Change Outlook's Programmatic Access Options

Please note that the advice on this page reduces Outlook's security level and could leave you open to an exploit that takes over Outlook and sends mail on your behalf. We highly recommend you use up-to-date antivirus software that Outlook can detect and leave these settings alone.

But, when all else fails... there is a way to disable the programmatic access warning in Outlook 2007 and up. Note that these settings apply to access to the Outlook Object Model, SimpleMAPI access to Outlook has its own registry key.

How can I change the programmatic access options. They are greyed out and I cannot change them. I have an application that sends email out. I have to click on the allow/deny for each email. I want to be able to turn this off and on so I can avoid this message.

These settings are only enabled if the current user is an administrator on the computer. Non-administrator users can see the current setting but will not be able to change it. Programmatic Access settings can also be controlled through Group Policy.

Run Outlook as Administrator

Note: To change the Programmatic Access setting in Outlook's Trust Center, you need to run Outlook as an Administrator. You only need run as administrator one time, and once you make the change it will be in effect for all Outlook profiles on the computer.

To do this in Windows 7 and older, right click on the Outlook shortcut and choose Run as Administrator from the menu. If you don't see Run as Administrator listed as an option, hold Ctrl+Shift as you right click on the Outlook shortcut.

If using Windows 8's Start screen, right click and choose Run as Administrator from the taskbar. When Outlook is pinned to the desktop Taskbar, hold Ctrl+Shift and right click on the Taskbar icon.

After Outlook loads, go to Tools, Trust Center (Outlook 2007) or File, Options, Trust Center (Outlook 2010 and up) and change the Programmatic Access setting.

The next time you restart Outlook, start it in "normal" mode.

Edit the Registry

If you prefer to edit the registry instead, you need to add the following key to the registry (create the key if it doesn't exist).

You'll need to restart Outlook for the changes to take effect.

Outlook 2016

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Security
DWORD: ObjectModelGuard
Value: 2

You can also set the keys below. As always, if the keys don't exist in the registry, you'll need to create them.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\16.0\outlook\security
DWORD: PromptOOMSend
Value: 2
DWORD: AdminSecurityMode
Value: 3
DWORD: promptoomaddressinformationaccess
Value: 2
DWORD: promptoomaddressbookaccess
Value: 2

Outlook 2013

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Outlook\Security
DWORD: ObjectModelGuard
Value: 2

You can also set the keys below. As always, if the keys don't exist in the registry, you'll need to create them.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\15.0\outlook\security
DWORD: PromptOOMSend
Value: 2
DWORD: AdminSecurityMode
Value: 3
DWORD: promptoomaddressinformationaccess
Value: 2
DWORD: promptoomaddressbookaccess
Value: 2

Outlook 2010

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Outlook\Security
DWORD: ObjectModelGuard
Value: 2

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\14.0\outlook\security
DWORD: PromptOOMSend
Value: 2
DWORD: AdminSecurityMode
Value: 3
DWORD: promptoomaddressinformationaccess
Value: 2
DWORD: promptoomaddressbookaccess
Value: 2

Outlook 2007
If you are using Outlook 2007, the keys are as follows.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Outlook\Security
DWORD: ObjectModelGuard
Value: 2

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\12.0\outlook\security
DWORD: PromptOOMSend
Value: 2
DWORD: AdminSecurityMode
Value: 3

Do It For Me

If you don't want to use Run as Administrator or Edit the registry, we have the following registry files you can download and run. These files set the values in both keys.

Double click to run the registry file. After adding the keys to the registry, you'll need to restart Outlook for the changes to take effect.

Outlook 2016 Outlook 2013
Outlook 2010 Outlook 2007

Note that you may need to right click and use Save as (or Save Link as in Firefox) - make sure the file extension is .reg.

Simple MAPI

The section above applies to Object Model access, but it's also possible to send mail using Windows SimpleMAPI, which works with the default email client, which may not be Outlook. If you are sending email using SimpleMAPI, you need to set PromptSimpleMAPISend value to avoid the Allow/Deny dialog.

Outlook 2016

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Security
DWORD: PromptSimpleMAPISend
Value: 2

Outlook 2013

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Outlook\Security
DWORD: PromptSimpleMAPISend
Value: 2

Outlook 2010

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Outlook\Security
DWORD: PromptSimpleMAPISend
Value: 2

Outlook 2007

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Outlook\Security
DWORD: PromptSimpleMAPISend
Value: 2

Do It For Me

If you don't want to edit the registry to add the PromptSimpleMAPISend value to the registry, use one of the prepared reg files to set the key.

Double click to run the registry file. After adding the keys to the registry, you'll need to restart Outlook for the changes to take effect.
Outlook 2016 Outlook 2013
Outlook 2010 Outlook 2007

Automation Security Tools

These tools will allow you to bypass the security settings.