Archive | Outlook Version Compatibility

Introduction

This document is designed to help Salesforce Administrators and IT Departments understand Cirrus Insight for Outlook email client options and feature availability.  Outlook is three different platforms, each with its own set of API’s; Outlook Desktop (for Windows), Outlook Web Access (aka Outlook.com) and Outlook for Mac.

Cirrus Insight Supports:

Outlook Desktop for Windows:  Outlook 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2016.

Outlook for Mac, Outlook Web Access and Outlook Mobile for iOS/Android/Windows Phone:  Microsoft only supports web-addins with 365 Exchange Online, Exchange 2013 and Exchange 2016

Desktop Add-ins vs Web Addins

Outlook offers two add-in types for integration.  The first is a desktop add-in which is only available for Outlook Desktop for Windows.  This is a program that runs locally on the Windows machine, which can be downloaded or deployed via MSI.

The second add-in option is a web add-in, which supports all three Outlook environments; Outlook Desktop, Outlook Web Access and Outlook for Mac.

MicrosoftOutlook Environments & Add-in Types

  Desktop Add-in Web Add-in Notes
Outlook Desktop 2007, 2010 Yes No Only desktop add-ins are supported.
Outlook Desktop 2013 and 2016 Yes Yes Web Add-ins are supported with an Office 365 Subscription using Exchange Online
Outlook Web Access No Yes Supported with an Office 365 or Outlook.com account
Outlook for Mac 2011 No No Does not support add-ins
Outlook for Mac 2016 No Yes Supported with an Office 365 Subscription

 

Desktop vs Web Add-in API Availability

Outlook Environment Desktop Add-in Web Add-in Notes
Outlook Desktop 2007, 2010      
·       Preview Window Yes N/A  
·       Read/Inspector Window Yes N/A  
·       Compose Yes N/A  
·       Calendar Yes N/A  
·       Task Window Yes N/A  
·       Contacts Window Yes N/A  
Outlook Desktop 2013 and 2016      
·       Preview Window Yes Yes  
·       Read/Inspector Window Yes Yes  
·       Compose Yes Yes  
·       Calendar Yes Yes  
·       Task Yes Yes  
·       Contacts Yes Yes  
Outlook Web Access      
·       Preview Window N/A Yes  
·       Read/Inspector Window N/A Yes  
·       Compose N/A Yes  
·       Calendar N/A Yes  
·       Task N/A Yes  
·       Contacts N/A No  
Outlook for Mac 2016      
·       Preview Window N/A Yes  
·       Read/Inspector Window N/A Yes  
·       Compose N/A Yes  
·       Calendar N/A Yes  
·       Task N/A Yes  
·       Contacts N/A No  

 

Key Features & Notes

The Cirrus Insight for Outlook Sidebar has many Salesforce integration features, most of which are fully available.  The list below is designed to call out the features which are not available via each Outlook environment.  Please note these features are restricted primarily due to the differences in the Outlook API on each client environment and as soon as the API opens for each feature it will be supported by Cirrus Insight.

Key Features & Notes.

 

Outlook Environment Web Add-in Limitations Notes
Outlook Desktop 2007, 2010 Does not support web-addins All Cirrus Insight functionality is available with the Desktop Add-in
Outlook Desktop 2013 Microsoft does not support a pinned (always open) sidebar for Outlook 2013  
OWA, Outlook 2013 and 2016, and Mac Microsoft Does not support multi-select on emails,  shared mailboxes, or adding attachments when composing an email

 

Feature will be supported with updates to the Microsoft API
Outlook for Mac Track Emails is manual, click to track before send Known issues related to track emails for “reply to” actions.  Outlook for Mac can error when pixel’s are injected on reply emails.

 

 

Browser Compatibility & Requirements

For both desktop and web add-ins browser requirements is a consideration.  The desktop add-in for Windows will use Internet Explorer & Edge to sign-in to Cirrus Insight and/or Salesforce.  Web add-ins run 100% as a web based application whether running on Outlook Desktop for Windows, Outlook Web Access or Outlook for Mac.

Outlook Environment Internet Explorer Chrome, Safari, Edge and Firefox
Outlook Desktop 2007, 2010 IE 11 or Above Latest Version
Outlook Desktop 2013 and 2016 IE 11 or Above Latest Version
Outlook Web Access IE 11 or Above Latest Version
Outlook for Mac 2016 N/A Latest Version

 

Choosing Between the Desktop & Web Add-in for Windows

Companies who are running Outlook 2013 or 2016 desktop will have a choice for which add-in style to deploy.  You can deploy both options with your Cirrus Insight subscription if you choose.  Below are pros and cons to help you choose.

Outlook Environment Pros Cons
Desktop Add-in    
·       Sidebar Activation The Sidebar is always active.  It does not have to be activated manually by the user.  
·       Feature Availability All Features Available  
·       Individual Deployment Anyone can download with windows permissions Certain Windows permission configurations can prevent the user from being able to download or access the sidebar.  The Cirrus Insight program must be shared with the Windows user account.
·       Mass Deployment Microsoft Installer (MSI) supported.  IT can prevent the upgrade IT may need to be involved to push updates if your Windows users do not have download/install permissions for upgrades.
·       Desktop Performance   The sidebar is running locally and therefore uses memory within the Outlook application.  Older machines and large user mailboxes can be pushing the memory thresholds for Outlook even before Cirrus Insight is installed.  Additional memory consumption can cause Outlook to lockup or crash.  Cirrus Insight is designed to minimize memory consumption and streamline performance with Outlook, but it does require some memory to run.
Web Add-in    
·       Sidebar Activation   Sidebar must be activated
·       Feature Availability   Some features are not available due to API limitations.  See section above.
·       Individual Deployment Add to 365 via URL or Microsoft Store  
·       Mass Deployment Add to Exchange online via URL.  New version update automatically. IT does not control updates
·       Desktop Performance The add-in is only activated by the user and thus there is much less potential for interference  

 

Deployment Options

 

Outlook Environment Desktop Add-in Web Add-in Notes
Desktop .EXE File Individual N/A  
Microsoft Installer IT Mass Deployment N/A By IT Admins
Microsoft Store N/A Individual or Mass Deploy User or Exchange Admin
Install from URL N/A Individual or Mass Deploy User or Exchange Admin
Install from XML File N/A Mass Deploy Exchange Admin Only

 

Closing

If you have additional questions for Cirrus Insight regarding the contents of this document or related to other Cirrus Insight products, please visit, /zynbit-knowledge-base/ or email us at help@zynbit.com

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