Teams Standalone Outlook Addin

[manchesterBazza]

Hello all

Hope everyone is safe and well

I am wondering if it is at all possible to install the Microsoft Teams add-in for outlook as a standalone without having to install the full Microsoft Teams software on our servers for the users.

We currently use Microsoft Remote Desktop Services as our VDI Environment for users to log onto, from previous teams installations the performance of teams almost stalled the servers and hence we had to uninstall teams which brought performance to normality.

As we currently use teams via the https://teams.microsoft.com via the browser which works well for use without the video aspect, i wanted to see if the MS teams add-in is available separately without having to install the full software

Also i cannot see a 'lightweight' version of teams out there for an RDS deployment that i can see

Any pointers would be welcome

[#2]

Hi @manchesterBazza 

Since you are using the Online Version of Microsoft Teams and if the services are integrated with Microsoft Office 365 Services the best Solution I would recommend is using OWA (Outlook Web Access) to schedule the Microsoft Teams Meeting.

The Standalone version of Microsoft Teams Add-in for Outlook is not available. Hence we can use the workaround of scheduling the meeting the OWA.

With Regards,

Satish U

[#3]

Hi @RealTime_M365 

Many thanks for getting back to me, let me check this out

On connecting to OWA i do not see any options for a Calendar on the left where i would expect to, also i will need to see if this service is enabled for using teams with OWA

I think this would throw some users off as they prefer the on prem outlook and so we may have to install teams on our RDS services for this purpose

Thanks again

[#4]

Hi @manchesterBazza 

If you think OWA would be a difficult option. They can schedule the meeting from the Microsoft Teams Calendar Option also. They can define the time and schedule the meeting from the calendar option in Microsoft Teams only issue will be scheduling assistant will not be available.

Here are some links for your assistance.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/teams-add-in-for-outlook

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/get-an-office-add-in-for-outlook-1ee261f9-49bf-4ba6-b3e2-2b...

See if using the second link if you could get the Microsoft Teams Add-in Installed.

With Regards,

Satish U

[#5]

Hi @manchesterBazza 

In addition here is how to schedule the meeting from OWA

1. Login into Microsoft Outlook Web Access

2. On the Left Hand-side Bottom Click on the Second Icon > Calendar

3. Select the Date and Time 

4. Click on Teams Meeting Check Box to Enable 

5. Send the Meeting Invite to the Respective Recipients

With Regards,

Satish U  

[#6]

Thanks @RealTime_M365

I shall give this a go and let you know

[#7]

@Satish2805

Apologies for the delay, in OWA i see no option to tick a box for scheduling a teams meeting, i think i may have to install the full teams suite on each of our RDs servers to get this working

Thanks for your assistance

[#8]

@manchesterBazzaThe OWA plugin is fairly new.  See the Microsoft article about it: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/teams-add-in-for-outlook (dated 18 May 2022)

It also clarifies that there is still no option for the plugin without the full Teams client being installed.

I have seen some threads about with workarounds in.  Good luck if you want to follow that route.

[#9]

Three-year-old post here and still no fix for it. RDS remains the red-headed stepchild of Windows. We really need a lightweight Teams Add-in for Outlook Desktop! 

[#10]

@manchesterBazza  + all

I know it's an old post but seeing no solution posted yet. Here's how I implemented this for an environment (x64) where Teams was not showing up on Outlook 2019.

Download the New Teams x64 client via Bulk deploy the new Microsoft Teams desktop client - Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Learn.

Extract just the MicrosoftTeamsMeetingAddinInstaller.msi file from the downloaded MSIX file - I used 7-Zip to do so. Right click the MSIX > 7 zip > Open > Extract required file. 

Note : [Teams Version History - Windows] - As of 20 July 2024 - currently the latest version of Teams is 24165.1414.2987.41 and the MicrosoftTeamsMeetingAddinInstaller.msi version is 1.24.14501

To install Teams Meeting Addin from command-line, you will first need the version number to install to the correct folder - its not easily visible in the file properties of the MSI. So, I opened the MSI in Notepad2 (editor of choice can be used) - and searched for ProductVersionMicrosoftManufacturer, as shown below - The version of the MSI is right alongside (it eventually shows up the version number in Add/Remove programs, so you could deploy it, figure out the version from there, uninstall, and then put it in the right location below using the script shown)

Then from an elevated command prompt to install system-wide for all users run the following command after adjusting for your environment  - 

MSIEXEC /I "<path>\MicrosoftTeamsMeetingAddinInstaller.msi" /passive /norestart TARGETDIR="C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\TeamsMeetingAddin\<versionnumber>\"

Once that's done, you should be good to go with the "standalone" Teams Meeting Addin deployed. 

Worked well for me. YMMV.

[#11]

Finally somebody that answered the question. This worked like a charm. Thank you!