Email rules Outlook allows you to create rules in order to automatically sort, file or respond to your messages. You can create rules to tell Outlook how to handle emails which meet certain conditions, such as those which have a specific word or phrase in the message subject or body, or emails which are marked with a particular category, or ones which are sent to or from certain people. There is a quick process for creating simple rules based on the properties of the message which is selected when you create the rule. If the quick rule doesn t include the combination of instructions that you want, you can go into the rules wizard to create an advanced rule which is more refined. When you have created a rule, you can choose to switch it on or off either manually or automatically so it is only applied at certain times. Outlook rules which are created in the Outlook client do not always transfer to the Outlook Web App, so you may have to create rules in the web app to ensure they are consistently applied. Creating quick rules Quick rules are created based on the properties of one of the messages already in your inbox. When applied, they pick out all new messages which are of the same type and perform the same action on each. Move rules Move rules move messages from your inbox to one of your other folders automatically. They apply to messages which come from a particular sender or are sent to a particular recipient. For example, you might want emails from students taking a particular course to go into a folder designated for that course. To create a quick rule to move messages to a folder: Select a message to base your rule on by clicking on it Click the rules button on the home tab of the ribbon From the menu, choose the rule which selects the messages you want to move In the dialogue box, click on the folder which will hold these messages Click OK The message rule will then examine all the messages in your inbox and move those which meet the move rule s condition. If you have several messages meeting this condition this may take a few minutes. To create a quick move rule, click on a message which meets the condition you want in the rule Click the rules button Suggested move rules will appear in the menu choose one
Click on the folder to which your messages will be moved Click OK to run your rule The rule may take a few minutes to run on existing messages it will also be applied when new messages arrive Custom quick rules If you want your rule to be more sophisticated than a move rule, or to select messages based on conditions other than the sender or recipient, you can create a custom quick rule. A custom quick rule allows you to select from a limited range of conditions to create a rule rather than using the full range of possible options. As with move rules, the options available for the conditions depend on the message you select before creating the rule. To create a custom quick rule: Select a message on which to base your rule by clicking on it Click on the rules button on the home tab of the ribbon Choose create rule from the menu Tick boxes to select conditions to dictate which messages the rule will apply for Tick boxes to choose an action this is what will happen to the message when the rule is applied Click OK this opens a warning dialogue box Tick the box to run the rule on existing messages Leave the box unticked for only new messages to be affected by the rule Click OK
Quick rule options There are a few different options for conditions and actions for quick rules. Options for conditions: Option Messages from the sender of the message you selected Subject contains a certain word Sent to Behaviour The rule will apply to messages from the same sender as the selected message Click the box to type in a word messages where the subject contains your word will have the rule applied to them Choose from the recipients of the selected message (including yourself) the rule will applied to the selected recipient Options for actions: Option Display in the new item alert window Play a selected sound Move the item to folder Behaviour When rules matching your conditions arrive, a pop-up window will appear to alert you of the message Makes a noise when new messages which your rule applies to arrive You can pick a folder within your mailbox for messages to be moved into, as you would with a move rule To create a custom quick rule, click the rules button Choose create rule from the menu
Set conditions for when this rule will apply using these tick boxes You can click here and type a keyword for the rule to look for in each message subject Choose what action the rule will perform using these tick boxes Click select folder to choose a folder into which the rule will move messages If you need more possibilities, click advanced options to open the rules wizard If you have clicked select folder, choose a folder by clicking on it Click OK to confirm which folder you want your messages to move into When you are happy with your conditions and actions, click OK
Tick this box to apply the rule to messages already in your mailbox otherwise it will only be applied to new messages you receive Click OK to implement your new rule Creating advanced rules If the quick rules are not sophisticated enough for your purposes, you can create far more refined rules using the rules wizard. To open the rules wizard: Click on the rules button on the home tab of the ribbon Choose manage rules and alerts from the menu this opens the rules and alerts dialogue box Click the new rule button this opens the rules wizard To open the rules wizard, click the rules button and choose manage rules and alerts from the menu Click the new rule button to open the rules wizard Setting up a rule using a template The first screen of the rules wizard offers you several options for templates to make the process of creating your rule faster. If you decide that none of the templates suit what you want to do with your rule, you can opt to enter all the conditions and actions for your rule manually by choosing one of the start from a blank rule options at the bottom of the templates section.
To use a template: Select the template that best suits what you want the rule to do In the panel at the bottom, click on any words in blue to adjust the template Fill in the required information in the dialogue box Click OK Check that the rule is correct in the bottom panel Click next You will then have the opportunity to manually add more conditions if you want to. This is the rules wizard it helps you to create customised rules These templates will put some conditions and actions in place to start you off you can then manually adjust or add conditions if you wish If none of the templates fit what you want to do, choose a start from a blank rule option and move straight to manually adding Each template will fill in parts of the rule description for you Click on the words underlined in blue to customise the template this will open a dialogue box
The dialogue box will vary according to the type of condition you are adjusting Here we should type in text to search for and click Add This adds the text to the search list When you are happy with the search list, click OK If you have to specify a folder, select the folder by clicking on it Click OK to use the selected folder When you close the dialogue box, the rule description will be updated to show your changes When the rule description for the template is complete, click next to manually add further conditions
Manually adding conditions If you need more refinement for your rule than is offered by the template, or you have opted not to use the templates, you can manually add conditions for your rule. Extra conditions are set from the second screen of the rules wizard. Any conditions which you created from a template will already be ticked and show up in the rule description when you get to the second screen. To add a condition: Tick the box for the type of condition you want to add Click on a blue-underlined word in the rule description Enter the details required into the dialogue box Click OK Repeat until all your conditions are entered Click next You will then have the opportunity to add actions to your rule. The second screen of the rules wizard allows you to set extra conditions for your rule Tick boxes to add more conditions to your rule untick the boxes to remove them Any extra conditions will appear here click on the blue-underlined words to fill in the details
In the dialogue box, enter the details necessary for your condition To enter dates, type into the box or click the arrow and choose from the calendar Click OK to update the condition Check the rule description is correct Click next to add actions to your rule Adding actions to your rule Once you have set the conditions for your rule, Outlook will know which messages to select. You will then need to tell it which actions to perform. Some of the actions may already be filled in by the template if you have used one. To add actions to the rule: Tick the box next to the action you wish the rule to perform Click on any blue words that appear in the rule description Fill in the details in the dialogue box which appears this will vary according to the type of action Click OK Repeat if necessary to add further actions You will then have the opportunity to add exceptions to your rule.
Choose which actions the rule will perform on messages which meet the conditions Click to customise any of the words underlined in blue in the rule description Different dialogue boxes may appear according to the action you have chosen this one is to add categories Tick to add any categories to be applied by your rule Categories which are selected but not ticked will not be applied Click OK to return to the rules wizard
Check the rule description is correct Click next to add exceptions to your rule Adding exceptions to your rules Whilst your rule may now pick out a group of messages to which it will apply, you can also select from within that group messages to which it will not apply. You do this by adding exceptions to the rule. To add an exception: Tick the box next to the exception which suits your need Click on any blue words that appear in the rule description Fill in the details in the dialogue box which appears these vary according to the type of exception Click OK Repeat if necessary to add further exceptions You will then be able to name and apply your rule. Exceptions exclude certain messages from your rule Tick boxes to select exceptions Click on the blue writing to fill in the details of your exception
Fill in the details in the dialogue box Click OK when you have added what you needed to Check that the rule description matches what you want the rule to do Click next
Finishing your rule To finish your rule you will need to give it a name, and decide whether to run it on existing or new messages, or to keep it turned off until you want to apply it. To finish your rule: Type in a name for the rule Choose the setup rule options by ticking the appropriate boxes: - Choose run this rule now to apply the rule to existing messages - Choose turn on this rule to apply it to new messages you receive Check for the last time that the rule description is correct Click finish You will see a warning that the rule is client-only. This means it will only run when you have Outlook open on the computer at which you created the rule. Click OK to dismiss the rule. Check that your rule is ticked to show it is active, and then click OK to close the rules and alerts dialogue box. Type a name for your rule or accept the one Outlook suggests Tick this box to run the rule on existing messages Tick this box to run the rule on new messages Check the rule description is correct Click finish to complete the rule
Click OK to acknowledge the warning Check that the rule is ticked here this means it is active Click OK to close the dialogue box
Switching rules on and off Rules do not have to be active all the time. For example, you might want to set a rule which forwards your messages to a colleague when you are busy. You have the opportunity to switch each rule on or off as you need to. To choose whether a rule is active or not: Click on the rules button on the home tab of the ribbon Choose manage rules and alerts from the menu this opens the rules and alerts dialogue box Tick the boxes next to the names of rules which should be active Untick the boxes next to the names of rules which should be inactive Click OK Click the rules button Choose manage rules and alerts from the menu Tick boxes next to rules which should be active Unticked rules will not be applied to your messages Click OK
Modifying rules If you want to alter the details of any of your rules, you will need to go into the rules and alerts dialogue box. From there, you can make quick adjustments such as changing the name of the rule, or you can go back into the rules wizard to adjust any aspect of the rule. To modify a rule, open the rules and alerts dialogue box: Click on the rules button on the home tab of the ribbon Choose manage rules and alerts from the menu When you have opened the dialogue box, you can go on to modify your rule. Click the rules button Choose manage rules and alerts from the menu Making quick adjustments to a rule Some attributes of rules can be altered from the change rule menu within the rules and alerts dialogue box. You can alter some the rule description by clicking on any of the words underlined in blue and changing the information you entered there when you created the rule. You can change any of the information you added to the rule by clicking on blue words and entering new details
To make a quick adjustment: Click on the rule you want to change to select it Click the change rule button Choose an option from the menu this usually opens a dialogue box Fill in any extra information required type in a new name, for example Click OK to close the dialogue box Click OK to accept your changes to the rule Click the change rule button Click on a rule to select it for editing Choose from the menu which attribute you would like to edit Add in any additional information such as typing a new name or browsing to a new folder Click OK Changes you make to the rule will show in the rule name or the rule description Click OK to apply the altered rule
Making detailed adjustments to a rule If the option you want to edit is not available in the change rule menu, you can go back into the rules wizard and change any of the attributes of the rule. To make a detailed adjustment to a rule: Click on the rules button Choose manage rules and alerts from the menu this opens the rules and alerts dialogue box Click on the rule to be changed to select it Click the change rule button Choose edit rule settings from the menu Tick or untick boxes to make your changes Check that the rule description shows the right settings Click next to move to the next section of the wizard and make any alterations you need to Click finish to accept your changes Click OK to acknowledge the warning that the rule will only run on the Outlook client. You can click finish to exit the wizard at any point you do not have to go through all the pages. Click the rules button Choose manage rules and alerts from the menu Click on the rule you want to edit in order to select it Click the change rule button Choose edit rule settings to open the rules wizard
Tick or untick boxes to make the changes you require Click on blue words to refine the settings you have changed Check that the rule description matches what you want the rule to do Click next to move through the wizard When you are happy with the rule description, click finish Click OK to acknowledge the warning
Check that the rule is ticked here this means it is active Click OK to close the dialogue box Deleting rules If you decide that you no longer need a rule, you can delete it. This will permanently remove it and you will have to recreate it from the start if you need it in future. To delete a rule: Click the rules button Choose manage rules and alerts from the menu this opens the rules and alerts dialogue box Select the rule from the list Click the delete button In the warning box, click Yes Click OK to close the dialogue box Click the rules button Choose manage rules and alerts from the menu
Select the rule from the list by clicking on it Click the delete button Click Yes to permanently delete the rule The rule will disappear from the list Click OK to close the dialogue box and return to your email