Using Rules in Outlook 2007

The Rules feature makes it easy to manage your e-mail by making Outlook act on certain types of e-mail automatically after downloading.  For instance, you can copy or move incoming e-mail to specific folders, automatically flag – or delete – messages from specific senders, display a message or a sound when a specific person or group sends you a message and much more.  With rules, most of your e-mail management tasks can be taken care of automatically.  So if you receive a large amount of e-mail daily, Outlook Rules can really be a time-saver – and a sanity saver as well!

Creating a Rule from a message

Outlook allows you to quickly create a rule for an existing message by clicking on the Create Rule button on the Actions group of the Message Ribbon.  You can also create a rule from scratch using the handy Rules Wizard.

To Create a Rule from an Existing Message

1. Right-click on the message and click Create Rule from the contextual menu or Open the message and click the Create Rule button on the Actions group of the Message Ribbon.
2. Select the conditions that the rule is to be applied.
3. Select the action you want Outlook to perform if the conditions are met.
4. To move/copy items to a specific folder, click the Select Folder button and then choose the desired folder.
5. For additional conditions/options, click the Advanced Options button and then make your selections.
6. Click OK.
7. Click OK.

To Create a Rule from Scratch

1. Click Tools > Rules and Alerts from the Outlook menu.
2. Click New Rule to display the Rules Wizard.
3. Click Check Messages When They Arrive under the Start from a blank rule area.
4. Click Next.
5. Click the check box next to the conditions you want to check.  If the condition requires additional configuration – such as e-mail addresses, specific words, etc., click the link in the Step 2 window and enter the information.
6. Click Next.
7. Click the check box next to the action you want Outlook to perform.  If the action requires additional configuration, click the link in the Step 2 window and enter the information.
8. Click Next.
9. Click the check box next to any exceptions to the rule, if applicable.
10. Click Next.
11. Type a name for your rule in the Step 1 box.
12. Specify any additional setup options under Step 2.  To turn on the rule, ensure that the check box next to Turn on this rule is checked.
13. Click Finish.

Creating a Rule from Scratch

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Tagged as: Microsoft Office Tips, Outlook Tips