How to autorun Office 365 outlook add-in

Question

I'm creating an Office 365 add-in for Outlook. I want my add-in to run automatically when user reads email (opens it in reading pane).

My current version displays add-in name in top of mail body and when I click it add-in runs.

Office.initialize = function (reason) { 
    $(document).ready(function () {
        displayItemDetails();
    });
}; 

I would also like to hide that add-in button and just run it behind the scene.

Answer 1

The Office Add-In platform does not currently allow apps to auto-launch themselves in the way you're describing. Feel free to request this functionality on the Office Extensibility Platform's UserVoice.

Gabriel Royer

Developer on the Office Extensibility Team, MSFT

Answer 2

Auto-launching Outlook add-ins is not supported today.

What is your scenario? There may be a different way to achieve it.

Answer 3

Old question, new information:

While not quite "auto-launching", Outlook now supports pinning an add-in. When an add-in supports pinnable taskpane, the user is provided the option "pin" the add-in open. As the user moves between mail items, the pinned add-in will automatically load within the new mail item's context.