outlook-email

name	outlook-email
description	Use when sending emails via outlook.office.com using Playwright MCP. Covers compose flow, body injection, file attachment, and how to minimize context usage across multiple emails.

Sending Email via Outlook Web (Playwright MCP)

Core Flow (per email)

1. Click New mail button
2. Fill To field → press Tab (confirms external address)
3. Fill Subject field
4. Click Message body to activate it
5. Inject body HTML via browser_evaluate
6. Click Attach file → click Browse this computer → browser_file_upload
7. Click Send

Key Principle: Refs Change Per Compose Window

Every new compose window generates new element refs. Do NOT reuse refs across emails. After each Send, the snapshot shows a new "New mail" ref — save it for the next iteration.

Body Injection (most reliable method)

Use evaluate() with innerHTML + dispatchEvent:

(element) => {
  element.innerHTML = `<div>Hej,</div><div><br></div><div>Body text here...</div>`;
  element.dispatchEvent(new Event('input', {bubbles: true}));
  return 'injected';
}

Use HTML entities for Danish chars: ø (ø), å (å), æ (æ), Ø (Ø), Å (Å).

Minimizing Context (Critical for Batch Sending)

Snapshots are ~70KB each. Never read them inline. Instead:

# After browser_file_upload or other large snapshot steps:
python3 -c "
import json
with open('/path/to/tool-result.json') as f:
    data = json.load(f)
text = data[0]['text']
for keyword in ['attachment', 'Send', 'e1234']:
    idx = text.find(keyword)
    if idx >= 0:
        print(f'[{keyword}]: ...{text[max(0,idx-30):idx+100]}...')
"

Save to file with browser_snapshot(filename="snap.json") when you need to inspect state.

Efficient Ref Discovery

After New mail click, the snapshot is small enough to read inline. Key refs to extract:

• generic "To" [active] [ref=eXXXX] — To input
• textbox "Subject" [ref=eXXXX]
• textbox "Message body" [ref=eXXXX]
• button "Send" [ref=eXXXX]
• button "Attach file" [ref=eXXXX]

After Send, the snapshot collapses back to inbox. Find new button "New mail" [ref=eXXXX] for next email.

Attachment Flow

Click "Attach file" → menu appears
  → Click "Browse this computer" [ref=eXXXX]
  → Modal state: [File chooser]
  → browser_file_upload(paths=["/absolute/path/to/file.pdf"])

Verify attachment with grep: look for listbox "file attachments" containing the filename.

To Field Confirmation

After Tab, Outlook shows a warning for external addresses: "The following recipient is outside your organization: [e-mail]" This confirms the address was accepted. No extra click needed.

Sequence for Batch Emails

New mail → [get refs from inline snapshot]
→ type To → Tab
→ type Subject
→ click body → [small snapshot change only]
→ evaluate() inject HTML
→ click Attach → click Browse → file_upload → [grep for attachment + Send ref]
→ click Send → [get new New mail ref from post-send snapshot]
→ repeat

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Reusing refs from previous compose	Always get fresh refs after New mail click
Reading 70KB snapshot inline	Use python3 grep on saved JSON
Forgetting Tab after To field	Tab confirms the address token
Using plain text in evaluate()	Use innerHTML with HTML entities for Danish chars
Not clicking body before evaluate()	Body must be active/focused first