Phone numbers in Microsoft Outlook 2016 cannot be dialed by clicking

Note

We have no knowledge of when Outlook offers a clickable phone number. We have no programming influence on this. Unfortunately, we also learned that the function can either improve or worsen from different versions of Outlook.

Observation

In Microsoft Outlook 2016, it can sometimes be the case that phone numbers in the current "People" view are not displayed as clickable action areas (comparable to a browser link).

Example screenshot: View when ProCall client is not started

Example screenshot: View when the ProCall client is started and Microsoft Outlook 2016 does not display the phone numbers as clickable action areas.

The difference

When the ProCall client is started, the display changes from "Work" to "Call workplace" in the phone number heading. If this is not the case, the integration in Microsoft Outlook 2016 does not work. In this case, please follow this article: ProCall presence is not displayed in Microsoft Outlook

Options for dialing phone numbers in Microsoft Outlook

Dialing phone numbers in Microsoft Outlook 2016 can be done via four options:

1. Via the Context menu (right mouse button on a line with contact) in the current "Phone" view
2. Telephone handset icon to the contact, and the corresponding selection list
3. Mark the phone number and press a hotkey that has been defined for dialing
4. Click on phone numbers, which are displayed as underlined action areas, similar to a browser link

Procedure if phone numbers are not displayed as clickable in Microsoft Outlook

If you are affected by the phenomenon and do not have clickable phone numbers, use the other three options mentioned above.

If you have the possibility to change something in the installation, the following alternatives exist:

Switch to Click-to-Run Installation

1. According to our data collection, we can see that the phenomenon of non-clickable phone numbers does not occur in connection with click-to-run installations  of Microsoft Office 2016 incl. Outlook 2016. 
   Therefore, please change the Microsoft Office 2016 installation to a click-to-run variant. You can recognize the click-to-run by the five-digit version number in the third position (see table below).
2. In our experience, the phenomenon of non-clickable phone numbers does not occur with Microsoft Outlook 2019, which only allows click-to-run installations .

Experience with Microsoft Office/Outlook 2016 versions and clickable phone numbers

The following combinations are known at estos where the clickable phone number function has been observed (see also Update history for Office 2016 C2R and Office 2019):

Combinations with Microsoft Outlook 2016	Windows 10 64-Bit	Windows Server 2019 64-Bit	Windows Server 2016 64-Bit	Note
16.0.4266.1003			N/A	Installation from an "Office Professional Plus 2016 (x86 and x64)" ISO file
16.0.5113.1000		N/A	N/A	February 2, 2021, update for Outlook 2016 (KB4493190)
16.0.4226.1001		N/A	N/A	Installation from an "Office Professional Plus 2016 (x86 and x64)" ISO file
16.0.5134.1000		N/A	N/A	Installation from an "Office Professional Plus 2016 (x86 and x64)" ISO file
16.0.13628.20128	N/A		N/A	Click-to-run variant, probably from January 2021
16.0.13029.20232		N/A	N/A	Click-to-run variant, probably from August 2020
16.0.13801.20240		N/A	N/A	Click-to-run variant, probably from February 2021
16.0.13127.20508		N/A	N/A	Click-to-run variant, probably from September 2020
16.0.13628.20318		N/A		Click-to-run variant, probably from February 2021

The MAPI interface is not present in all variants of a Microsoft Office Click-to-Run installation!

For a Click-to-run installation, the connection must be made via Microsoft Exchange Web Services (EWS).

estos guidelines for the support of third-party products – interoperability information applies.