Support

Everything you need to get started with Annotate for Outlook, plus answers to common questions.

Getting started

Installing the add-in

1. Open Outlook (desktop, web, or the new Outlook for Windows).
2. Open any email message.
3. Select Get Add-ins from the message menu, or open the Apps panel.
4. Search for Annotate for Outlook and select Add.

Writing your first annotation

1. Open any email.
2. Click the Annotate button in the toolbar or Apps panel.
3. Type your note in the panel that opens on the right.
4. Your note saves automatically — you'll see a confirmation in the status bar.

Using Annotate

Formatting your notes

The toolbar supports bold, italic, underline, bulleted lists, numbered lists, and hyperlinks. Keyboard shortcuts work as expected — Ctrl+B for bold, Ctrl+I for italic, Ctrl+U for underline.

Tagging annotations

Add tags in the field at the bottom of the panel and press Enter. Tags help you categorize notes by project, client, or priority. You can add up to 10 tags per annotation. Tags are searchable.

Finding past annotations

Click the list icon in the top-right of the panel to open All Annotations. You can search across every note you've written by subject, sender, tag, or content.

Deleting an annotation

Open the email, click the delete icon in the top-right of the panel, and confirm. This permanently removes the annotation from that email.

Team annotations

If your organization has enabled team annotations, switch to the Team tab to share a note with colleagues. Team notes appear on the same email thread for everyone in your organization who uses the add-in. You can delete notes you authored at any time.

Frequently asked questions

Where are my annotations stored?

Personal annotations are stored directly on your Microsoft Exchange mailbox as custom properties on each email. They sync everywhere your mailbox syncs and never leave your Microsoft 365 environment. Team annotations are stored in our secure database and are visible only to people in your organization. See our privacy policy for full detail.

Can other people see my personal notes?

No. Personal annotations are private to you. Only notes you explicitly share on the Team tab are visible to colleagues.

Does the add-in read my email content?

No. Annotate does not read, store, or transmit the body content of your emails. It only records the subject line and sender so your notes display on the correct message.

Which versions of Outlook are supported?

Annotate works with Outlook on the web, the new Outlook for Windows, Outlook for Windows desktop (2016 and later), and Outlook for Mac. A Microsoft 365 or Exchange account is required.

My annotations aren't appearing. What should I do?

First, close and reopen the add-in panel. If notes still don't appear, confirm you're signed into the same mailbox where the annotation was created — annotations are tied to the mailbox they were written in. If the problem continues, email us with a description of what you're seeing.

Do annotations sync to my phone?

Personal annotations are stored on your mailbox and travel with it. Availability in the Outlook mobile app depends on add-in support in that client.

What happens if I uninstall the add-in?

Your annotations remain stored on your mailbox but are no longer viewable without the add-in. Reinstalling restores access to them.

How do I request a feature or report a bug?

Email support@annotateforoutlook.com with as much detail as you can — which version of Outlook you're using and what you were doing when the issue occurred helps us resolve things faster.

For IT administrators

Annotate for Outlook can be deployed organization-wide through the Microsoft 365 admin center under Settings → Integrated apps. Personal annotation data remains inside your tenant. Full deployment steps, data handling details, and security architecture are documented in our Security & Deployment guide. For anything not covered there, contact us at support@annotateforoutlook.com.