FormRegionStartup.GetFormRegionManifest Method (Outlook)

Obtains the XML manifest for a form region.

Version Information

Version Added: Outlook 2007

Syntax

expression .GetFormRegionManifest(FormRegionName, LCID)

expression A variable that represents a FormRegionStartup object.

Parameters

Name

Required/Optional

Data Type

Description

FormRegionName

Required

String

The name of the form region which is the name used when registering the form region in the Windows registry.

LCID

Required

Long

The locale ID that identifies the language that Outlook is currently using. This value is used to obtain the localization strings corresponding to this language for the form region.

Return Value

A Variant that represents the XML manifest for a form region. This XML string includes characteristics of the form region such as the display name (as specified by the title element), any associated layout file or add-in, any supported user actions, and any localization strings. The XML must follow the form region XML schema. For more information on the form region XML schema, see the Microsoft Outlook 2010 XML Schema Reference in the MSDN Library.

Remarks

This method is intended to be implemented by an add-in and called by Outlook. As part of the FormRegionStartup interface, this method and the GetFormRegionIcon method provide a mechanism through which an add-in can register a form region and provide Outlook the XML manifest and the icons for the form region.

If you would like an add-in to provide the XML manifest for a form region, specify the ProgID of the add-in when you register the form region in the Windows registry. For more information on registering a form region, see Specifying Form Regions in the Windows Registry. The add-in must implement the GetFormRegionManifest method of the FormRegionStartup interface. Note that if you do not specify any ProgID in the Windows registry, Outlook will not call this method.

Relying on an add-in to provide the XML manifest for a form region also means you are allowing the add-in to provide any icons for the form region. The add-in must also implement the GetFormRegionIcon of the FormRegionStartup interface. Outlook will call GetFormRegionIcon to obtain any add-in specified icons for the form region. For more information on using an add-in to specify icons, see How to: Use an Add-in to Specify Icons for a Form Region.

When Outlook starts, it reads the list of form regions from the Windows registry and caches the data. Based on this data, if Outlook notices that an add-in has been specified to provide the XML manifest for a form region, Outlook will use the ProgID provided in the cached data and call the GetFormRegionManifest method implemented by this add-in to obtain the XML it needs to display the form region. If the XML manifest is not valid and does not conform to the form region XML schema, Outlook will not be able to load the form region. Also, if you do not specify any ProgID in the Windows registry, Outlook will not call the GetFormRegionManifest and GetFormRegionIcon methods.

Outlook ignores the following elements when the add-in provides the XML manifest:

  • name: Outlook ignores the value specified for this element and will use the name specified for the form region in the registry.

  • layoutFile: Outlook ignores this element because an add-in is extending this form region.

  • addin: Outlook uses the value that is preceded by an equal sign (=) in the registry as the ProgID of the add-in.

  • file attribute of stringOverride: Outlook ignores any secondary localization file specified by the stringOverride element. The add-in can implement GetFormRegionManifest to return inline the XML manifest for string localization for the specified LCID, or manage string localization in another way, for example, using .NET Framework localization, and then return the appropriate XML manifest for the specified LCID.

See Also

Concepts

FormRegionStartup Object Members

FormRegionStartup Interface