Advanced VSTO Outlook Add-in for email management, search, templates, batch operations, and more — with dark theme and 18+ features.
MailForge is a professional toolkit for managing your Outlook inbox more efficiently:
MailForge adds a single MailForge tab to the Outlook ribbon, organized into 7 groups:
| Group | Buttons |
|---|---|
| Intelligence | Advanced Search · Daily Digest · Quick Notes |
| Analytics | Email Dashboard · Storage Analyzer · Data Scanner |
| Batch Tools | Batch Operations · Smart Categorize |
| Email Templates | New Template · Apply Template |
| Compose Tools | Quick Reply · Schedule Send · Signatures |
| Manage | Email Tracker · Snooze · Archive · Settings |
| Appearance | Toggle Theme |
Search across all folders by Subject, From, To, Body, Date, Flag, Unread status, and Attachment presence.
Generate a summary digest of recent activity across your mailbox.
Attach a private note to any email for later reference.
Visual charts of your email activity — sent, received, and overall mailbox statistics.
Analyze which folders and senders consume the most mailbox space.
Scan emails for sensitive data patterns (PII, credentials, etc.).
Archive, delete, move, and mark read/unread for multiple emails simultaneously.
Auto-assign Outlook categories based on sender patterns.
Create reusable email templates for repetitive replies.
Apply a saved template to a new or existing email in one click.
Fast email replies with one click for your most common responses.
Schedule emails for delivery at a specific date and time.
Manage and insert multiple Outlook signatures.
Unified follow-up & tracking: register sent emails, track replies, snooze, and monitor open status.
Snooze emails to reappear in your inbox at a later time.
Move selected emails to your archive folder in one click.
Configure appearance, storage paths, signatures, and default search options.
Switch between GitHub-dark and clean Light themes instantly. Applies live without restarting Outlook.
| Requirement | Version |
|---|---|
| Microsoft Outlook | 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, or Microsoft 365 |
| .NET Framework | 4.8 |
| VSTO Runtime | 4.0 |
| Operating System | Windows 10 / 11 |
| Visual Studio | 2019 or 2022 (for building only) |
install.bat with Administrator privileges.MailForge.dll to %LOCALAPPDATA%\MailForge\.The Advanced Search is MailForge's most powerful feature. Combine multiple filters to find the exact emails you need in seconds.
| Field | Description | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | Search in email subject | Text |
| From | Search in sender name or email address | Text |
| To | Search in recipient name or CC | Text |
| Body | Search in email body text | Multi-line text |
| Date From / To | Filter by received date | Date |
| Folder | Target folder (All Folders, Inbox, Sent Items, etc.) | Dropdown |
| Use Regex | Enable regular expression matching | Checkbox |
| Flagged Only | Show only flagged emails | Checkbox |
| Unread Only | Show only unread emails | Checkbox |
| Has Attachment | Show only emails with attachments | Checkbox |
| Importance | Filter by importance level (Any, High, Normal, Low) | Dropdown |
The Email Dashboard provides visual charts of your email activity. View sent and received email statistics at a glance.
Email templates are useful for repetitive responses:
After searching, select results and perform batch operations:
| Operation | Description |
|---|---|
| Archive | Move emails to the archive folder |
| Delete | Delete selected emails |
| Move | Move to a specific folder |
| Mark Read | Mark all selected as read |
| Mark Unread | Mark all selected as unread |
| Smart Categorize | Categorize based on sender patterns |
MailForge unifies follow-up and tracking into a single tab:
From the Settings page, you can configure:
No. Installation is performed for the current user account. Administrator privileges are recommended but not required.
Yes. MailForge is compatible with Outlook 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Microsoft 365.
MailForge uses a HashSet to track EntryIDs of emails and ensures each email appears only once in search results.
Yes. Enable the Use Regex checkbox to use regular expressions in search fields.
The CSV file contains columns: Subject, From, To, Date, Size, Attach, Flag, Unread. Saved with UTF-8 encoding.
The installer automatically falls back to manual registry registration. The install.bat script selects the best available method.
MailForge streams mailboxes with GetFirst/GetNext (never enumerates the whole store), so even a 100 GB mailbox won't hang Outlook. If results don't appear, make sure at least one filter is set and that Importance is left on Any unless you specifically want to filter by priority.
Outlook 2024 is stricter than 2016/2019/2021. If the add-in fails to load or is disabled, apply the steps below.
fix-outlook-user.bat (ships with the project) to register the add-in under the correct COM Guid and set DoNotDisableAddinList.C:\Users\...\MailForge.vsto|vstolocal), not a file:/// URL — the file:/// form forces network/trust checks that add a 12s timeout.%LOCALAPPDATA%\MailForge\ (a local folder), not a OneDrive-synced or network-mapped path — syncing adds startup latency that Outlook counts against the add-in.fix-outlook-user.bat also disables the CRL check in the registry as a safety net.fix-outlook-user.bat, then reopen Outlook. Verify the MailForge tab appears in the ribbon and no "disabled" warning shows in File → Options → Add-ins → Manage COM Add-ins.
A comprehensive standalone HTML guide covering the usage of all 18 MailForge ribbon tabs — with step-by-step instructions, features, and tips for each.