Objective
Make the Outlook/Exchange mailbox layer feel more Gmail-like while using boring, obvious category names and no new numeric prefixes.
Changes Applied
- Created plain categories: Needs Review, Finance and Security, Low Priority, Case Watch, Receipts and Renewals, Comment.
- Migrated rule labels from the numbered names to plain names for calendar, roundtable, CallRail, KJA/ARC/EOB, demand/court/Clifford, Salesforce report, RingCentral text, and low-priority sender rules.
- Renamed the consolidated rule to Low Priority Senders to Clutter.
- Recreated that consolidated rule after an Outlook PATCH left it in hasError=true; final rule readback is enabled and hasError=false.
- Deleted only the five numbered master categories created by the prior setup pass: 0: owner review, 9: finance/security, 10: auto-cleared/noise, 11: legal/case watch, 12: receipts/subscriptions.
- Left older legacy numbered categories in the master category list for a separate audited cleanup pass.
Verification
- py_compile exited 0 for /Users/samaguiar/.codex/automations/outlook-owner-triage/apply_gmail_like_outlook_config.py.
- Final dry-run reported categories and targeted rule patches as already configured with no obsolete auto-created category cleanup remaining.
- Live readback showed all plain categories present, the five auto-created numbered categories absent, no touched rule assigning those old names, and Low Priority Senders to Clutter enabled with hasError=false.
Recommended Next Rule Work
- Audit and retire the older disabled/errored Outlook rules before adding much more automation.
- Consolidate the older legacy numbered master categories into existing plain names only after sampling historical message usage.
- Add narrow rules for Finance and Security, Case Watch, Intake Exceptions, VIP/Firm Leadership, Receipts and Renewals, and Low Priority senders based on observed sender/subject patterns.
QA Decision
A. Audit disabled and errored legacy Outlook rules next. Recommended.
B. Consolidate old numbered master categories next.