Rules Wizard, Filters, and Views

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This section covers Rules Wizard, Filters, and Custom Views.

The Rules Wizard for Microsoft Outlook automatically processes both incoming and outgoing messages. You set conditions similar to those used for Microsoft Outlook filters, then indicate what action(s) you want to be performed on messages that meet those conditions.

Rules in the Rules Wizard apply to only to mail at the time its downloaded. They can be applied to mail after its downloaded using the Run Rules Now command.

Filters are used with Search folders, Custom Views, and Advanced Find. Filters are used with Outlook items in the data file and show or hide but do not move items. You can apply filters to any Outlook item type, not just email. Filters can show, hide, or highlight items in different colors based on a variety of conditions and criteria.

For Microsoft Exchange Server users, Rules Wizard automatically converts rules created with the Inbox Assistant feature (which Rules Wizard replaces). Exchange Server users also have an Out of Office Assistant for handling such things as vacation notices and Folder Assistant rules that run on public folders. See Server-based vs. client-based rules.

For a complete list of articles, see Rules Wizard and Filters index

Keep Canceled Meetings on Outlook’s Calendar

By Diane Poremsky April 19, 2012

There are two methods you can use to keep canceled meetings on your calendar: keep the cancellation notice or use a Run a Script rule to create an appointment using using the meeting details. Code sample included.

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Run a Script Rule: Change Subject then Forward Message

By Diane Poremsky April 16, 2012

An Outlook user asked how to automatically change the subject of a message and forward it to another address. Using a "run a script" rule is one option and we show you how to do it.

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Create a List of Rules

By Diane Poremsky January 4, 2012

Valk Beekman wanted to share this VBA code sample that creates a text file containing a list of the rules used by the default email account. When the rule contains an email address, the address (or display name) is added to the output. It needs a little tweaking to list all the actions and conditions  

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To Make Automatic Reply Rules

By Diane Poremsky July 24, 2011

Microsoft Outlook and the Exchange client allow you to create rules to reply automatically to incoming messages with the Rules Wizard, Inbox Assistant and Out of Office Assistant. If you don’t use an Exchange server mailbox, you can create automatic reply rules using Rules Wizard but will need to leave Outlook open and collecting email.  

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Using Rules Wizard

By Diane Poremsky September 11, 2011

The Rules Wizard for Microsoft Outlook automatically processes both incoming and outgoing messages. You set conditions similar to those used for Microsoft Outlook filters, then indicate what action(s) you want to be performed on messages that meet those conditions. Rules in the Rules Wizard apply to only to mail at the time its downloaded. They  

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Out-of-Office is missing or grayed out

By Diane Poremsky July 24, 2011

The Out-of-Office Assistant is missing Out-of-office Assistant is for Microsoft Exchange mailboxes only. Look for it on the File menu is Outlook 2010 or on the Tools menu in older versions. If you don’t have an Exchange mailbox, you'll need to replicate it's actions using Rules Wizard, or better yet, use your email server's "vacation  

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To create a rule with wildcards

By Diane Poremsky July 24, 2011

Outlook doesn’t support wildcards in rules, so you can’t use use a * or ? character for wildcards. Instead, just specify the string you want to match. For example, if you want to match anything with “foo” in the subject text, then any the following would cause the rule to fire: Foobar Fools tofoo Note  

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Hide messages received more than an hour ago?

By Diane Poremsky March 29, 2012

I'd like all items that have been received more than an hour ago (or another period of time) to be marked. Is this possible to do with Automatic formatting?

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Understanding the Safe and Blocked Senders lists

By Diane Poremsky July 24, 2011

How many addresses can the safe and blocked lists hold? Approximately 2000 total. This is because the total size of all lists combined cannot exceed 512K. Once the 512K limit is reached, Outlook alerts you and additional addresses aren't saved until you remove some from the list. For example, if you have 1800 addresses on  

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Sending Autoreplies to Spammers

By Diane Poremsky March 23, 2012

A lot of users ask how to delete email from certain recipients and send an autoreply to them, telling them the message was deleted unread. While it is possible to do this, it’s a really bad idea. “I want to block the receipt of one specific person’s email, but I want them to get a  

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