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.
Sending Autoreplies to Spammers
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
What Moved a Message to the Junk E-mail Folder?
How did the message get in Outlook's Junk Email folder? Check the InfoBar.
Delegates, Meeting Requests, and Rules
How to use a run a script rule in Outlook to add a category to delegated meetings.
Automatically Add a Category to Accepted Meetings
Use a run a script rule to add a category to an Outlook meeting when the attendee accepts the invitation.
Create a rule to delete mail after a number of days
You can combine a Rules Wizard rule with the AutoArchive feature of Microsoft Outlook to automatically delete messages as they age. There are two ways you can do this: Create a rule that moves messages meeting certain criteria to a folder. Configure the folder's Archive setting to delete messages. Setting an expire date on messages
Create views using SQL/DAVX filters
One of Outlook's little known gems is the SQL filter in the Views Filter dialog. Although it looks confusing and technical, it's surprisingly easy to use. In many cases, you can let Outlook create a query for you by creating your criteria on the other tabs then enable SQL filtering and edit the query as
Avoid duplicate messages caused by Outlook's Rules Wizard
A user cam to me with this problem: I have 2 email accounts (EmailA & EmailB) and two subfolders (FolderA & FolderB) under my INBOX folder where mail for each account. I'm using rules to move the mail to the correct folder: specific words under sender's (emailA) and recipient's (emailA) address and move it to
Outlook Rules Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently asked question about Outlook's rules wizard.
Forward email messages by date
How to forward messages to another address during a specific period of time using Outlook's Rules or Automatic Replies.
Apply custom views to all folders
Using Outlook 2010 or newer? You can use the Apply Current View to Other Mail Folders command on the View ribbon, Change view button. This will open the folder picker, where you'll select the folders to apply the view to. You can apply it to folders in other mailboxes or data files in your profile.
Create a rule to search for two different phrases in a message
Direct support for this kind of rule was added in Outlook 2000 and is available in all later versions of Outlook. In Outlook 97 and Outlook 98, it requires two rules. Let's say you want to move all messages that contain either "Microsoft Exchange" or "Microsoft Outlook" to a folder named Exchange/Outlook. First, create a
Out-of-Office is missing or grayed out
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
Running Rules on messages after you read them
Running rules on messages after reading them in Outlook.