Outlook integration¶
An Outlook integration can be added to your Drovio Server installation. It lets users schedule Drovio meetings right from their Outlook calendar: an Add a Drovio meeting button puts the link to join into the appointment, and sending the appointment keeps the meeting in line with its date, attendees and recurrence. You will need an app registration in Microsoft Entra ID.
The add-in works in Outlook on the web, the new Outlook on Windows, classic Outlook on Windows and Outlook on Mac. It signs its users in with their Microsoft account: the first time, they also sign in to your Drovio Server instance once, to link both accounts. Their Drovio account has to exist already.
HTTPS only
Outlook loads add-ins over HTTPS only. Your Drovio Server has to be reachable over HTTPS from the machines running Outlook.
Register the add-in in Microsoft Entra ID¶
In what follows, <your server> stands for the host name in the public URL of your
Drovio Server, for instance drovio.example.com.
You don't have to build the redirect URI and the Application ID URI by hand: the Outlook page of the administration panel shows both, ready to copy. Open Integrations, then Configure on the Outlook card.
Create the app registration¶
In the Azure portal, open Microsoft Entra ID, then App registrations, and New registration.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Any name, for instance Drovio Outlook |
| Supported account types | Accounts in this organizational directory only (single tenant) |
| Redirect URI | Single-page application (SPA), then brk-multihub://<your server> |
On the Overview pane, record:
| Value in Entra ID | Used as |
|---|---|
| Application (client) ID | client_id |
| Directory (tenant) ID | tenant_id |
No client secret is needed: the add-in never authenticates as the application.
Expose the API¶
Under Expose an API, click Add next to the Application ID URI, and enter the URI the administration panel shows once the Application ID is saved:
api://<your server>/<client id>
Then Add a scope:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Scope name | access_as_user |
| Who can consent | Admins and users |
| Admin consent display name | Use Drovio as the user |
| Admin consent description | Lets Outlook sign the user in to Drovio. |
| State | Enabled |
Still under Expose an API, click Add a client application, enter
ea5a67f6-b6f3-4338-b240-c655ddc3cc8e and tick the access_as_user scope. This
identifier stands for all the Office applications, which ask for a token on behalf
of the add-in when Outlook lacks nested app authentication.
Ask for version 2 tokens¶
Under Manifest, set requestedAccessTokenVersion to 2, in the api
section, then Save. Drovio Server checks the tokens as Entra ID issues them in
that version.
Grant the consent¶
Under API permissions, Add a permission, open APIs my organization
uses, find the app registration by its name and add its access_as_user
delegated permission. Then click Grant admin consent for <your tenant>,
which spares each user the consent prompt.
Configure the integration¶
In the administration panel, open Integrations, then Configure on the Outlook card.
| Field | Where it comes from |
|---|---|
| Status | Enabled or Disabled |
| Application ID | The client_id recorded in Entra ID |
| Tenant ID | The tenant_id recorded in Entra ID |
Saving takes effect on the next request, with no restart to perform. Once the Application ID is saved, the page shows the Application ID URI and the redirect URI that the app registration has to declare.
Turning the status to Disabled refuses the requests coming from Outlook, while leaving the page available to configure the integration.
Configuration reference¶
These are the keys of the outlook element of settings.conf, should you prefer
to edit it directly. In a cluster, the administration panel cannot save them: each
server reads its own settings file, which has to be edited on every one of them.
| Key | Default | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
enabled |
false |
Enable the integration |
client_id |
Application (client) ID of the app registration | |
tenant_id |
Directory (tenant) ID of the app registration, required to enable the integration | |
manifest_id |
Identifies the add-in in Microsoft 365. Set on the first save, don't edit |
Deploy the add-in¶
The add-in is described by a manifest that points at your server. In the Outlook page of the administration panel, the Manifest section downloads it, filled in with the configuration saved.
In the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to Settings, then Integrated apps, and Upload custom apps. Choose Office Add-in, upload the manifest, then select the users or the groups to deploy it to. Deployment takes up to 24 hours to reach Outlook, sometimes more for classic Outlook on Windows.
Use the add-in¶
In an appointment the user organizes, the ribbon shows a Drovio group:
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Add a Drovio meeting | Creates the Drovio meeting from the appointment, sets the link to join as the location and adds it to the invitation |
| Settings | Shows the Drovio account the add-in is signed in to, and lets the user sign out |
When the appointment is sent, the add-in updates the Drovio meeting with the changes made since: subject, description, dates, attendees and recurrence. Drovio sends no invitation of its own: the Outlook invitation is the one the attendees receive.
Outlook on the web and the new Outlook
In Outlook on the web and the new Outlook on Windows, the add-in only runs on send when the appointment is open in a window of its own, with Open in new window. From the form that opens within the main window, or when the appointment is forwarded, the changes made after adding the Drovio meeting don't reach it.