Classic Outlook Windows ItemSend Add-in: Endless looping after updating manifest version about office-js

[abdumanas-plutoflume]

Hi Team, any updates on this ? Currently this behavior poses a blocker for customers from updating their manifest.

[JuaneloJuanelo]

@alexm-plutoflume thanks for reporting this issue, have a few follow up questions to properly investigate this.

1. On your repro steps, did outlook stayed open during the manifest update process? did you restarted Outlook after updating to manifest 2? what was the behavior here?
2. Will also be interesting to understand the scenario, when this issue happened, should we assume the customer was using M365 centralized deployment? what changes were incl

[abdumanas-plutoflume]

@JuaneloJuanelo thank you for taking a look into this. To your queries:

1. I tested using both scenarios, i.e. keeping Outlook open and closed during the manifest update process. I'm able to reproduce the problem in both cases. Outlook was also restarted after manifest update process and the issue still persists.
2. The customers who have reported this issue are using the centralized deployment from their admin portal.

Please let us know if you need any additional info.

[timwan10]

Does this happen if you ONLY install the second manifest? (and not the first?)

[timwan10]

I cannot seem to repro with the steps you provided.

1. Install Manifest 1
2. Check the WEF Folder for the Manifest (see that it's there)
3. Send an Email...it sends.
4. REMOVE Manifest 1.
5. Close the Installation Dialog
6. Check the Wef Folder that it's gone
7. Reopen the Installation Dialog. Install Manifest 2. Close Dialog. Check the Wef Folder that the Manifest 2. Version is there.
8. Send an email.... it sends.

I did also skip Steps 4-6. And just directly upload Manifest 2, without removing Manifest 1. But emails still sent.

I am on a later version. but it's doubtful something has changed.

Do you see any significant changes in my steps from yours?

in your Wef Folder for manifests, is the expected manifest there at the appropriate times?

C:\Users[user name]\AppData\Local\microsoft\office\16.0\wef{E19E6C57-8A36-49C5-BDD7-265D4EBFF292}\6lDh5BqVDFYMtLWUxFtNYw==\Manifests

The guid/encoing between wef + manifests will be unique for you.

The fact this persists through restart is pretty strange. (as the manifest cache should be updated on reboot). Is there anything else about this that may be unique to your machines?

Can a regular taskpane app be opened when this happens?

[alexm-plutoflume]

Just for clarity - in our testing we are side loading the Add-in via this link in OWA: https://aka.ms/olksideload, after I sideload the manifest in OWA, I close Windows Outlook (within a VM, if that matters, but our customers are experiencing this inside and outside VMs across various environments after Centralised deployment), clear the WEF folder, then open Outlook again. I do this every time I reinstall a sideloaded Add-in.

Sometimes the reproduction stops working for me and it's not clear why. Potentially a restart of the environment, or something else, but if I then increment the Version element in the manifest to a new version and sideload it, once again I can have it happen again. Reverting the manifest back to an old version stops the looping.

Right now I am experiencing the looping again, and can see the manifest under my user in the WEF folder, yes. I can open a taskpane Add-in, yes.

Does this happen if you ONLY install the second manifest? (and not the first?)

If you only install the second manifest, no.

The issue seems to be related to having an Add-in installed, then installing a new version of the same Add-in. In the reproduction provided, if you've never installed this add-in, then we would not expect the looping to occur for either manifest installed in isolation. Only when you install the manifest 2 after manifest 1, which is a higher version.