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

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Requirements

• Windows 10/11
• Microsoft Outlook (classic) installed and configured
• .NET 8.0 Runtime

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Installation

1. Run OutlookCaseHelperSetup.msi
2. Follow the installation wizard
3. Launch the app from the Start Menu — Outlook Case Helper
4. The app runs in the system tray (bottom-right corner of the taskbar)

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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>

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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Remove Rule (Manual ID)

• Manually type a TrackingID number to remove
• Same behavior as above

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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About

Displays app information including version, release date, description, and contact details.

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Folder Structure

Inbox
└── Cases
    ├── Active
    │   ├── 123456 | Client Name
    │   └── 789012
    └── Closed
        └── 654321 | Old Case

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Email Subject Format

The app looks for emails with subjects containing:

TrackingID#<number>

Examples:

• Case update - TrackingID#1234567890
• Re: Support ticket TrackingID#9876543210123456

The number can be any length. Everything before and after TrackingID#<number> is ignored.

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Rules File

Rules are stored at:

C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\OutlookCaseHelper\active_rules.json

You can edit this file manually:

1. Open Settings → View Rules to open the file in Notepad
2. Edit the JSON array — each entry is a folder name string
3. Click Settings → Reload Rules to apply changes without restarting

Example file:

["123456 | Client Name", "789012", "654321 | Old Project"]

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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.

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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# or TRACKINGID# 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.

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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\

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Contact

Wellington Ribeiro
wribeiro@microsoft.com

For suggestions or bug reports, please send an email with the subject Outlook Case Manager - Feedback.