How to: Programmatically determine the current Outlook item
Applies to: 
Visual Studio 
Visual Studio for Mac
Note
This article applies to Visual Studio 2017. If you're looking for the latest Visual Studio documentation, see Visual Studio documentation. We recommend upgrading to the latest version of Visual Studio. Download it here
This example uses the Explorer.SelectionChange event to display the name of the current folder and some information about the selected item. The code then displays the selected item.
Applies to: The information in this topic applies to VSTO Add-in projects for Outlook. For more information, see Features available by Office application and project type.
Example
Dim WithEvents currentExplorer As Outlook.Explorer = Nothing
Private Sub ThisAddIn_Startup(ByVal sender As Object, _
ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Me.Startup
currentExplorer = Me.Application.Explorers.Application.ActiveExplorer
AddHandler currentExplorer.SelectionChange, AddressOf _
currentExplorer_Event
End Sub
Public Sub currentExplorer_Event()
Dim selectedFolder As Outlook.MAPIFolder = _
Me.Application.ActiveExplorer().CurrentFolder
Dim expMessage As String = "Your current folder is " _
& selectedFolder.Name & "." & vbCrLf
Dim itemMessage As String = "Item is unknown."
Try
If Me.Application.ActiveExplorer.Selection.Count > 0 Then
Dim selObject As Object = Me.Application.ActiveExplorer _
.Selection.Item(1)
If (TypeOf selObject Is Outlook.MailItem) Then
Dim mailItem As Outlook.MailItem = _
TryCast(selObject, Outlook.MailItem)
itemMessage = "The item is an e-mail message." & _
" The subject is " & mailItem.Subject & "."
mailItem.Display(False)
ElseIf (TypeOf selObject Is Outlook.ContactItem) Then
Dim contactItem As Outlook.ContactItem = _
TryCast(selObject, Outlook.ContactItem)
itemMessage = "The item is a contact." & _
" The full name is " & _
contactItem.Subject & "."
contactItem.Display(False)
ElseIf (TypeOf selObject Is Outlook. _
AppointmentItem) Then
Dim apptItem As Outlook.AppointmentItem = _
TryCast(selObject, Outlook.AppointmentItem)
itemMessage = "The item is an appointment." _
& apptItem.Subject & "."
ElseIf (TypeOf selObject Is Outlook.TaskItem) Then
Dim taskItem As Outlook.TaskItem = _
TryCast(selObject, Outlook.TaskItem)
itemMessage = "The item is a task." & _
" The body is " & taskItem.Body & "."
ElseIf (TypeOf selObject Is Outlook.MeetingItem) Then
Dim meetingItem As Outlook.MeetingItem = _
TryCast(selObject, Outlook.MeetingItem)
itemMessage = "The item is a meeting item. " & _
"The subject is " & meetingItem.Subject & "."
End If
End If
expMessage = expMessage & itemMessage
Catch ex As Exception
expMessage = ex.Message
End Try
MsgBox(expMessage)
End Sub
Outlook.Explorer currentExplorer = null;
private void ThisAddIn_Startup
(object sender, System.EventArgs e)
{
currentExplorer = this.Application.ActiveExplorer();
currentExplorer.SelectionChange += new Outlook
.ExplorerEvents_10_SelectionChangeEventHandler
(CurrentExplorer_Event);
}
private void CurrentExplorer_Event()
{
Outlook.MAPIFolder selectedFolder =
this.Application.ActiveExplorer().CurrentFolder;
String expMessage = "Your current folder is "
+ selectedFolder.Name + ".\n";
String itemMessage = "Item is unknown.";
try
{
if (this.Application.ActiveExplorer().Selection.Count > 0)
{
Object selObject = this.Application.ActiveExplorer().Selection[1];
if (selObject is Outlook.MailItem)
{
Outlook.MailItem mailItem =
(selObject as Outlook.MailItem);
itemMessage = "The item is an e-mail message." +
" The subject is " + mailItem.Subject + ".";
mailItem.Display(false);
}
else if (selObject is Outlook.ContactItem)
{
Outlook.ContactItem contactItem =
(selObject as Outlook.ContactItem);
itemMessage = "The item is a contact." +
" The full name is " + contactItem.Subject + ".";
contactItem.Display(false);
}
else if (selObject is Outlook.AppointmentItem)
{
Outlook.AppointmentItem apptItem =
(selObject as Outlook.AppointmentItem);
itemMessage = "The item is an appointment." +
" The subject is " + apptItem.Subject + ".";
}
else if (selObject is Outlook.TaskItem)
{
Outlook.TaskItem taskItem =
(selObject as Outlook.TaskItem);
itemMessage = "The item is a task. The body is "
+ taskItem.Body + ".";
}
else if (selObject is Outlook.MeetingItem)
{
Outlook.MeetingItem meetingItem =
(selObject as Outlook.MeetingItem);
itemMessage = "The item is a meeting item. " +
"The subject is " + meetingItem.Subject + ".";
}
}
expMessage = expMessage + itemMessage;
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
expMessage = ex.Message;
}
MessageBox.Show(expMessage);
}
Compile the code
This example requires:
- Appointment, contact, and e-mail items in Microsoft Office Outlook.