A Microsoft Outlook add-in that extracts links from emails and allows you to open them in different browsers based on configurable rules. Perfect for users who need to open work links in one browser profile and personal links in another.
- Link Extraction: Automatically extracts all links from HTML and plain text emails
- Browser Rules: Configure different browsers or browser profiles for different email accounts
- Custom Task Pane: View all extracted links in a convenient side panel
- Link Categorization: Separates visible links from hidden/tracking links
- Theme Support: Light and dark theme options
- Flexible Configuration: Support for custom browser launch commands with parameters
- Multiple Account Support: Different rules for different email accounts in Outlook
The links pane showing extracted links from an email
Configure browser rules for different accounts
Dark theme support for better visibility
Examples of different browser configurations
- Microsoft Outlook 2016 or later
- Windows 10 or later
- .NET Framework 4.7.2 or later
- Visual Studio Tools for Office Runtime
- Download the latest release from the Releases page
- Close Outlook completely
- Run the installer (
OutlookOpenLink.vsto) - Follow the installation prompts
- Restart Outlook
- Enable the add-in if prompted by Outlook's security settings
- Clone this repository
- Open the solution in Visual Studio 2019 or later
- Build the solution in Release mode
- Deploy the add-in from Visual Studio
- Open an email in Outlook
- Click the "Links" button in the Outlook ribbon or toolbar
- View extracted links in the side panel
- Click any link to open it with the configured browser
- Open the Links panel by clicking the Links button
- Expand the configuration section by clicking the toggle button
- Enter a browser rule for your account using this format:
"C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --profile-directory="Profile 1" {url}
- Click Save to store the rule
Chrome with specific profile:
"C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --profile-directory="Work Profile" {url}
Edge with specific profile:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\msedge.exe" --profile-directory="Profile 2" {url}
Firefox with specific profile:
"C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" -P "Work" {url}
Default system browser:
{url}
The add-in automatically detects your email account and applies the corresponding rule. You can configure different rules for:
- Work email accounts
- Personal email accounts
- Shared mailboxes
Choose between light and dark themes:
- Open the Links panel
- Expand the configuration section
- Select your preferred theme from the dropdown
- The theme is automatically applied and saved
Browser rules use a template format where {url} is replaced with the actual link URL:
"path/to/browser.exe" [options] {url}
{url}- The URL to open (automatically quoted)--profile-directory="ProfileName"- Chrome/Edge profile-P "ProfileName"- Firefox profile--incognito- Chrome/Edge incognito mode--private-window- Firefox private browsing
Rules are stored locally in:
%APPDATA%\OutlookOpenLinkInOtherBrowsers\rules.txt
- Windows 10/11
- Visual Studio 2019 or later with Office/SharePoint tools
- Microsoft Office Developer Tools
- .NET Framework 4.7.2 SDK
-
Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/smumovic/OutlookOpenLinkInOtherBrowsers.git cd OutlookOpenLinkInOtherBrowsers -
Open the solution:
OutlookOpenLink.sln
-
Restore NuGet packages:
nuget restore
-
Build the solution:
msbuild OutlookOpenLink.sln /p:Configuration=Release
OutlookOpenLinkInOtherBrowsers/
├── OutlookOpenLink.Core/ # Core library (.NET Standard 2.0)
│ ├── Contracts/ # Interfaces
│ ├── Models/ # Data models
│ ├── Services/ # Business logic
│ └── Utilities/ # Helper classes
├── OutlookOpenLink.DesktopAddin/ # Outlook VSTO Add-in
│ ├── UI/ # User interface components
│ ├── Services/ # Add-in specific services
│ ├── Ribbon/ # Outlook ribbon integration
│ └── ThisAddIn.cs # Main add-in class
└── docs/ # Documentation and screenshots
- LinkExtractor: Parses HTML and text to extract links
- BrowserLauncher: Handles opening URLs with configured browsers
- RuleStore: Manages browser rules and user preferences
- LinksPaneControl: Main UI component for the task pane
- ThisAddIn: Primary add-in entry point and event handling
Add-in not loading:
- Check if Visual Studio Tools for Office Runtime is installed
- Verify Outlook trust settings for add-ins
- Check Windows Event Viewer for error details
Links not opening:
- Verify browser path in rule configuration
- Check if browser profiles exist
- Test browser command manually in Command Prompt
Configuration not saving:
- Ensure %APPDATA% folder has write permissions
- Check if antivirus is blocking file access
Enable debug logging by adding this to your rule file:
#DEBUG=true
Logs will be written to the Windows Event Viewer under Applications and Services Logs.
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.
- Follow existing code style and conventions
- Add unit tests for new functionality
- Update documentation as needed
- Test with multiple Outlook versions if possible
- Issues: GitHub Issues
- Discussions: GitHub Discussions
- Support for additional browsers
- Import/export configuration
- Link filtering and categorization options
- Integration with password managers
- Outlook Web App support
- Initial release
- Basic link extraction and browser launching
- Configuration UI with theme support
- Account-specific browser rules
Made with ❤️ for Outlook users who need better link management