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Use Outlook with Todoist

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Free
Premium
Business

With the Outlook add-in for Todoist, you can easily turn an email into a new Todoist task. Here is how:

Setting up the add-in

Please note, the new add-in framework supports email accounts that are hosted on Microsoft's cloud email services. These include their consumer email services (outlook.com, live.com, hotmail.com, etc), Office 365 email accounts, and some Microsoft Exchange accounts if they are cloud-enabled. If you are either on a corporate account where the installation of web add-ins has been disabled, or you are using an account type that is not supported by web add-ins like an IMAP or POP3 account, the Outlook add-in may not be available on your account.
  1. Open any email in Outlook.
  2. Click the three dots icon in the top-right corner.
  3. Select Get Add-ins.
  4. Search for Todoist.
  5. Click Add to install the add-in.
  6. Click Continue.
When you open the add-in for the first time, you might be asked to log in to your Microsoft account using your Outlook credentials.

    1. Open Outlook.
    2. Open the File menu.
    3. Click on Info.
    4. Select Manage Add-ins. This will open Outlook in a browser window.
    5. Sign in with your Outlook account.
    6. Search for Todoist.
    7. Select Add.
    8. Select Continue.
When you'll open the add-in for the first time, you might be asked to log in to your Microsoft account using your Outlook credentials.

    1. Open Outlook.
    2. Click Get Add-ins in the top bar menu. This will open a window in your browser.
    3. Search for Todoist.
    4. Click Add to install the add-in.
    5. Click Continue.
When you'll open the add-in for the first time, you might be asked to log in to your Microsoft account using your Outlook credentials.

  1. Open any email in Outlook.
  2. Tap the three dots icon in the top-right corner of the email.
  3. Tap More Add-Ins.
  4. Find Todoist and tap + plus icon next to it.
  5. Tap Continue. 
When you'll open the add-in for the first time, you might be asked to log in to your Microsoft account using your Outlook credentials.

How to add a task to Todoist

If you want to open the email you used to create a task, click on the task in Todoist. The email will then automatically open in a browser window.
  1. In Outlook, open the email you wish to turn into a task.
  2. In the top right corner of the email view, click the three dots icon.
  3. Scroll down to the Todoist icon.
  4. Click Add to Todoist.
  5. If asked to log in to your Todoist account, click Log in and then Agree.
  6. A Todoist panel will open, where you can enter a name for your task, assign a due date, a project, labels and priority level.
  7. Once you’re done editing your task, click Add task.
  8. The task will be added to your chosen project.
  1. Open the email you wish to turn into a task.
  2. In the top right corner, click Add to Todoist.
  3. If asked to log in to your Todoist account, click Log in and enter your login details for your Todoist account.
  4. A Todoist panel will open, where you can enter a name for your task, assign a due date, a project, labels and priority level.
  5. Once you’re done editing your task, click Add task.
  6. The task will be added to your chosen project.
  1. In Outlook, open the email you wish to turn into a task.
  2. In the top right corner of the email view, tap the three dots icon (located to the right of the email recipient and sender information).
  3. Scroll until you find Add to Todoist and tap this option.
  4. A Todoist panel will open, where you can enter a name for your task, assign a due date, a project, labels, and priority level.
  5. Once you’re done editing your task, tap Add task.
  6. The task will be added to your chosen project.

How to quick add a task to your Todoist Inbox 

  1. Open the email you wish to turn into a task.
  2. In the top right corner of the email view, click the three dots icon.
  3. Scroll down to the Todoist icon.
  4. Click Add to Todoist Inbox.
  5. A task will automatically be added to your Todoist Inbox.
  1. Open the email you wish to turn into a task.
  2. In the top right corner, click Add to Todoist Inbox.
  3. The email should now have been added to your Todoist Inbox as a task.
  1. Open the email you wish to turn into a task.
  2. In the top right corner of the email view, tap the three dots icon.
  3. Tap Add to Todoist Inbox.
  4. A task will automatically be added to your Todoist Inbox.

FAQ

How to delete the legacy Outlook plugin? 

Please follow these instructions to uninstall your legacy plugin. Delete OutlookTodoistADX from the list of your apps. 

Can I use the add-in on older versions of the Outlook desktop app?

The Outlook add-in supports Outlook 2019 or later on Windows, as well as Outlook 2016 or later on macOS. If you’re using an older version of Outlook, you can instead use the add-in by opening Outlook in a browser.

Can I add due times to my tasks when using the Outlook add-in?

No, it’s currently only possible to add a due time while in Todoist. 

How can I remove the Outlook add-in?

If you no longer want to use the Outlook add-in, here's how to remove it:

  1. Log in to your Outlook account in a browser.
  2. Open an email.
  3. At the top of the email view, click the three dots icon.
  4. Click Get Add-ins.
  5. Click My add-ins in the left-hand menu.
  6. Under the Todoist icon, click the three dots icon.
  7. Click Remove.

How can I remove permissions for the Outlook add-in to access my Microsoft account information?

The method for removing permissions depends on the type of your Microsoft account. If you were using the add-in with a personal account, you can manage permissions in your Microsoft account settings: https://account.live.com/Consent/Manage. If you were using a work or school account, you can manage your permissions in the My Apps portal: https://myapplications.microsoft.com/.

If you remove permissions for the Outlook add-in, you will not be able to use it until you allow the add-in to access your information.

Why is the Outlook add-in asking me to log in to my Microsoft account, when I try to access an email through a Todoist task?

This is most likely happening because the email you're trying to access has been moved, archived or deleted.

In order for you to get access to an email that has been moved, archived or deleted, the Outlook add-in may ask you to log in to your Microsoft account, to get your permission to use the Microsoft Graph API.

Access to the API is needed in order to fetch a robust link to the email, which is then attached to your Todoist task. Once this is done, the email link will work even if the email has been moved, archived or deleted. We only use your permission to access the Graph API to fetch a web link for the email, and for nothing else.

Usually, the add-in will be able to do this automatically by using Single Sign-On, which runs in the background. However, this option is not available on all Outlook platforms and account types. Therefore, in some cases, you may be asked to log in to your Microsoft account.

If you select to log out in the add-in settings, we log you out of Todoist and also out of your Microsoft account.

Why don't my Todoist tasks contain links to open the email in Outlook?

If your email account is hosted on Microsoft Exchange, Todoist may not be able to retrieve links to view your emails. You can still create tasks from your emails, but you will have to open the emails directly in Outlook.

Why can I not open tasks within my Outlook desktop app?

Unfortunately, this is a limitation imposed by Outlook, and we therefore won't be able to offer this feature. You should still be able to open your tasks in the Outlook web app.

Sometimes I click an email link, but it doesn't access properly, or the add-in searches forever.

If you’ve moved the linked email out of the folder which it was in when creating the task, then the link has become invalid, and you won’t be able to use it anymore. If this is the case, you can create a new task from the email’s new location (and you may also want to delete the old task with the broken link).

I don't see the Manage Add-ins option when I open the File menu in Office 365 for Windows 10.

This can happen if you are either on a corporate account where the installation of web add-ins has been disabled, or you are using an account type that is not supported by web add-ins like an IMAP or POP3 account.

On what email accounts can I use the Outlook add-in?

The new add-in framework supports email accounts that are hosted on Microsoft's cloud email services. These include their consumer email services (outlook.com, live.com, hotmail.com, etc), Office 365 email accounts, and some Microsoft Exchange accounts if they are cloud-enabled.

I prefer the old version of the Outlook plugin. Is there a way to view the existing tasks in the Todoist add-on as before? 

Unfortunately, not. The model of embedding the whole of Todoist inside Outlook cannot be achieved anymore. We're really sorry for any confusion caused, this is the integration model that Microsoft is moving forward with and the only one that will be supported by them.

Can I continue using the legacy Outlook plugin?

No, unfortunately, we don't support this plugin anymore. 

When I try signing in with my Google account, I get an error message This browser or app may not be secure. How can I log in? 

Please log in with your email and password (if you don't have a password, here's how you can create it), or open the Outlook web app and login into the web app with your Google account.

I'm seeing the error message Outlook plugin is unverified and needs admin approval. What should I do?

Please contact your network admin and ask them to access the Integrated Apps option in the O365 admin portal. They should then select Add Apps and then search for Todoist for Outlook.

From there, they can choose to deploy the integration either for all users or for specific users. They will then need to consent to the required permissions. The specific permissions the plugin requires are:

  • Read your mail
  • Sign you in and read your profile
  • Maintain access to data you have given it access to