Overview
Sometimes the Hoxhunt button might appear inactive (greyed out) in Outlook toolbar. It might also go completely missing in various scenarios.
Figure 1. Greyed out Hoxhunt button.
There are multiple reasons why this happens, so please check the following sub-topics:
- Reading Pane is not activated
- Outlook is in Offline mode
- Message type or location is not supported by Outlook add-in technology
- Email is not yet synced properly
Please see the most up-to-date information from this article by Microsoft.
Reading pane is not activated
The Hoxhunt button is displayed as inactive (greyed out) in your Outlook inbox if you do not have Reading Pane in use.
Figure: Reading Pane setting in Windows (left) and on Outlook for Mac (right).
Using the Reading Pane for previewing messages is safe as long as you have the latest updates installed for Outlook, and are following your organization's security guidelines.
Please follow this guide for enabling the Reading Pane in Outlook.
NOTE: If you don't want to enable Reading Pane, please open the email to a separate window. Hoxhunt button should now be enabled.
Why can't I report emails without using the Reading Pane?
You can't report emails directly from Inbox list due to technical limitations set by Microsoft. Current technical implementation of Outlook add-ins require the reading pane to be used, or the email to be opened in order for the add-in to activate.
If you don't wish to use the Reading Pane, you must open the email to a separate window for the button to activate. The button will be visible in the top right corner of the Ribbon in your email.
We are closely monitoring future development of Microsoft's Outlook product and its technologies, and we aim to make the reporting experience better for our future users where possible.
Outlook is in Offline mode
Make sure your Outlook is not in offline mode.
Message type or location is not supported by Outlook add-in technology
Particular type of emails are not compatible with Outlook add-ins. Such types include:
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Protected by Information Rights Management (IRM) or encrypted in other ways for protection. A digitally signed message is an example since digital signing relies on one of these mechanisms.
NOTE: IRM-protected and digitally signed emails are supported in certain environments, and the may require special configuration by an Admin. Please see the most up-to-date information from this article by Microsoft. -
A draft (does not have a sender assigned to it), or in the Outlook Drafts folder.
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A .msg or .eml file which is an attachment to another message.
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A .msg or .eml file opened from the file system.
Particular locations are not supported by Outlook add-ins. They cannot be used in:
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group mailboxes, archive mailboxes, or public folders.
NOTE: add-ins are supported in shared mailboxes and in another user's mailbox in certain scenarios. Please check this MS article and this Hoxhunt article for more details.
Email is not yet synced properly
This is especially related to users of Outlook for Mac (old UI). Soon after opening your Outlook or receiving an email, some add-ins (including Hoxhunt, Send to Onenote, Share to Teams) may appear inactive (greyed out). Please allow some time for Outlook to update the local mailbox and switch between emails a few times until Hoxhunt add-in is again active.