I have a web application developed with ASP.net and C# that is running on my companies' intranet. Because all the users for this application are all using Microsoft Outlook without exception, I would like for the the application to open up an Outlook message on the client-side. I understand that Office is designed to be run on the desktop and not from a server, however I have no trouble creating a Word or Excel document on the client-side.
I have code that instantiates the Outlook object using the Microsoft.Office.Interop.Outlook namespace and Outlook installed on the server. When I try to run the code from the server, I get a DCOM source error message that states "The machine-default permission settings do not grant Local Activation permission for the COM Server application with CLSID {000C101C-0000-0000-C000-000000000046} to the user This security permission can be modified using the Component Services administrative tool." I have modified the permissions using the Component Services tool, but still get this same error.
Is there a way to overcome this or is this a fruitless exercise because Outlook cannot be opened on the client side from the server-side code?
Mailto will not work due to the extreme length that the emails can obtain. Also, the user that sends it needs add in eye-candy to the text for the recipients.
You cannot open something on the client from server side code. You'd have to use script on the page to do what you're wanting (or something else client-side like ActiveX or embedded .NET or something)
Here's a sample Javascript that invokes an Outlook MailItem from an webpage. This could easily be injected into the page from your server-side code so it executes on the client.
http://www.codeproject.com/KB/aspnet/EmailUsingJavascript.aspx
(hint: formatting in your question)
I'm not understanding what's wrong with a mailto link or a formmail-type page.
If everyone in the company uses Outlook, then just using a standard "mailto" link should always open Outlook. It sounds like you're over-engineering this.
Do you want to open an existing E-Mail or create a new one?
Perhaps I misunderstand your question, but you can provide a link like
mailto:recipient@email.tld?subject=This%20is%20the%20subject&body=Hello%20there!
When the user clicks on that a link, a new Outlook-E-Mail will be opened and the recipient is recipient@email-tld, the subject is "This is the subject" and the body is "Hello there!". All these fields are already filled from the link.
I'll just throw this out there cuz it's been asked.
Mailto has a lot of disadvantages; mainly size. Since the sender needs to do alot of formatting on the email text, the html code generated can take up a lot of space that fails when using mailto.
thanks for the suggestion though.
