TaskMaster

An Outlook add-in and set of supporting libraries to triage, tag, and file email quickly; visualize tasks; and apply ML-assisted classifiers (spam, triage, folder/category predictions) — all integrated into the Outlook Ribbon.

Target platform: Windows • Outlook desktop (Microsoft 365/2019+) • .NET Framework 4.8.1 • Visual Studio (recommended: 2022) with VSTO development tools.

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Contents

• Features
• Solution layout
• Getting started
• Build & debug (VSTO add-in)
• Running the tests
• Configuration & storage
• Dependency updates (Dependabot)
• Common issues
• Contributing & branches
• License

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Features

• Outlook Ribbon integration via the TaskMaster VSTO add-in

  • Launch Quick Filer for keyboard-driven email filing and queueing
  • SpamBayes: trainable Bayesian spam classifier (enable/disable, save/load state)
  • Triage: A/B/C trainable classifier; precision controls; filter viewer
  • Tags: apply/view people, project, topic tags via a dedicated viewer
  • Task Visualization: tree/graph views to explore projects, people, topics

• ML & analytics helpers

  • Engines and utilities in UtilitiesCS.EmailIntelligence (SpamBayes, Triage, folder/category predictors)
  • Uses Microsoft.ML, Deedle, and related data/ML dependencies
  • Optional WebView2 hosting and Graph client utilities included in UtilitiesCS

• Outlook & filesystem tooling

  • Rich Outlook interop helpers (Explorer/Inspector hooks, folder utilities, PST helpers)
  • File/save helpers for model state and diagnostics (JSON snapshots, staging areas)

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Solution layout

Top-level Visual Studio solution: TaskMaster.sln

Most projects target .NET Framework 4.8.1 and build as Class Library; the VSTO add-in (TaskMaster) is a COM add-in loaded by Outlook.

Project	Type	Purpose (one-liner)
TaskMaster	VSTO Add-in	Outlook add-in entrypoint (ThisAddIn, Ribbon wiring) orchestrating modules.
TaskMaster.Test	MSTest	Unit tests for add-in-level orchestration and contracts.
QuickFiler	Library (WinForms)	Keyboard-centric filing UI (Explorer integration, queues, viewers, controllers).
QuickFiler.Test	MSTest	Unit tests for QuickFiler controllers and helpers.
TaskVisualization	Library (WinForms)	Task/project/people/topic viewers, auto-assign context, Outlook links.
TaskVisualization.Test	MSTest	Unit tests for visualization components.
TaskTree	Library	Core tree models and operations used by viewers and classifiers.
Tags	Library (WinForms)	Tag controller & viewer for applying people/project/topic labels.
Tags.Test	MSTest	Unit tests for tag logic.
ToDoModel	Library	To-do, people/project data model; email capture, PST helpers, sorting utilities.
ToDoModel.Test	MSTest	Unit tests for to-do model & utilities.
UtilitiesCS	Library	Shared utilities: Outlook extensions, threading, serialization, EmailIntelligence (SpamBayes/Triage/multiclass engines), log4net, ML, Graph helpers.
UtilitiesCS.Test	MSTest	Unit tests for UtilitiesCS (mail helpers, file system helpers, etc.).
UtilitiesSwordfish.NET.General	Library	General helper library (collections, misc utilities).
UtilitiesSwordfish.Test	MSTest	Tests for Swordfish helpers.
SVGControl	Library (WinForms)	SVG rendering control used across UI projects.
SVGControl.Test	MSTest	Tests for SVG control.
VBFunctions	Library	Small VB-style helper functions (ported to C#).
VBFunctions.Test	MSTest	Tests for VB helper wrappers.

The repo also contains UtilitiesSwordfish/Swordfish.NET.sln for the standalone sub-solution.

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Getting started

Prerequisites

• Windows 10/11

• Microsoft Outlook (Microsoft 365 or 2019+) desktop installed

• Visual Studio 2022 (recommended) with:

  • Office/SharePoint development workload (installs VSTO tools)
  • .NET desktop development

• .NET Framework Developer Pack 4.8.1

• Internet access to restore NuGet packages

Setup

1. Clone the repository and open TaskMaster.sln in Visual Studio.
2. Restore NuGet packages (VS usually auto-restores on open).
3. Build the solution (Debug, Any CPU). Projects use packages such as Microsoft.ML, log4net, Newtonsoft.Json, ObjectListView.Official, Svg, Microsoft.Graph, WebView2.

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Build & debug (VSTO add-in)

Because TaskMaster is an Outlook add-in (OutputType=Library, VSTO), you debug by launching Outlook under the debugger:

1. Right-click TaskMaster → Properties → Debug.
2. Choose Start external program and browse to your Outlook executable, e.g.: C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\OUTLOOK.EXE
3. Press F5. Outlook starts, loads the add-in, and shows the TaskMaster Ribbon.
4. Set breakpoints in TaskMaster, QuickFiler, TaskVisualization, etc.

If Outlook is already running, close it before F5. For 64-bit Office, ensure the interop assemblies match your Office bitness.

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Running the tests

The solution uses MSTest v3 with Microsoft.Testing.Platform.

• In Visual Studio, open Test Explorer → Run All.
• Or run at the command line via vstest.console.exe (installed with VS) if needed.

VS Code workflow (preserves solution/projects)

This repository includes workspace settings under .vscode/ so you can stay on the existing Visual Studio solution/project model (TaskMaster.sln + *.csproj) while building and running tests from VS Code.

• Install recommended extensions when prompted:
  • ms-dotnettools.csdevkit
  • ms-dotnettools.csharp
• Use Terminal → Run Build Task to run build: TaskMaster.sln (VS MSBuild).
• Use Terminal → Run Task to run test: MSTest (vstest.console).
• You can also use the VS Code Testing view to discover and run MSTest tests once the C# extensions finish loading the solution.

Notes:

• The VS Code tasks discover MSBuild.exe and vstest.console.exe using vswhere, so they work from a regular VS Code terminal (no Developer Command Prompt required).
• For these tasks, install Visual Studio 2022 (or Build Tools) with MSBuild + Test Platform components.

Test projects include: *.Test projects for TaskMaster, QuickFiler, TaskVisualization, TaskTree, ToDoModel, UtilitiesCS, UtilitiesSwordfish, SVGControl, VBFunctions.

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Configuration & storage

• Logging: log4net (log4net.config), enabled in TaskMaster (see assembly attribute).

• Classifier state (e.g., SpamBayes, Triage):

  • Controllable from the Ribbon (Enable/Disable, Save, Save Local, Get Save Location).
  • Saved via file helpers in UtilitiesCS (JSON serialization + file path helper).

• UI scaling: TreeListView and forms adjust pixel constants at startup for DPI scaling.

• Packages bring optional capabilities (e.g., Microsoft.Graph, WebView2) used where available.

Privacy note: The add-in processes Outlook items locally. Saved classifier snapshots and diagnostics are written to your local filesystem; review the save location from the Ribbon before sharing files.

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Dependency updates (Dependabot)

• Dependabot's NuGet updater cannot independently bump a transitive/indirect dependency beyond what its referencing primary dependency's own manifest supports. This is documented default ecosystem behavior (GitHub Docs, "About Dependabot security updates"), not a mechanism this repo's .github/dependabot.yml invents.
• The semver-major-scoped ignore rule set in .github/dependabot.yml — covering the eight Microsoft .NET-runtime-aligned package families (Microsoft.Extensions.*, Microsoft.Bcl.*, System.Text.Json, System.Drawing.Common, Microsoft.Graph*, Apache.Arrow*, Microsoft.Data.Analysis, Microsoft.ML*) — is this repo's defense against a future .NET Framework 4.8.1 (net481) compatibility drop. It was adopted because no currently-published version of any package referenced in this repo has dropped net481 support (verified 2026-07-16; see docs/features/active/2026-07-16-dependabot-net481-support-340/research/2026-07-16T16-10-dependabot-net481-support-research.md §4). Minor and patch updates for the same package families remain unaffected by this ignore rule.
• The config scopes all 16 packages.config project directories via directories: ["/*"] (a single-segment wildcard matching every immediate-child directory of the repository root). A pre-decided fallback exists if post-merge verification shows under-coverage: the literal 16-entry directories: list documented in docs/features/active/2026-07-16-dependabot-net481-support-340/spec.md Appendix A, to be substituted for the glob in a follow-up commit only if that verification shows fewer directories scanned than expected.
• Runbook note (manual, post-merge verification): after this configuration merges, a maintainer must manually confirm via the repository's Insights → Dependency graph → Dependabot tab (or the "Recent update jobs" log) that at least one of the 16 directories is scanned and produces a dependency list. This check is out of scope for any automated toolchain — no format/lint/type-check/test stage applies to a static YAML file — and is tracked as spec AC-11.

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Common issues

• Add-in not loading

  • Verify Outlook started under the debugger from the TaskMaster project.
  • Check File → Options → Add-ins (COM Add-ins) in Outlook for load failures.
  • Ensure VSTO runtime and Office PIA are installed (VS Office workload).

• Interop / bitness mismatch

  • Match Outlook bitness (x64 vs x86) with installed interop assemblies and any native dependencies.

• NuGet restore problems

  • Clear ~\AppData\Local\NuGet\Cache and re-restore; confirm internet access to feeds.

• Permissions / file saves

  • If saving classifier state fails, review the save path (Ribbon → “Get Save Location”) and file system permissions.

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Contributing & branches

• Current working branch (from the project brief): feature/PstCompare at commit 273feb632f56.
• Standard GitHub workflow: feature branches → PR → review → merge.

Coding guidelines (high-level):

• Prefer small, testable controllers and viewers.
• Keep Outlook interop isolated behind helper classes and adapters.
• Put shared logic in UtilitiesCS (and UtilitiesSwordfish.NET.General) to reduce duplication.
• Add MSTest coverage for regressions, especially in email parsing, model serialization, and keyboard handlers.

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License

TaskMaster — Outlook add-in and supporting libraries for email triage, tagging, and task visualization.

SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-3.0-or-later Copyright (C) 2025 Dan Moisan

This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program in a file named “COPYING”. If not, see https://www.gnu.org/licenses/.

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Short glossary

• Quick Filer — Keyboard-driven UI to rapidly queue and file emails into folders.
• SpamBayes — Trainable Bayesian spam classifier with Ribbon controls (enable/save/load).
• Triage — A/B/C classifier for prioritization; precision tuning and a filter viewer.
• Tags — People/project/topic tagging UI and controllers.
• Task Visualization — Views to explore tasks across projects/people/topics.
• UtilitiesCS — Shared ML, Outlook, threading, and file helpers (includes EmailIntelligence).
• SVGControl — Custom control for rendering SVG assets in WinForms.

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If you want this README saved into the repo (or tailored for end-user vs developer audiences), tell me the audience and I’ll produce that variant.