The process for adding an add-in or connector to Outlook is straightforward, whether you’re using the Outlook Client or the Outlook web app. If you install an add-in or connector in the client, it will be automatically installed in the Outlook web app, and vice versa.
The interface for adding an add-in or connector is the same in the client and the web app, it’s just the method for getting there that’s slightly different.
The Outlook client process
To find an add-in or connector in the client, click on the Home > Get Add-ins button.
The Outlook web app process
To find an add-in or connector in the web app, click on the three dots in the top right while viewing a piece of mail.
From the context menu that appears, scroll to the bottom and click “Get Add-ins.”
From this point, the process of finding and installing an add-in or connector is the same in both the client and the web app. So no matter which one you’re using, the Add-in & Connectors panel will open.
The panel opens in the Add-ins tab. If you want to add a connector instead, click on the “Connectors” tab.
The process is the same for both add-ins and connectors, so we’re going to focus on adding an add-in. The add-ins are displayed alphabetically, or you can use the search box in the top right to quickly find whatever service you’re looking for. As you type, the search will find matching services, in this case, Trello. Click on the add-in when it appears in the list.
Click the Add button, and the add-in will be installed.
Close the Add-in & Connectors panel using the “x” in the top right. Two Trello buttons will now be displayed on the Home tab of the ribbon whenever you have an email selected.
Installing an add-in will have different effects depending on what the add-in does. For instance, the Giphy add-in adds a Giphy button to new emails that lets you easily insert gifs to an email. The Bing Maps add-in will highlight addresses in email content and let you click them to open Bing Maps.
We installed the Trello add-in using the Outlook client. When we open the Outlook web app, the Trello add-in has automatically been added.
Accessing your add-ins in the web app by clicking the three dots and scrolling down is a bit of effort, so you can pin add-ins to make them more readily available. Click on Settings > View all Outlook settings.
Open Email > Customize Actions.
In the “Message Surface” section, switch on the checkbox for the add-in you want to pin.
This will add a Trello button to the icons that are shown when you read incoming emails.
If your add-in is used when you compose a message instead, scroll down to the next section, called “Toolbar,” and switch it on in that section instead.
Once you’ve switched on your add-in, click Save in the top right, and the icon for the add-in will be visible in your email.
