To Clear Up “Outlook is missing in Send Forms Preferences Error in QuickBooks”

QuickBooks Accounting solutions can be seamlessly integrated with the Outlook for sending emails, forms and invoices. There are situations when the Microsoft Outlook is missing in the QuickBooks Desktop Send Forms preferences. This situation generally arises when you are changing the email preferences in your QuickBooks application. You can change your email preferences easily by going to My Preferences option in Send Forms option which is present in Preferences menu in Edit tab. If you are unable to locate the Outlooks in that option, then there are various reasons that are responsible for it.

• You are working on the older versions of Microsoft Outlook.
• You don’t have a proper profile in Microsoft Outlook.
• Default email program is not set as Outlook for emailing on your system.
• Outlook is not selected as preferred email client for Internet Explorer.
• Your QuickBooks has cloud hosting but your service provider does not have Microsoft Office installed on the hosted system.

Why is Outlook missing in send forms preferences in QuickBooks Desktop?

When the user tries to select Outlook to send forms, the Outlook option isn’t available in QuickBooks Desktop. This can happen when Microsoft Outlook isn’t compatible with your version of QuickBooks or when program files for either of the programs are damaged.

Here’s the procedure that the user follows to choose Outlook for sending forms:

Exit QuickBooks Desktop, then start it again. Go to Edit > Preferences > Send Forms Preferences > Select Outlook.

Causes of Outlook missing in send forms preferences in QuickBooks Desktop

• Microsoft Outlook isn’t compatible with your version of QuickBooks Desktop.
• Microsoft Outlook installation is damaged.
• You’ve not set up a profile in Microsoft Outlook.
• You’ve not set Microsoft Outlook as the default email program for your Windows user account.
• Microsoft Office isn’t installed on the server that hosts the company file.

Cause: Microsoft Outlook isn’t compatible with your version of QuickBooks Desktop

If you’re using a version of Microsoft Outlook that is too old, then the software might not work with your version of QuickBooks Desktop. This is quite easy to see and understand because, as Intuit upgrades its accounting software, it has to discontinue supporting integration with versions of programs that are too old.

Solution: Get the right version of Microsoft Outlook

First off, you should check the version of Microsoft Outlook currently installed on your system.

Steps to check the version of Microsoft Outlook:

For Microsoft Outlook 2013 and earlier releases.

1. Launch Microsoft Outlook.
2. Go to the Help menu.
3. Select About Microsoft Office Outlook.
4. Verify that the version of Outlook is compatible with your version of QuickBooks Desktop.

For Microsoft Outlook 2014 and later releases.

1. Go to the File menu in Outlook.
2. Click on Office Account, or if you don’t see the office account, then on Help.
3. Note the version and build number from the Product Information section.
4. To find between 32-bit and 64-bit version, click on About Outlook.

Steps to download and install the latest version of Microsoft Office:

1. Log into your Microsoft Account.
2. Sign in to the account that is associated with Microsoft 365.
3. Go to the Microsoft Office home page.
4. Click on Install Office.
5. Choose Install (or Install Office in some versions).

You can select between 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the program by selecting other install options.

Steps to install Microsoft Office:

1. Launch the setup file that you downloaded from your Microsoft Account.
2. Click on Yes if the User Account Control settings prompt you with the question, “Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?”
3. Wait for the installation to complete.
4. Click on Close.
5. Go to the Start menu and launch Microsoft Office.

Note: you can simply log into your Microsoft Account to activate Outlook and other apps included in the Office suite.

Cause: Microsoft Outlook installation is damaged

Damaged files for Microsoft Outlook make it impossible for QuickBooks Desktop to recognize the application and include it as an option for sending forms. Luckily, it’s quite easy to repair the installation.

Solution: Repair or Reinstall Microsoft Outlook

Steps to repair Microsoft Outlook:

1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Choose Apps and Features.
3. Select Microsoft Office.
4. Click on Modify to access the repair utility.
5. Follow according to your installation of Microsoft Office:
6. Simple click-to-run installation.

1. Choose Online Repair in the “How would you like to repair your Office Programs” window.
2. Choose Repair or Quick Repair.
3. MSI-based installation.

1. Click on Change your installation.
2. Select Repair.
3. Click on Continue.
4. Follow through with the rest of the instructions to complete the repair operation. Then, restart your system.

Now launch QuickBooks Desktop and see if Microsoft Outlook appears in the options for sending forms. If the Repair utility doesn’t fix the problem for you,

Cause: You’ve not set up a profile in Microsoft Outlook

You need to set up a profile in Outlook so that QuickBooks can include it in the ‘send forms preferences’. You can create multiple profiles in Outlook, but if you’ve not yet created a single one, then proceed with the solution in this section.

Solution: Set up a profile in Microsoft Outlook

As a profile is essential for Outlook to start functioning, you should start off with creating a new profile.

Steps to set up a profile in Microsoft Outlook:

1. Launch Outlook and go to the File Menu.
2. From the Accounts Settings, select Manage Profiles.
3. Click on Show Profiles, then Add.
4. Input the Profile Name, then select Ok.

You can add several other accounts to your profile. For instance, you can add your Gmail account to your Outlook profile to access your mails from a single program.

Cause: You’ve not set Microsoft Outlook as the default email program for your Windows user account.

When Outlook isn’t the default email client on Windows, the command to send email requests often connect to the other email client that is set as default. You can resolve this problem by setting Outlook as the default email program.

Solution: Set Microsoft Outlook as the default email program

First, enable Outlook and QuickBooks to Run as Administrator:

1. Exit QuickBooks Desktop and close any related background process through the task manager.
2. In the Start menu, type in QuickBooks, then Right-Click on the icon.
3. Click on Open File Location.
4. Right click on QuickBooks.exe.
5. Choose Properties and go to the Compatibility tab.
6. Remove the Run this program as Administrator option from QuickBooks.
7. Click on Apply, then Ok.
8. Repeat the same steps for Microsoft Outlook.

Steps to set Microsoft Outlook as the default email program:

1. Go to the Start menu.
2. Type in default apps, and click on the Default Apps option.
3. Go to the Email section and select Outlook from the list of available email clients.

If you, however, are still encountering the same concern, then you need to repair the MAPI32.dll file on your system. This file is essential for QuickBooks when it works with PDF and word files. 

To fix the MAPI32.dll file, you can go ahead with these steps:

1. Launch the File Explorer.
2. From the C drive, go to the Windows Folder.
3. Double-click on the System32 folder.
4. Right-click on the Fixmapi.exe file.
5. Follow along the instructions provided by the utility.
6. Restart your system after the repair process completes.

In the end, you may have to try to use a different email client or reinstall QuickBooks on your system. The error can also be caused by Microsoft Outlook, so trying a different email client can definitely help you narrow down the cause of the error.

Steps to configure the email preferences in the Internet Explorer:

1. Launch the Internet Explorer.
2. From the Tools menu, click on Settings, then Internet Options.
3. Click on Set Programs from the Programs tab.
4. Click on Set your default programs.
5. Select the desired email service – Outlook in this case.
6. Click on Apply, then Ok.

Cause: Microsoft Office isn’t installed on the server that hosts the company file

You must install Microsoft Office on the server that hosts your company file. When you trigger the option to send the email, QuickBooks looks at local programs on the server to send the form to. If you’ve not installed it yet, then Outlook will not be available in send forms preferences.

Solution: Install Microsoft Office on the server computer

Steps to download and install the latest version of Microsoft Office:

1. Log into your Microsoft Account.
2. Sign in to the account that is associated with Microsoft 365.
3. Go to the Microsoft Office home page.
4. Click on Install Office.
5. Choose Install (or Install Office in some versions).

You can select between 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the program by selecting other install options.

Steps to install Microsoft Office:

1. Launch the setup file that you downloaded from your Microsoft Account.
2. Click on Yes if the User Account Control settings prompt you with the question, “Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?”
3. Wait for the installation to complete.
4. Click on Close.
5. Go to the Start menu and launch Microsoft Office.

Note: you can simply log into your Microsoft Account to activate Outlook and other apps included in the Office suite.

Cause: QuickBooks hasn’t been configured properly for Microsoft Outlook

Solution: Configure Outlook for Windows

Now you have to edit the email preferences in QuickBooks itself. So we’re at the second phase of correcting this error, with the first being the configuration of admin privileges.

Let’s configure the email preferences now:

1. Click on the Edit menu in QuickBooks.
2. Choose Preferences.
3. Click on Send Forms.
4. In the My Preferences tab, select Outlook, then hit Ok.

Now you can send a test email to check for any problems. If you do encounter a problem, then repeat till the Step 2, then follow:

1. Click on QuickBooks Email or Webmail.
2. Click on Ok.
3. Go back to My Preferences, then select Outlook.

Click OK, then restart your system.

Alternate Solutions of Outlook is missing in Send Forms Preferences Error in QuickBooks

Here are some solutions that are suggested to resolve your missing Outlook issue. But make sure that you have installed the latest version of Microsoft Outlook on your system. Even after doing so you are facing the same issue, and then follow the steps below:

Method 1: Set Outlook as default email program

For Microsoft Outlook 2010/2013

• Go to File menu and select Options.
• From start up options, choose Make Outlook the default program for E-mail, Contacts, and Calendar.

For Outlook 2007 and older versions

• Go to Tools menu and click on Options.
• Select the Other tab.
• In the General settings, click on Make Outlook the default program for Email.

Note: If you are working on a number of Outlook profiles then Outlook will ask you to choose a profile every time you start your application. If you have not selected a profile as a default option then QuickBooks will not see Outlook. While starting the Outlook, select a profile and then click on set as default.

Method 2: Edit the Mail profile setting for your Windows Operating System

• End your QuickBooks application.
• Press the Windows Start button from your keyboard and click on Control Panel.
• From the Search Control Panel area on the top left side, write Mail and look for results.
• Select the Mail from the results that are displayed.
• From the Mail Setup window, select Show Profiles.
• Click on the Always use this profile and press OK.
• Re-open your QuickBooks application and start using the Outlook for emailing.

Conclusion

Outlook doesn’t show up in the sending forms preferences because QuickBooks desktop cannot find the registered product in your Windows registry. The issue can be with Outlook or QuickBooks, so you need to configure both programs in order to fix the issue.