7.1 KiB
Outlook Case Manager
A Windows system tray application that automatically organizes Outlook emails by TrackingID into folders.
Version: 1.0.0
Released: March 2026
Author: Wellington Ribeiro — wribeiro@microsoft.com
Requirements
- Windows 10/11
- Microsoft Outlook (classic) installed and configured
- .NET 8.0 Runtime
Installation
- Run
OutlookCaseHelperSetup.msi - Follow the installation wizard
- Launch the app from the Start Menu — Outlook Case Helper
- The app runs in the system tray (bottom-right corner of the taskbar)
How It Works
The app monitors your Outlook Inbox and Sent folders in real time. When an email arrives or is sent with a subject containing TrackingID#<number>, it is automatically moved to the corresponding folder under:
Inbox > Cases > Active > <folder name>
When a case is closed, the folder is moved to:
Inbox > Cases > Closed > <folder name>
Tray Menu
Right-click the tray icon to access all features:
| Menu Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Create Rule (Selected Email) | Creates a rule from the selected email in Outlook |
| Create Rule (Manual ID) | Creates a rule by manually entering a TrackingID |
| Remove Rule (Selected Email) | Removes the rule for the selected email's TrackingID |
| Remove Rule (Manual ID) | Removes a rule by manually entering a TrackingID |
| Run All Rules Now | Scans all mailbox folders and applies all active rules |
| View Active Rules | Opens the dashboard to manage all active rules |
| Settings | Configure keyboard shortcuts and rule file options |
| Start with Windows | Toggle automatic startup with Windows |
| About | App information, version and contact |
| Exit | Closes the application |
Features
Create Rule (Selected Email)
- Select an email in Outlook first
- The app reads the
TrackingID#from the subject automatically - Optionally add a name to the folder (e.g.
123456 | Client Name) - All existing emails with that TrackingID are moved immediately from all folders
- Future emails are moved automatically in real time
If the case already exists in Closed, it is moved back to Active automatically — no new folder is created.
Create Rule (Manual ID)
- Manually type a TrackingID number
- Optionally add a name to the folder
- Searches and moves all matching emails from all folders
Remove Rule (Selected Email)
- Select an email in Outlook first
- The app reads the TrackingID and removes the active rule
- The folder is moved from Active to Closed
- Monitoring stops for that TrackingID
- Confirmation popup before closing the case
Remove Rule (Manual ID)
- Manually type a TrackingID number to remove
- Same behavior as above
Run All Rules Now
- Scans all folders in the mailbox recursively
- Moves any emails matching active rules to the correct folders
- Useful after the app was closed for a period or to do a full cleanup
- Shows a tray notification when complete
View Active Rules (Dashboard)
Opens an interactive dashboard to manage all active rules.
| Button | Description |
|---|---|
| Add Rule | Creates a new rule directly from the dashboard |
| Rename | Renames the selected rule and its Outlook folder |
| Close Case | Moves the selected folder to Closed (with confirmation) |
| Reload Rules | Reloads rules from the JSON file without restarting |
| Refresh | Updates the email count for all rules |
| Close | Closes the dashboard |
The dashboard shows for each rule:
- Folder Name — full name including optional label
- TrackingID — the numeric ID extracted from the folder name
- Emails — current number of emails in the folder
Double-clicking a rule opens the Rename dialog directly.
Settings
Configure keyboard shortcuts and rule file options.
| Section | Description |
|---|---|
| Create Rule shortcut | Keyboard shortcut to create a rule from selected email |
| Remove Rule shortcut | Keyboard shortcut to remove a rule from selected email |
| View Rules | Opens active_rules.json in Notepad |
| Reload Rules | Reloads rules from file without restarting |
Default shortcuts:
| Action | Default Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Create Rule | Alt + 1 |
| Remove Rule | Alt + 2 |
Modifiers available: Alt, Ctrl, Shift
Keys available: F1–F12, 0–9, A–Z
Start with Windows
- Toggles whether the app starts automatically when Windows starts
- Checkmark indicates current state
- Stored in the Windows Registry under
HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
About
Displays app information including version, release date, description, and contact details.
Folder Structure
Inbox
└── Cases
├── Active
│ ├── 123456 | Client Name
│ └── 789012
└── Closed
└── 654321 | Old Case
Email Subject Format
The app looks for emails with subjects containing:
TrackingID#<number>
Examples:
Case update - TrackingID#1234567890Re: Support ticket TrackingID#9876543210123456
The number can be any length. Everything before and after TrackingID#<number> is ignored.
Rules File
Rules are stored at:
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\OutlookCaseHelper\active_rules.json
You can edit this file manually:
- Open Settings → View Rules to open the file in Notepad
- Edit the JSON array — each entry is a folder name string
- Click Settings → Reload Rules to apply changes without restarting
Example file:
["123456 | Client Name", "789012", "654321 | Old Project"]
Keyboard Shortcuts
Shortcuts work globally — even when Outlook is in focus.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Alt + 1 (default) | Create Rule from selected email |
| Alt + 2 (default) | Remove Rule from selected email |
Shortcuts can be changed in Settings.
Limitations
- Classic Outlook only — does not work with New Outlook (web-based). New Outlook support via Microsoft Graph API is planned for a future version.
- Single mailbox — monitors only the primary Outlook account. Shared mailboxes are not supported.
- Outlook must be open — the app connects to a running Outlook instance. If Outlook is closed, rules are saved but monitoring pauses until Outlook is reopened.
- Subject matching only — rules are matched by subject line. Emails without
TrackingID#in the subject are ignored. - Case sensitivity —
TrackingID#is case-sensitive.trackingid#orTRACKINGID#will not be matched. - No undo — moving folders to Closed or Active cannot be undone through the app. Use Outlook directly to move folders manually if needed.
Uninstall
Go to Control Panel → Programs → Uninstall a program → select Outlook Case Manager → Uninstall.
Rules and settings stored in AppData are not removed automatically. Delete the folder manually if needed:
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\OutlookCaseHelper\
Contact
Wellington Ribeiro
wribeiro@microsoft.com
For suggestions or bug reports, please send an email with the subject Outlook Case Manager - Feedback.