Duet and Outlook Add-ins
A frequent project speed bump comes during the integration of Duet for Microsoft Office and SAP and Microsoft Outlook or Exchange Add-ins. Add-ins are frequently added within any environment to extend the functionality offered by Outlook. Duet is an example of an add-in that will be added.
The large number of add-ins delivered from numerous vendors means that we sometimes find conflicts when implementing Duet into environments with existing add-ins. In our experience the most problematic add-ins for Duet are archiving related add-ins, however all add-ins should be tested in your environment.
A couple of examples of the issues which have been experienced:
- An archiving solution might start archiving Duet configuration messages stored in the user mailbox causing Duet functions to be impacted
- Add-ins might touch Outlook items with extended Duet data properties causing unplanned changes to the Duet properties
- An archiving add-in could start archiving active Duet items. As Duet items are associated with SAP system data this can lead to data problems.
During the initial project analysis existing Outlook add-ins must be investigated. This will head off potential surprises later. Once the add-ins in the environment are identified, test scenarios should be included to ensure the add-in and Duet function correctly together. The test scenarios must verify that the Duet functionality and add-in functionality do not conflict. Test cases must test both add-in and Duet functionality.
How to find Outlook Add-ins
Outlook 2003:
- Tools -> Options
- Click on the Other Tab and click the Advanced Options button
- Click the Com Add-ins Button
Also check for Exchange Add-ins by clicking Add-in Manager
Outlook 2007:
- Click Tools -> Trust Center
- Click on the Add-ins Tab
- At the bottom of the window select Com Add-ins from the drop down list then click Go.
Also check for Exchange Add-ins by selecting Exchange Client Extensions in the drop down list then click Go.
There are some add-ins that usually perform nicely with Duet and a few that have known issues. Below is a short list of add-ins that we have seen successfully implemented with Duet, but they should always be tested in each environment to ensure quality:
- TechSmith SnagIt (7.0 +)
- Microsoft Office Communicator
- Microsoft Business Contact Manager
- Microsoft Office Live Meeting
- Microsoft Office One Note
- Microsoft SharePoint
- Microsoft Office Groove
- Zantaz Enterprise Archive Solutions (EAS) (6.0)
The list of add-ins with known integration issues are below. The Duet teams and the add-in providers will continue to work on the integration issues to resolve the integration issues, so check with your local contact to verify the current status. Note that this list does not necessarily indicate a fault within the add-in, as the error could come from Duet, the add-in, or even Outlook.
- Symantec Enterprise Vault (all versions)
- PKWare PKZip
- TechSmith SnagIt (older than 7.0)
- SAP Calendar Add-in (all versions)
- McAffee (older than 8.0)
- Interwise
Do you need more information about Duet? Refer to the Duet.com site for a complete overview of the solution. Additional Duet blog topics are covered in the SAP Developer Network site, you might find these blog topics useful - SDN Duet Blog
Are you using additional add-ins with Duet? Continue the conversation by adding your comments on this posting. Share your findings with us and the rest of Duet community. Together we can build a full reference of known add-ins that function with Duet.
Please stay tuned to this blog. In part 2 of this blog topic I will explain how to use a script to find installed add-ins on computers.
