Recent releases of Microsoft Outlook lack AppleScript, making it impossible to obtain an ID.
As noted, prior versions of Outlook:
- Did not serve a RFC-5322 compliant ID for email messages, making it impossible to create links to emails in Outlook that worked across different instances of Outlook, even for the same user. Nor of course could those links be used between different users.
- Did not provide a method to find the email that matched the RFC-5322 compliant ID of an email.
However, Hookmark can at least construct links in Outlook that work until one upgrades.
Microsoft added AppleScript support to the Outlook product roadmap in Ticket 88537 which is scheduled for General Availability in June 2022.
AppleScript is a language used to automate the actions of the MacOS and many of its applications. We will add support for this feature in the new Outlook for Mac.
* Feature ID: 88537
* Added to roadmap: 12/8/2021
* Last modified: 12/8/2021
* Product(s): Outlook
* Cloud instance(s): GCC, Germany, GCC High, Worldwide (Standard Multi-Tenant), DoD
* Platform(s): Mac
* Release phase(s): Current Channel, Current Channel (Preview), General Availability
If you would like to encourage Microsoft to make Outlook linkable, please get in touch with them. See
Contacting Microsoft about making Microsoft Outlook emails linkable again via AppleScript automation.
Until Microsoft re-introduces Outlook automation, Hookmark users may wish to avoid updating Microsoft Outlook, or roll back if they have updated. Hookmark Forum user @kikangh wrote “[Microsoft] removed the GUI button that allowed us to switch between old and new Outlook, but still kept it as a menu item so I was able to roll back.”.
Workaround for users using the “New Outlook” until it has automation again
Using Hookmark’s powerful search tool (⌘F in Hookmark), you can find Outlook bookmarks by typing URL:outlook and adding whatever other search terms will narrow the search. From there, you can focus on the bookmark (⌃⌘L). That allows you to see and navigate items hooked to the target email. You can also then copy the title for use in Outlook’s search (Copy Markdown Link may be handy here).
