. I noticed that it WILL
add
the icon to the to-list view that you can choose from the task pane,
however
it does not seem to add it to the view showing on the to-do bar.


Code
=============
public void somemethod()
{
Folder inboxFolder =
_app.Session.GetDefaultFolder(OlDefaultFolders.olF olderInbox) as Folder;
Folder todoBarFolder =
inboxFolder.Store.GetSpecialFolder(OlSpecialFolder s.olSpecialFolderAllTasks)
as Folder;
EnsureIcon(todoBarFolder);
}

private void EnsureIcon(Folder todoBarFolder)
{
TableView view = todoBarFolder.CurrentView as TableView;
bool containsIcon = false;
foreach (object o in view.ViewFields)
{
ViewField field = o as ViewField;
if (field == null)
continue;
if (field.ViewXMLSchemaName.Equals(ICON_NAME,
StringComparison.InvariantCultureIgnoreCase))
{
containsIcon = true;
break;
}
}
if (!containsIcon)
{
view.ViewFields.Insert(ICON_NAME, 1);
view.Save();
}
}
=============

The biggest difference that I see from your code and mine is that I am
using
_app.Session, instead of going through the namespace, but I tried both and
it
didn't seem to make a difference.

Thanks,
Ryan

Hi Ken,

It sounds like your results were similar to mine. It seems like we just
aren't getting the correct view, it seems like the view the To-do bar is
using ia view from somewhere else even though it has the same name as the
other view. We are able to manually add the icon property by right clicking
on the header (for example: right click on the Arrange by column) and
choosing "Custom...". However, a major peice of this project is showing the
icons for the task, specifically in the to-do bar, so I need to be able to
make sure I can show them without depending on the user to manually go
through the process. Can you think of anything else that we can try?

Thanks again for your help, it is greatly appreciated.

Best Regards,
Ryan Taylor

"Ken Slovak - [MVP - Outlook]" wrote:

I guess it all depends on the view itself. I was able to use similar code to
add ReminderTime to the ToDo Bar view, but even though the field is now
there in the view XML and ViewProperties collection it doesn't show up in
the view itself in the UI. The ToDo Bar has some formatting that's on it
that's very hard to change. It has that Arrange By and other things that
prevent some data from showing up.

--
Ken Slovak
[MVP - Outlook]
http://www.slovaktech.com
Author: Professional Programming Outlook 2007
Reminder Manager, Extended Reminders, Attachment Options
http://www.slovaktech.com/products.htm


"Ryan Taylor" wrote in message
...
Hi Ken,

Thank you for your quick reply. I tried what you suggested however it
didn't seem to work. I have included the relevant portion of code below,
if
you could take a look at it and what I might have missed from your sample,
I
would greatly appreciate it.

I am basically just analyzing the current view of the to-do bar and if it
doesn't have the Icon property, trying to add it. I noticed that it WILL
add
the icon to the to-list view that you can choose from the task pane,
however
it does not seem to add it to the view showing on the to-do bar.


Code
=============
public void somemethod()
{
Folder inboxFolder =
_app.Session.GetDefaultFolder(OlDefaultFolders.olF olderInbox) as Folder;
Folder todoBarFolder =
inboxFolder.Store.GetSpecialFolder(OlSpecialFolder s.olSpecialFolderAllTasks)
as Folder;
EnsureIcon(todoBarFolder);
}

private void EnsureIcon(Folder todoBarFolder)
{
TableView view = todoBarFolder.CurrentView as TableView;
bool containsIcon = false;
foreach (object o in view.ViewFields)
{
ViewField field = o as ViewField;
if (field == null)
continue;
if (field.ViewXMLSchemaName.Equals(ICON_NAME,
StringComparison.InvariantCultureIgnoreCase))
{
containsIcon = true;
break;
}
}
if (!containsIcon)
{
view.ViewFields.Insert(ICON_NAME, 1);
view.Save();
}
}
=============

The biggest difference that I see from your code and mine is that I am
using
_app.Session, instead of going through the namespace, but I tried both and
it
didn't seem to make a difference.

Thanks,
Ryan

Well, I've had limited success in customizing views of almost any type of
search folder in the past, and the To-Do Bar is just a view into a search
folder. I haven't spent a lot of time on it though, if I have any time
tomorrow I'll play around with it for a while.

--
Ken Slovak
[MVP - Outlook]
http://www.slovaktech.com
Author: Professional Programming Outlook 2007
Reminder Manager, Extended Reminders, Attachment Options
http://www.slovaktech.com/products.htm


"Ryan Taylor" wrote in message
...
Hi Ken,

It sounds like your results were similar to mine. It seems like we just
aren't getting the correct view, it seems like the view the To-do bar is
using ia view from somewhere else even though it has the same name as the
other view. We are able to manually add the icon property by right
clicking
on the header (for example: right click on the Arrange by column) and
choosing "Custom...". However, a major peice of this project is showing
the
icons for the task, specifically in the to-do bar, so I need to be able to
make sure I can show them without depending on the user to manually go
through the process. Can you think of anything else that we can try?

Thanks again for your help, it is greatly appreciated.

Best Regards,
Ryan Taylor

Thanks Ken, it would be really great if you are able to find something.

Thanks,
Ryan

"Ken Slovak - [MVP - Outlook]" wrote:

Well, I've had limited success in customizing views of almost any type of
search folder in the past, and the To-Do Bar is just a view into a search
folder. I haven't spent a lot of time on it though, if I have any time
tomorrow I'll play around with it for a while.

--
Ken Slovak
[MVP - Outlook]
http://www.slovaktech.com
Author: Professional Programming Outlook 2007
Reminder Manager, Extended Reminders, Attachment Options
http://www.slovaktech.com/products.htm


"Ryan Taylor" wrote in message
...
Hi Ken,

It sounds like your results were similar to mine. It seems like we just
aren't getting the correct view, it seems like the view the To-do bar is
using ia view from somewhere else even though it has the same name as the
other view. We are able to manually add the icon property by right
clicking
on the header (for example: right click on the Arrange by column) and
choosing "Custom...". However, a major peice of this project is showing
the
icons for the task, specifically in the to-do bar, so I need to be able to
make sure I can show them without depending on the user to manually go
through the process. Can you think of anything else that we can try?

Thanks again for your help, it is greatly appreciated.

Best Regards,
Ryan Taylor

Hi Ken,

I was wondering if you had any luck with getting other fields (namely the
icon) to show up on the to-do bar programmatically?

Thanks,
Ryan


"Ryan Taylor" wrote:

Thanks Ken, it would be really great if you are able to find something.

Thanks,
Ryan

"Ken Slovak - [MVP - Outlook]" wrote:

Well, I've had limited success in customizing views of almost any type of
search folder in the past, and the To-Do Bar is just a view into a search
folder. I haven't spent a lot of time on it though, if I have any time
tomorrow I'll play around with it for a while.

--
Ken Slovak
[MVP - Outlook]
http://www.slovaktech.com
Author: Professional Programming Outlook 2007
Reminder Manager, Extended Reminders, Attachment Options
http://www.slovaktech.com/products.htm


"Ryan Taylor" wrote in message
...
Hi Ken,

It sounds like your results were similar to mine. It seems like we just
aren't getting the correct view, it seems like the view the To-do bar is
using ia view from somewhere else even though it has the same name as the
other view. We are able to manually add the icon property by right
clicking
on the header (for example: right click on the Arrange by column) and
choosing "Custom...". However, a major peice of this project is showing
the
icons for the task, specifically in the to-do bar, so I need to be able to
make sure I can show them without depending on the user to manually go
through the process. Can you think of anything else that we can try?

Thanks again for your help, it is greatly appreciated.

Best Regards,
Ryan Taylor

No luck at all.

--
Ken Slovak
[MVP - Outlook]
http://www.slovaktech.com
Author: Professional Programming Outlook 2007
Reminder Manager, Extended Reminders, Attachment Options
http://www.slovaktech.com/products.htm


"Ryan Taylor" wrote in message
...
Hi Ken,

I was wondering if you had any luck with getting other fields (namely the
icon) to show up on the to-do bar programmatically?

Thanks,
Ryan

Fair enough, thanks for all of the time you spent looking. I wasn't able to
find anything either. Do you know what other otions I have in terms of
finding a solution to this problem?

Thanks,
Ryan


"Ken Slovak - [MVP - Outlook]" wrote:

No luck at all.

--
Ken Slovak
[MVP - Outlook]
http://www.slovaktech.com
Author: Professional Programming Outlook 2007
Reminder Manager, Extended Reminders, Attachment Options
http://www.slovaktech.com/products.htm


"Ryan Taylor" wrote in message
...
Hi Ken,

I was wondering if you had any luck with getting other fields (namely the
icon) to show up on the to-do bar programmatically?

Thanks,
Ryan