Can't delete E-Mails after using a docked Custom Task Pane in Outlook

Question

I'm developing an Outlook 2010 Add-In in C# which adds a "docked" Custom Task Pane to the Outlook Explorer window. Now i'm facing the problem that it isn't possible to delete an e-mail (with delete key) after clicking on the Custom Task Pane. First i have to click into the e-mail preview and then i can delete e-mails with the delete key.

It seems to be a focus problem. The problem only occurs with "docked" Custom Task Panes. If they are floating the delete key works as expected.

Any ideas how to solve that?

Answer 1

I found a workaround for that problem on the net which works.

Answer 2

I'm pretty sure that's a focus issue as you suspect. If the task pane is floating, then does the Delete Key function when the task pane has focus? Usually, once your task pane has focus, it's up to you to deal with any keys that might be pressed (other than, say, the ALT keys to pop menus).