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I use custom tabs on the ribbon of all my MS Office 2010 applications. I would like to add some items that are not in the listed commands on the "Customize the Ribbon" dialog. For example, I'd like to add the "Send/Receive" item in the Advanced Options dialog. But that command is not listed, even in the "All Commands" list.

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Note: I did figure out that I could write a VBA macro that opens this dialog and then add the macro to the ribbon. That's what I did, but I'm thinking & hoping there is a cleaner way to accomplish this. I'm looking for a fast, simple way to do this, that doesn't require building an add-in. (The time it would take to build one would likely outweigh the time saved by having the item on the ribbon.)

I'm using Outlook 2010, but this question would apply to any version of Outlook that has a ribbon. The answers however, may be version-specific (assuming there is an answer).

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[EDIT] Please note I am not asking how to add this specific command. If you can answer that, cool! But the point of the question is how to add unlisted commands in general.

Also, please look at the screen shots. I am not asking how to add the Send/Receive All command (F9 shortcut). The desired command in the example, opens a dialog that allows management of the settings for sending and receiving.

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  • On Outlook 2010, I do have this listed under All Commands. It's also by default in the Home Ribbon. It also defaults to F9, I think. Or am I missing something here?
    – Shinrai
    Feb 23, 2011 at 17:41
  • @Shinrai - The dialog (and F9 shortcut) are for the Send/Receive All command. Not the dialog that controls the send and receive settings. Please compare to my screen shot. Completely different. But the point of the question is how to add unlisted commands - not that specific command. It is only an example.
    – T. Marshall
    Feb 23, 2011 at 18:09
  • Oh, you want to add the OPTIONS for the send/receive settings? I guess it never occured to me you'd want to change these on a regular basis; clearly I was reading this wrong. (You might consider rewording the question to be more explicit - I personally had difficulty making out your screenshots.) I think the generic answer, though, is that there's no way to add things that aren't already there without 3rd party software or a plug-in, sort of by definition...
    – Shinrai
    Feb 23, 2011 at 18:11
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    @Shinrai - thanks for the advice. I edited the question to clarify. If the screenshots are not clear, you can get the the same dialogs if you have a copy of Outlook. And again, the Send/Receive Settings command was just an example - one I'm starting to regret using. ;)
    – T. Marshall
    Feb 23, 2011 at 18:15

2 Answers 2

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Note:I hate to answer my own question, especially with just a couple of links. So I'm going to mark this as a community wiki.

My question was easily misunderstood, but I couldn't think of a better way to word it. What I was asking was, if there was an easy way to add commands to the ribbon, when those commands were not listed in the command list. I won't give another example here because I don't want to confuse the issue further.

I believe the answer I was looking for is that there is not a trivial way to accomplish this, i.e. drag & drop as for a listed command. But I did get an off-site answer from a former Outlook team member, who understood the question and directed me to the following resources on MSDN. Following these methods allows one to add any command, COM add-in, etc. to the ribbon by simply modifying XML. Outside of drag & drop, that's about as easy as it gets.

Temporarily Repurpose Commands on the Office Fluent Ribbon

Customizing the 2007 Office Fluent Ribbon for Developers

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You can find that dialog box listed as Define Groups in the Commands Not in the Ribbon list.

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  • When I go to Options | Advanced and click the Send/Receive button, I get a dialog that says "Send/Receive Groups," which lets me define groups of accounts and folders and the corresponding Send/Receive settings. If I add the Define Groups button to a custom group, I get the same dialog.
    – Patrick Seymour
    Feb 23, 2011 at 18:30
  • My mistake. you are absolutely right - it is the same dialog. I should not have used this as my example. The question is more general, i.e. If a command does not exist in the listed commands, is there a way to add it to the ribbon without writing an add-in. The Send/receive dialog was only an example - not the objective. But thanks for showing me how to get it. :)
    – T. Marshall
    Feb 23, 2011 at 19:56
  • I get what you're asking, but can't think of an example to play with. Do you have another?
    – Patrick Seymour
    Feb 23, 2011 at 20:49
  • "Other actions -> Resend This Message" is another command which I couldn't find in Ribbon customization.
    – Aleksander Adamowski
    Apr 4, 2013 at 13:07

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