The Outlook Add-In connects Microsoft Outlook directly to Case Matters, allowing you to file incoming and outgoing emails to the correct case without leaving Outlook. Time recording starts automatically when you open or compose an email; attachments can be filed as separate history lines, and you can add case contacts, attach case documents, and apply email templates, all from within the Add-In task pane.
The Add-In supports two journeys:
Incoming: Filing a received email (and any attachments) to a case.
Outgoing: Composing or replying to an email and filing it to a case simultaneously.
⚠️ Important: The Outlook Add-in is available for Modern Outlook (desktop) and Microsoft 365 Web Outlook.
Getting started
Open the Outlook Add-In
Open Outlook.
From the Home tab in the Outlook ribbon, locate and click the Access Legal icon in the Addins section.
The Add-In task pane appears on the right-hand side of the screen.
🤓Tip: Click the pin icon in the task pane to keep it open as you navigate between emails. To close it, click the X in the top-right corner.
Sign in
Click Sign In.
A sign-in pop-up appears. Enter your email address and follow the on-screen prompts to authenticate via Access Evo single sign-on.
Once signed in, the Add-In home screen is displayed.
The Outlook Add-In's top bar
The top bar is always visible and provides access to:
Home (house icon): Returns you to the Add-In home screen.
Timer (clock icon): Shows the active time recording panel; click to reopen if closed.
Settings (cog icon): Connect to a specific Case Matters environment by entering your Organisation ID and Instance ID.
Sign Out: Signs you out of the Add-In.
Incoming mail journey
The incoming journey covers filing a received email, and any attachments, to a case in Case Matters.
⚠️Important: Filing an incoming email is a two-step process. Step 1 is to link the email to a case. Step 2 is to formally file it using the File email button. Both steps must be completed for the email to be recorded in Case Matters.
Step 1: Time recording
When you click on an email in Outlook, the Add-In opens automatically and time recording begins after a 5-second countdown buffer. The recording will show:
Pause: Visible when time is running; click to pause.
Play: Visible when paused; click to resume.
Red dot: Time is actively recording.
Yellow dot: Time is paused.
Time display: Elapsed time in HH:MM:SS format.
Bin icon: Removes the time recording and clears the accumulated value.
If you close the timer display, click the timer icon in the top bar at any time to reopen it.
Step 2: Email attachments
If the email has attachments, an paperclip icon appears on the email card. Click it to expand the list; a badge shows how many attachments are present.
The header and individual tick boxes determine which items are filed as separate history lines in Case Matters, not simply which files are included with the email. This allows individual attachments to be filed with different contact types or receipt phrases.
Step 3: Link to case
The Link to case section associates the email with a case.
Locate the required case using your favourites or the Search case field.
Tick the required cases. The chosen cases are shown in Selected and can be removed by clicking X.
Click Confirm.
Step 4: Email linked to case
After confirming, the 'Email linked to case' card appears, showing:
Case reference: The unique reference for the linked case.
Client name: The client name on the case.
Case description: A description of the case.
Contact type: The relationship between the email sender and the case (e.g. 'Client'). Shown as 'Unknown' if the sender is not a recognised case contact.
Upcoming dates: Key upcoming dates on the case, with tooltips.
Controls on the card:
Open Case icon: Opens the linked case in Case Matters in a new browser tab.
Expand/collapse chevron: Shows or hides the full card detail.
X (Unlink) icon: Unlinks the case if selected in error.
File email button: Opens the Entry Confirmation Form to complete.
⚠️Important: Use the Unlink icon if the wrong case was selected. Do not proceed to the Entry Confirmation Form until the correct case is confirmed.
Step 5: Entry Confirmation Form
Click File Email to open the Entry Confirmation Form, the final step before the email and attachments are sent to Case Matters.
Step 6: Confirmation
Once filed, the Outlook Add-In displays a green 'Email filed to case' card, confirming the email has been recorded in Case Matters. If the Contact Type was previously Unknown, it updates to reflect the value entered in the form.
The 'Link to case' section reappears at the bottom, allowing the same email to be linked and filed to an additional case, if required.
Outgoing mail journey
The outgoing journey covers composing or replying to an email and filing it to a case simultaneously. The Add-In provides tools to add case contacts as recipients, attach case documents, and apply email templates; all without leaving Outlook.
Reply vs. compose
Reply to a filed email: The case is automatically linked, and the 'Email linked to case' card is displayed immediately.
Compose a new email: No case is pre-linked; complete the Link to case step first, then proceed.
When composing a new email, the timer starts with the same 5-second buffer as the incoming journey.
Link to case (compose only)
When composing a new email, the 'Link to case' section appears in the Add-In pane. The process is identical to the incoming journey: use your favourites or the Search case field, tick the case, and click Confirm.
Contacts tab
Displays the five most recent contacts who have had history items added to them on the linked case (based on the case timeline).
To add a contact as a recipient:
Click the + icon next to a contact to add their email address to the To field in Outlook.
A dropdown appears beneath the contact showing the current recipient field.
Click the dropdown to change the field; the options are: To, CC, BCC, or Remove.
To find a contact not shown in the recent list, use the Add Contact search field. Free-text search by name and filter by contact type.
Documents tab
The Documents tab allows you to attach documents from the case history to the email being composed:
Tick the box next to a document in the Recents list to add it to the Selected documents area. You can select multiple documents.
Use the Search documents field to find documents not in the recent list. Filter by Contact type, Entry type, Date from, or Date to.
In the Selected documents area, use the three-dot menu on any document to Preview, Rename, or Convert to PDF (available for Word documents). Use X to remove a document from the selection.
Click Attach to add the selected documents to the email as attachments.
🤓Tip: The document preview also gives access to the AI Document Assistant (Copilot), where you can ask questions about the document or produce a summary before deciding whether to attach it.
Templates tab
Allows you to apply a pre-configured email template from Case Matters into the body of the email:
Select a Contact type to filter the template list, the first 20 templates for that contact type are displayed.
Use the search field to narrow the list further by template name.
Click the preview icon next to a template to preview it before applying.
Click the + icon to apply the template.
The template is merged, and the content appears in the email body.
The applied template appears in the Selected templates area.
⚠️Important: Only one template can be applied at a time. If you select a second template, you will receive a warning to confirm that the existing email text will be replaced. Click Continue to proceed or Go back to cancel.
🤓 Tip: Apply templates before adding manual content to the email body to avoid losing your work.
Send and file the email
Click Send & file email at the bottom of the Add-In pane, and the Entry Confirmation Form appears.
Complete the Entry Confirmation Form fields
Contact type
Receipt phrase
Description
Fee Earner
Rate
Activity
Duration
Mail date.
Click Confirm.
The email is sent and simultaneously filed to Case Matters. The green 'Email filed to case' card confirms success. This card is also visible in your Sent Items folder.
📌Note: Using Outlook's standard Send button will not file the email to Case Matters. If you click Send, a prompt will appear asking whether you want to send and file instead. Click Don't send, then click Send & file email.