From 9aa6ccb224bf81c96da06e89f00759dfe454e4bf Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: duffyduck <info@hacker-net.de>
Date: Fri, 3 Apr 2026 11:56:34 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] Fix Outlook COM connection: use Activator and clear error
 message

- Try GetActiveObject first, then Activator.CreateInstance as fallback
- Use Type.GetTypeFromProgID for version-independent COM activation
- Clear error message explaining possible causes including New Outlook
- NuGet Interop v15 is fine - it's the assembly version, works with
  all Outlook versions (2013-2024) via COM interface compatibility

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
---
 .../Services/OutlookContactsService.cs        | 31 ++++++++++++++-----
 1 file changed, 23 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)

diff --git a/src/StarfaceOutlookSync/Services/OutlookContactsService.cs b/src/StarfaceOutlookSync/Services/OutlookContactsService.cs
index 2ddab49f..db34ecc9 100644
--- a/src/StarfaceOutlookSync/Services/OutlookContactsService.cs
+++ b/src/StarfaceOutlookSync/Services/OutlookContactsService.cs
@@ -26,20 +26,35 @@ namespace StarfaceOutlookSync.Services
         {
             if (_outlookApp != null) return _outlookApp;
 
+            // Versuch 1: Laufende Outlook-Instanz finden
             try
             {
-                // Versuche laufende Outlook-Instanz zu finden
                 _outlookApp = (Outlook.Application)GetActiveComObject("Outlook.Application");
                 _weStartedOutlook = false;
+                return _outlookApp;
             }
-            catch
-            {
-                // Outlook starten falls nicht laufend
-                _outlookApp = new Outlook.Application();
-                _weStartedOutlook = true;
-            }
+            catch { }
 
-            return _outlookApp;
+            // Versuch 2: Outlook per COM starten
+            try
+            {
+                var outlookType = Type.GetTypeFromProgID("Outlook.Application");
+                if (outlookType != null)
+                {
+                    _outlookApp = (Outlook.Application)Activator.CreateInstance(outlookType);
+                    _weStartedOutlook = true;
+                    return _outlookApp;
+                }
+            }
+            catch { }
+
+            throw new InvalidOperationException(
+                "Outlook Classic konnte nicht gefunden werden.\n\n" +
+                "Moegliche Ursachen:\n" +
+                "- Outlook Classic ist nicht installiert\n" +
+                "- Outlook Classic ist nicht gestartet\n" +
+                "- Das neue Outlook wird verwendet (wird noch nicht unterstuetzt)\n\n" +
+                "Bitte Outlook Classic starten und erneut versuchen.");
         }
 
         public List<string> GetContactFolderPaths()