Priority Matrix is the most powerful project management system for Outlook. Unfortunately, sometimes Outlook will refuse to show the Priority Matrix button, and the causes can be wide-ranging. In this article, we discuss some of the most frequent reasons that cause the Priority Matrix button not to appear in your Outlook. Specifically, we will focus on Outlook for Windows.

My Priority Matrix button is missing on Outlook for Windows

The Priority Matrix button (or buttons, depending on the version of Priority Matrix for Outlook) should appear in your Outlook’s ribbon bar. Please check the following possible causes before contacting Appfluence Support.

The Reading Pane is Turned Off

Make sure you have Reading Pane turned on or open email to a separate window. Refer to this official support document by Microsoft on how to turn on the reading pane on Outlook.

Your Metered Connection Flag is On

If you tell Windows that your current connection is metered, it might disable Outlook extensions to save bandwidth. If that’s the case, the Priority Matrix button may be missing or disabled. You can adjust this in your network connection settings.

The Simplified Ribbon is On

If you enabled the simplified ribbon, the Priority Matrix button might be inside one of the drop-down menus. For more information about Simplified Ribbon, please check this MS article.

You are selecting a message in the wrong account

In general, Outlook add-ins do not work on shared mailboxes, delegated mailboxes, or archived mailboxes. Additionally, add-ins are enabled on a per-inbox basis, so if you have multiple accounts in your Outlook, you might have to enable it in every single account that you want to use with Priority Matrix.

Your email account might not support add-ins

If your Outlook is configured to connect via POP3 or IMAP, or to a custom email service, add-ins will not load. Outlook must be connected to an Exchange server or Office 365 using a direct connection. Some older on-premises Exchange servers do not support add-ins. Check with your IT staff about this.

The add-in has not been enabled for you

Make sure the Priority Matrix add-in is listed in Home > Manage Add-ins > Admin-managed. If you are unable to locate the Priority Matrix add-in that way, please check the following step.

See if Priority Matrix is available in other Outlook versions

See if Priority Matrix is showing when you connect with Outlook for Web (OWA), if you have access to that service. Alternatively, try a different platform (iOS, Android, Windows, Mac), of at a coworker’s computer. If you can see the Priority Matrix button in other platforms, but not on Windows, check if there are other add-ins missing from your Outlook ribbon. If so, contact your IT support for assistance since they may have been banned by your organization.

Office add-ins are disabled for your organization

See if you can locate the “Get Add-Ins” button. If this is missing, your administrators may have disabled all Office add-ins. Please contact your IT team, and have them refer to us if they need reassurance or details on the requirements and behavior of our add-in.

Something else entirely is going on

Outlook is a large and complex piece of software, with many moving parts. If the tips above do not help, refer to this article by Microsoft on troubleshooting activation of Outlook add-ins. Ultimately, your local IT staff will be best equipped to determine the reason for your problem, but if we can assist in any way, please do let us know.