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Rules Wizard, Filters, and Views

Slipstick Systems

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.

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.

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.

Although Outlook does not support locking views against changes, you can lock view in Outlook 2010 using VBA. See How to prevent changes to Outlook views for a code sample.

Rules Wizard, Filters, and Views was last modified: February 8th, 2018 by Slipstick

Outlook's Rules and Alerts: Run a Script

How to use Outlook's Rules Wizard Run a Script action to process messages using VBA. Using Run a Script rules will allow you to use actions not available in the Rules Wizard.

Send a New Message when a Message Arrives

How to use a Run a Script rule to have Microsoft Outlook automatically send a new email message using a template to new email addresses when a message meeting specific conditions arrives.

Creating an AND rule in Outlook Rules

A user wanted to know how to create an AND rule: If the subject contains outlook AND word, do something For example: "outlook AND word" to match on a Subject line of "Mail merge Outlook and Word", but not "Outlook Teams Meeting" While Outlook Rules don't support AND within a rule, you can make it  

Run a Script Rule: Forwarding Messages

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.

Using Rules Wizard

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  

'Have server reply' rule is not using 'reply-to' address

The question came from an Outlook user: We want to use a "Have server reply rule" to send an automated reply to people who send us a message using our web form. When the rule runs, Outlook is replying to the From address (our web server), not the Reply to address (the person who filled  

Create a custom view to list upcoming birthdays

Display only the birthdays that occur in the upcoming months, by creating a custom view in Outlook's Calendar.

Run-a-Script Rules Missing in Outlook

Office 2016 and Outlook 2013 users who use a run-a-script rules to be aware that the scripts are currently disabled.

How to Change the Font used for Outlook's RSS Feeds

If you don't care for Calibri font as the default for RSS feeds, you need to use a macro to change the font (on font size) as the font cannot be changed by the user. We have code samples for both Outlook 2010 and 2007.

Mark Sent Items as Read After Copying with a Rule

When you use rules to move sent messages, the sent items are not marked read when they are copied to other folders. You need to VBA to mark the messages read.

Understanding the Safe and Blocked Senders lists

Understanding and using Outlook's Junk Mail Safe Sender, Safe Recipient, and Blocked sender's lists.

View Read Receipt Request Indicator

All current versions of Outlook include a Read Receipt field, including Outlook 2010, 2013, 2016/2019/365. To see the Read Receipt indicator, you need to customize the view by adding the Receipt Requested field. For best results, you will need to use the Single Line view to see the read request field. To add the field  

Run all Outlook Rules on Startup

Use an Application Startup macro to run Outlook's client side rules automatically.

To Make Automatic Reply Rules

Using Microsoft Outlook, you can create rules to reply automatically to incoming messages with the Rules Wizard and Out of Office Assistant.

Rules in Error and Reply with Template

This bug was fixed in Outlook 2010 in the July 2011 hotfix. Beginning with Outlook 2007 SP2 (and continuing in Outlook 2010), there is a bug in the rules engine which causes reply with template rules to fail. I was hoping for a hotfix when I saw a newly released KB article referring to "Rules  

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