Article ID: 197496 - Last Review: October 7, 2004 - Revision: 1.0

Frequently asked questions about how to troubleshoot the Outlook Rules Wizard in Outlook

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SUMMARY

This article answers some of the more common questions associated with the Rules Wizard message manager.

MORE INFORMATION

Why does the Rules Wizard keep asking me to specify a value?

Many steps in defining a rule ask you to specify a condition, action, exception, or value. For example, if you want to move a message to a specific folder, you must specify a folder name. To specify a value, click the underlined text in the Rule Description window of the Rules Wizard dialog box. You can set an initial value and change it later in the Rules Wizard steps.
Why doesn't the rule I created work?

If you specified multiple conditions for the rule, the message must meet all conditions before the rule is applied. For example, a rule that checks for "Salary in the subject" and "marked as private" is only applied if BOTH conditions are met. If you want the rule applied if the message meets EITHER condition, you must define two separate rules.

If you want to move or copy a message to a specified folder, make sure the folder exists and is available. For example, if you want to copy messages between folders on your computer and the server, the computer must be online with the server for the rule to work.

If you specified any exceptions to the rule you created, make sure those exceptions do not apply to the message you are reviewing.
When I choose "perform a custom action" in the Rules Wizard, why is the "Select Custom Action" dialog box empty?

Custom actions are additional features supplied by third-party add-ins. Outlook does not supply custom actions.
Why doesn't the "New Messages of Interest" dialog box appear when a qualifying message arrives?

You may already have "New Message of Interest" reminder open in the background. Only one instance of the reminder can be displayed.
How do I create a rule with an "OR" condition?

The Rules Wizard does not support rules with OR conditions, such as "Move messages sent to me OR messages sent to my delegate to a folder." You must create two separate rules, such as "Move messages sent to me to a folder" and "Move messages sent to my delegate to a folder."

To create "Exclusive OR" conditions, you must create two rules and each must exclude the condition of the other. For example, to check for messages that contain "either A or B in the subject but not both," create one rule that checks for "A in the subject except if the subject contains B." Then create another that checks for "B in the subject except if the subject contains A."