Using Message Rules in Outlook Express

Filters (Message Rules)

Filters help you organize your mail. If you receive large amounts of messages or spam daily, instead of crowding your inbox with all the messages, you can have filters set so messages get distributed into different folders or even have the messages deleted automatically. Outlook Express filters are called Message Rules.

In the following example, the messages will be sorted by who has sent the message. However, there are many options available. If you don't want to receive messages that contain specific words, you may choose a different filtering option to handle your specific situation.

Setting Filters (Message Rules)

1. Click on the Tools menu, select Message Rules and Mail.

   

2. The New Mail Rule dialog box appears.
3. The box is divided into 4 parts: The first part is to configure what messages are filtered, the second is to configure what to do with the filtered messages, the third is a sub configuration of the first and the third (depending on which is active), while the Fourth section is the name of the rule (you can give it any name).
4. In this example the first section, 1. Select the Conditions for your rule will be set to Where the From line contains people.
5. Notice that because you have section one active, section three (3. Rule Description) changes so you can configure whose mail will be filtered.

   

6. Click on the blue underlined text contains people in section 3 of the New Mail Rule dialog box.
7. The Select People dialog box appears.

   

8. Type in the name of the person whose mail you would like to filter and click Add.
9. Click OK when you are finished adding all the names that you want.
10. Now in section two, 2. Select the Actions for your rule:, specify what you would like to do with the message once it has been filtered. You have several options such as delete and move to a folder. Because the most common action is to move it to a folder Move it to the Specified folder is checked.
11. Notice that now section three has a new option; Move it to the specified folder.

    

12. Click on specified in section three of the New Mail Rule dialog box.
13. The Move dialog box appears. Select the folder where you would like to move the folder to (it cannot be the Inbox), then click OK.

    

14. In section four, 4. Name of the rule type in a name (a good name would be one that describes the type of filter that it is).

    

15. Click OK.
16. Log out from Outlook Express. the next time you log in the rules will be applied to any NEW incoming messages.