Salesforce for Outlook 'Add Email' Button Not Appearing in Microsoft Outlook

This article provides a step-by-step troubleshooting guide for the Salesforce for Outlook (SFO) "Add Email" button not appearing in Microsoft Outlook. Both Salesforce Classic and Lightning Experience are covered. Follow the steps in order, and test after each step before proceeding to the next.

Step 1 – Enable Email to Salesforce in Salesforce

Before troubleshooting on the computer, confirm that Email to Salesforce is enabled in Salesforce.
In Salesforce Classic: Click your name > Setup > Email Administration > Email to Salesforce. Confirm the Active checkbox is selected.
In Lightning Experience: Click your avatar > Settings > Email > My Email to Salesforce. Confirm the Active checkbox is selected.
If Email to Salesforce is not enabled, enable it. For more information, see Enabling Email to Salesforce.

Step 2 – Reset Outlook Ribbon Customization

Resetting the Outlook ribbon can restore missing toolbar buttons. Confirm with the user that it is acceptable to reset their Outlook customization before proceeding.
Export current ribbon customizations (optional backup):

1. Click File > Options > Customize the Ribbon.
2. Click Import/Export and select Export all customizations to save a backup file.

Reset the ribbon:

1. In the Customize the Ribbon window, click Reset.
2. Click Reset all customizations and confirm.

Import a saved ribbon customization file:

1. In the Customize the Ribbon window, click Import/Export.
2. Select Import customization file and choose the backup file.

Step 3 – Verify Add Email Is Enabled in Outlook Configuration

Confirm that the Add Email option is enabled in the Salesforce for Outlook Outlook Configuration in Salesforce.
In Salesforce Classic: Click your name > Setup > Desktop Integration > Salesforce for Outlook. Click View my configuration and confirm the Add Email checkbox is selected.
In Lightning Experience: Click your avatar > Settings > Desktop Add-Ons > Salesforce for Outlook. Click View my configuration and confirm Add Email is checked.
Important notes:

• You must be a Salesforce System Administrator to view or edit this setting.
• Enabling the Side Panel option in the Outlook Configuration will hide the Add Email button from the Outlook ribbon by design. If Side Panel is enabled and you also need Add Email, disable Side Panel.
• The user's email address must be added to My Acceptable Email Addresses for the Add Email button to work correctly.

Step 4 – Confirm Salesforce for Outlook Is Running and Connected

The Add Email button will not appear if Salesforce for Outlook is not running in the Windows System Tray, or if the SFO icon is gray (not connected).

1. Check the System Tray (bottom-right corner of the Windows taskbar) for the Salesforce for Outlook icon.
2. If the icon is gray, SFO is not connected. Click the icon and follow the prompts to sign in and connect.
3. If SFO is not running at all, launch it from the Start menu or application folder.

Step 5 – Check That the Add-In Is Not Disabled by Outlook

Outlook may automatically disable add-ins it considers to be causing performance issues. Check whether the Salesforce for Outlook add-in has been disabled.
For Microsoft Outlook 2007:

1. In Outlook, click Help > Disabled Items.
2. If the Salesforce add-in is listed, select it and click Enable.
3. Restart Outlook and Salesforce for Outlook.

For Microsoft Outlook 2010, 2013, and 2016:

1. Click File > Options > Add-Ins.
2. In the Manage drop-down, select Disabled Items and click Go.
3. If the Salesforce add-in is listed, select it and click Enable.
4. Restart Outlook and Salesforce for Outlook.

Note: Verify the add-in location points to the correct installation folder. For a per-machine installation, the path is C:\Program Files (x86)\salesforce.com\Salesforce for Outlook. For a per-user installation, the path is %LocalAppData%\Programs\salesforce.com\Salesforce for Outlook.

Step 6 – Turn Off User Account Control (UAC)

If the issue persists and Salesforce for Outlook appears in the Outlook Trust Center as an Active Application Add-in, try disabling UAC.
For Windows 7:

1. Click the Start menu, type UAC, and click Change User Account Control Settings.
2. Move the slider to Never Notify and click OK.
3. Restart the computer and test.

For Windows 8 and Windows 10:

1. Open the Registry Editor and navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
2. Locate the EnableLUA value. Set it to 0 to disable UAC, or 1 to enable it.
3. Click OK and restart the computer.

After restarting, ensure Salesforce for Outlook has synced with Salesforce. You can manually trigger a sync by right-clicking the SFO System Tray icon and selecting Sync > Sync Now.

Step 7 – Delete the Resiliency Registry Key

Outlook uses a Resiliency registry key to track add-ins it has disabled. Deleting this key allows Outlook to reload add-ins fresh on the next start.

1. Open the Registry Editor.
2. Click the Computer icon at the top and select Edit > Find.
3. In Find what, type Resiliency. Select Match whole string only. Click Find Next.
4. If found, export the key by right-clicking and selecting Export (save as a backup).
5. After exporting, right-click the Resiliency folder and click Delete.
6. Press F3 to continue searching until "Finished searching through the registry" appears.
7. Also delete the following registry keys if they exist:
   1. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Redemption
   2. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Redemption
   3. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Redemption
8. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\AddIns\SalesforceForOutlook and verify that the LoadBehavior value is set to 3. If it shows 2 or any other value, change it to 3.
9. Close the Registry Editor.

Step 8 – Reinstall Salesforce for Outlook and Prerequisites

These steps must be performed by a local administrator on the computer.

1. Close Microsoft Outlook.
2. Uninstall Salesforce for Outlook and the following applications:
   1. Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Tools for Office Runtime
   2. Office 2010 Primary Interop Assemblies (for Outlook 2010 users)
   3. Office 2007 Primary Interop Assemblies (for Outlook 2007 users)
3. In Control Panel > Programs and Features, click Turn Windows features on or off.
4. Deselect Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 and click OK. Wait for uninstallation to complete and restart the computer.
5. After restarting, re-enable Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 in the same Windows features list. Restart the computer again.
6. Navigate to %appdata%\salesforce.com\Salesforce for Outlook and delete all contents of that folder.
7. Apply the UAC settings from Step 6. Keep Outlook and SFO closed.
8. Download the latest Salesforce for Outlook installer and run it as a local administrator.
9. On the installation prerequisites step, select all prerequisite items and click Next.
10. Complete the installation. Confirm the Salesforce for Outlook icon appears in the System Tray.
11. Open Outlook. If the SFO setup wizard does not start automatically, right-click the SFO System Tray icon and select Settings. Complete the configuration wizard.
12. Wait for the sync to complete. The Add Email button should appear in the Outlook ribbon.

Note: If the AppData or Application Data folders are not visible, you may need to show hidden files. In Windows 7, 8, or 10, open Folder Options > View > Show hidden files, folders, and drives.
As an additional troubleshooting step, create a new Outlook profile under a local administrator account with a no-mail data file and test whether SFO functions correctly in the new profile.