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First, on the editor page you enter the Markdown document content (by typing, or by copy-paste, or by loading from a file). When the document is ready, you click the button 'Compile', which transfers you to the page with the compiled document displayed. The Markdown format is commonly used for readme files and documentation in software projects. Yes, Writage supports Office 365, as well as 2010/2013/2016/2019. Writage makes it super easy to start writing files in Markdown format, using the familiar. File handler for Office 365 to enable previewing and viewing markdown documents - OneDrive/o365-markdown-file-handler-v2. Part 2 - Multi Language for drop-down lists How to dynamic fill the values into a multi language drop down list custom form. Part 1 - https://www.

Note

This document describes the original JSON format for the actionable message card format. For actionable messages sent via email, this has been replaced with the Adaptive Card format. Microsoft recommends that new actionable message integrations use the Adaptive Card format, and existing integrations consider updating to Adaptive Card format. The Adaptive Card format is required to support Outlook on iOS and Android. However, if you are sending actionable messages via an Office connector, or to a Microsoft Teams connector, you must continue to use the message card format.

Cards are meant to provide easy to read, at-a-glance information that users can very quickly decipher and act upon when appropriate. As such, the guiding principle for designing great card is 'content over chrome,' which means cards are straight to the point and minimize the use of anything that would be distracting such as icons or custom colors.

Card playground

Ready to experiment with your card design? Head to the Card Playground which allows you to see what your card will look like as you edit the associated JSON payload.

Note

The Card Playground loads Adaptive Card examples by default. You can find message card format examples by selecting the Select a sample dropdown in the playground.

Design guidelines

Text formatting

All text fields in a card and its section can be formatted using Markdown. We support basic Markdown.

Important

Since all fields are processed as Markdown, be sure to escape Markdown special characters (such as * or #) if needed.

Tip

Follow these guidelines when formatting text fields.

• Do use Markdown to format text.
• Don't use HTML markup in your cards. HTML is ignored and treated as plain text.

Using sections

If your card represents a single 'entity', you may be able to get away with not using any section. That said, sections support the concept of an 'activity' which is often a good way to represent data in a card.

If your card represents multiple 'entities' or is, for instance, a digest for a particular news source, you will definitely want to use multiple sections, one per 'entity.'

Tip

Follow these guidelines when planning the layout of your card.

• Do use sections to logically group data together.
• Sometimes, multiple sections MAY be used to represent a single logical group of data; this allows for more flexibility on ordering the information presented in the card. For example, it makes it possible to display a list of facts before an activity.
• Don't include more than 10 sections. Cards are meant to be easy to read; if there is too much information in a card, it will be lost on the user.
• For digest-like cards, consider adding a 'View full digest' action at the end of the card.

Card fields

Section fields

Image object

Defines an image as used by the heroImage and images property of a section.

Actions

Cards are very powerful in the sense that they allow users to take quick actions without leaving their email client. When designing cards, consider making them actionable, as that will increase user engagement and productivity.

Actions are specified using the potentialAction property which is available both on the card itself and on each section. There are five types of actions:

There can be a maximum of 4 actions (whatever their type) in a potentialAction collection.

• Do include actions that will make the biggest impact for the end user, like the most repetitive ones.
• Don't add 4 actions just because you can. In many cases, fewer actions will lead to a better experience.
• Don't craft your cards in an effort to replace an external application. Cards are meant to complement such applications, not to replace them.

OpenUri action

Opens a URI in a separate browser or app.

Although links can be achieved through Markdown, an OpenUri action has the advantage of allowing you to specify different URIs for different operating systems, which makes it possible to open the link in an app on mobile devices.

• Consider using an OpenUri action rather than a link in Markdown if there is a clear advantage for your users in their ability to open the link in an app on their mobile device.
• Do include at least an OpenUri action to view the entity in the external app it comes from.
• Do make the OpenUri action the last one in the potentialAction collection.

Note

Microsoft Teams and Outlook on the web only support HTTP/HTTPS URLs in the targets array for an OpenUri action.

HttpPOST action

Makes a call to an external Web service.

When an HttpPOST action is executed, a POST request is made to the URL in the target field, and the target service needs to authenticate the caller. This can be done in a variety of ways, including via a Limited Purpose Token embedded in the target URL. For more information and help on choosing the security mechanism that works best for your particular scenario, please see Security requirements for actionable messages.

Header

The Header object is a name/value pair that represents an HTTP header.

Reporting an action's execution success or failure

HttpPOST actions can include the CARD-ACTION-STATUS HTTP header in their response. This header is meant to contain text that indicates the outcome of the action's execution, whether it has succeeded or failed.

The value of the header will be displayed in a consistent way in a reserved area of the card. It is also saved with the card so it can be displayed later on, so users can be reminded of the actions that have already been executed on a given card.

Tip

Follow these guidelines when returning a response to HttpPOST actions.

• Do return the CARD-ACTION-STATUS header in your responses.
• Do make the message in that header as informative and meaningful as possible. For instance, for an 'approve' action on an expense report:
  • In case of success, don't return 'The action was successful', instead return 'The expense was approved'
  • In case of failure, don't return 'The action failed', instead return 'The expense couldn't be approved at this time. Please try again later'
• Don't mention either the name of the person taking the action nor the time the action is being taken in your CARD-ACTION-STATUS header. Both these pieces of information will be automatically added for you and displayed in a consistent way.

Refresh cards

Refresh cards are a very powerful mechanism that allow HttpPOST actions to fully update the card on the fly as the action successfully completes. There are many scenarios that benefit from refresh cards:

• Approval scenario (e.g. expense report)
  • Once the request is approved or rejected, the card is refreshed to remove the approve/decline actions and update its content so it reflects the fact that it's been approved or declined
• Task status
  • When an action is taken on a task, such as setting its due date, the card refreshes to include the updated due date in its facts
• Survey
  • Once the question has been answered, the card is refreshed so:
    • It no longer allows the user to respond
    • It shows updated status, like 'Thanks for responding to this survey' alongside the user's actual response
    • Potentially include a new OpenUri action that allows the user to consult the survey online

To refresh a card as a result of an HttpPOST action, a service needs to do the following:

• Include the JSON payload of the new card in the body of the response to the HTTP POST request it received.
• Add the CARD-UPDATE-IN-BODY: true HTTP header to the response, in order to let the receiving client know that it should parse the response body and extract a new card (this is to avoid unnecessary processing when no refresh card is included.)

Tip

Follow these guidelines when returning refresh cards.

• Do use refresh cards with actions that can only be taken a single time. In those cases, the refresh card would not include any action that cannot be taken anymore
• Do use refresh cards with actions that change the state of the entity they are performed on. In those cases, the refresh card should include updated information about the entity, and MAY change the set of actions that can be performed
• Don't use refresh cards to lead a conversation with the user. For instance, don't use refresh cards for a multi-step 'wizard'
• Do include at least an OpenUri action to view the entity in the external app it comes from.

ActionCard action

Presents additional UI that contains one or more Inputs, along with associated actions that can be either OpenUri or HttpPOST types.

Do use an ActionCard action if an action requires additional input from the user. Some scenarios:

• Responding to a survey
• Adding a comment to a bug
• Providing justification for declining an expense report

By default, an ActionCard action will be represented as a button or link in the card's UI. When clicked, that button will display an additional piece of UI containing the inputs and actions defined in the action card.

If there is a single ActionCard action in a potentialAction collection, then Outlook will represent that action 'pre-expanded,' e.g. its inputs and actions will be immediately visible.

Example ActionCard

Inputs

Three types of inputs are supported: TextInput, DateInput, and MultichoiceInput.

Common fields

The following fields are common to all input types.

TextInput

Use this input type when you need users to provide free text, such as the response to a survey question.

Example TextInput

DateInput

Use this input type when you need users to provide a date and or a time, such as for a task's due date.

Example DateInput

MultichoiceInput

Use this input type when you need users to select from a list of pre-defined choices, such as a bug status, yes/no/maybe, etc.

Example compact MultichoiceInput

Example multi-select MultichoiceInput

Example expanded MultichoiceInput

Input value substitution

The value of an input can be referenced in any URL of a ViewAction or HttpPOST action. It can also be referenced in an HttpPOST action's body. When an input value is referenced, it is substituted with the actual value of the input right before the action is executed.

To reference an input's value, use the following format:

{{<id of input>.value}}

Input value substitution example

InvokeAddInCommand action

Opens an Outlook add-in task pane. If the add-in is not installed, the user is prompted to install the add-in with a single click.

When an InvokeAddInCommand action is executed, Outlook first checks if the requested add-in is installed and turned on for the user. If it is not, the user is notified that the action requires the add-in, and is able to install and enable the add-in with a single click. Outlook opens the requested , making any initialization context specified by the action available to the add-in.

For more information, see Invoke an Outlook add-in from an actionable message.

Example InvokeAddInCommand

Card Examples

Trello

Card is created in a list:

Here is how that card is built:

Here's the same card with the Add a comment action expanded:

Here's how the Add a comment action is built:

Trello JSON

Twitter

Here's an example of a Twitter digest card:

Here's how that card is built:

Twitter JSON

Actionable email

Here's an example of an HTML email body with an embedded message card.

By default, messages that are sent to you are stored in your Inbox. But you can organize your messages into a hierarchical folder system and adjust it as your needs change.

Default folders

Each account starts with these default folders:

• Inbox: Incoming messages arrive in your Inbox unless you've created an Inbox rule to redirect them to another folder, or they're identified as junk email.
• Drafts: If you create or respond to a message, but can't finish it right away, it will automatically be saved to your Drafts folder. You can come back to the message later to continue editing it, and then send it.
• Sent Items: By default, a copy of every message you send is put in your Sent Items folder.
• Deleted Items: When you delete a message, it's moved to the Deleted Items folder.
• Archive: Archive folder can be used to store email messages that you no longer want to keep in any of your other folders. Learn more.
• Clutter: Can help you filter low-priority email, saving time for your most important messages. Getting Started with Clutter has more information about Clutter, including how to disable this function.
• Junk Email: Messages that have junk email characteristics but that aren't blocked by a spam filter before they reach your mailbox will automatically be moved to this folder. Learn about junk email and phishing has more information about your Junk Email folder.
• Notes: You must use Outlook to create or edit items in this folder.

You may see other folders that have been created by your administrator.

Note: If you don't see a list of any folders, your Folder Pane may be hidden. Near the top-left corner of the application, you should see an arrow that when hovered over displays the tooltip, 'Click to expand Folder Pane'. Click this arrow to expand and view your folders.

Right-click menu for folders

Most of what you can do with a folder will be found in the right-click menu. Actions you can take include:

• Open in New Window: This will open the folder in a new window.
• New Folder: Use this to create a new sub-folder in the folder you right-clicked.
• Rename Folder: Rename the folder. You can't rename the default folders, such as the Inbox folder.
• Copy Folder: This will copy the folder as a subfolder to the destination selected in the popup window.
• Move Folder:Opens a window where you can select a folder to move this folder to. You can also move a folder by clicking it and dragging it to where you want it.
• Delete Folder: Delete the entire folder. Delete will move the folder to the Deleted Items folder.
• Mark all as read: Marks every item in the folder as read.
• Clean Up Folder: This will remove redundant messages in the selected folder and move them to your Deleted Items folder.
• Delete All: Deletes everything in the folder, including any sub-folders. Warning: These messages are not easily recoverable.
• Show in Favorites/Remove from Favorites: Adds the current folder to your Favorites.
• Sort Subfolders A to Z: This will sort the subfolders of the selected folder alphabetically.
• Move up/down Will move the selected folder up or down.
• Properties: Allows you to manage your autoarchive, permissions, and other settings related to your account.

Creating folders

You can create additional folders to organize your messages any way you want. For example, you can create a folder for a specific project, or for all messages sent by a particular person, or all messages sent to a distribution group that you're a member of.

To create a new folder, right-click the parent folder you want to create the new folder in. If you want a top-level folder (a folder at the same level as your Inbox), you would use your mailbox as the parent folder.

To create a folder within your account:

1. Right-click your account.
2. Click New folder.
3. Type the name you want to use for this folder.
4. Press Enter or click away.

Moving folders

There are two ways to move a folder using Outlook 2016 for Windows.

• One way is to click on the folder you want to move and drag it to the destination folder.
• Alternatively, right-click the folder you want to move and click Move. A window will pop up that allows you to select a destination folder. Clicking on OK will move the original folder and all of its contents to the selected destination folder. Or click Cancel to close the move folder window without moving the folder.

• Additionally, you can create a new folder to move the original folder into by clicking on the New... button.

The Deleted Items folder

When you delete a message, it is first moved to the Deleted Items folder. You can either leave the messages there, or you can set Outlook to automatically empty your Deleted Items folder when you sign out. Your administrator may have set up a policy to empty items from your Deleted Items folder after they've been there for a preset number of days. For example, there may be a policy that deletes any message that has been in your Deleted Items folder for 30 days.

Recover deleted items

If your administrator has enabled the recover deleted items feature, you can use it to recover items that have been deleted from your Deleted Items folder. How long items will be recoverable depends on settings that are controlled by your administrator.

1. Go to FOLDER tab.
2. Click Recover deleted items from within 'Clean Up' group..
3. Click the item you want and then click Recover Selected Items button. The item will be moved to its default location. Messages will go to your Inbox, calendar items will go to your Calendar, contacts to your Contacts folder, and tasks to your Tasks folder.

You can also select Purge to permanently delete an item. If you purge an item, you won't be able to use Recover deleted items to get it back. Purging a message will not remove it from any backups that were made before you purged it.

Favorites

It's not unusual to end up with so many folders that it can be hard to keep track of which ones are most important to you. To make it easier to keep track of those folders, you can add them to your Favorites. Favorites don't appear in your folder list until you've added at least one folder to Favorites. Adding a folder to Favorites doesn't move the folder, but creates a link to it.

• To add a folder to Favorites, right-click it and click Show in Favorites.
• You can re-order folders in Favorites by clicking and dragging, or by right-clicking and then clicking Move up or Move down.
• To remove a folder from Favorites, right-click it in Favorites and click Remove from Favorites. This only removes the link to the folder from Favorites; it won't delete the folder from your mailbox.

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• If you want to create a personal information folder as a sub-folder to a mail folder, you can create the folder and then move it to the location you want. Some folders, for example, the Inbox, can't be moved to another location.
• Similarly, some folders, for example, the Inbox, can't be renamed. If the folder can't be renamed, the Rename Folder option in the menu will be grayed out and unclickable.
• After you delete a folder, it's moved to the Deleted Items folder. The folder isn't permanently removed until you empty/purge the Deleted Items folder or delete the folder from the Deleted Items folder.