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Use inbox rules in Outlook.com or Outlook on the web

Use inbox rules to automatically perform specific actions on email that arrives in your inbox. You can also create rules to capture your own email address when used in other websites.

Rules are applied to incoming messages and can be created from any folder.

  1. To quickly create a rule that moves all email from a specific sender or a set of senders to a folder, right-click a message in your message list that you want to create a rule for, and select Create rule.

  2. Choose the folder where you want all messages from that sender or set of senders to be moved, and then select OK.

  3. Select OK.

If you'd like to do more than just move the message from a specific sender or set of senders to a folder, select More options.

  1. To create a completely new rule, at the top of the page, select Settings  > Mail > Rules.

  2. Click Add new rule.

Every rule needs at least three things: A name, a condition, and an action. Rules can also contain exceptions to conditions. You can add multiple conditions, actions, and exceptions at each step by choosing Add a condition, Add an action, and Add an exception.

If you don't want any more rules to run after this one does, select the Stop processing more rules check box. For more information, see Stop processing more rules in Outlook.com.

Press Save to create your rule or Discard to cancel rule creation.

  1. At the top of the page, select Settings .

  2. Select Mail > Rules.

  3. In the rule you want to edit, select EditEdit.

  4. Select Save to save your edited rule.

Note: Some rules created in other versions of Outlook can't be processed by Outlook.com. You won't be able to run or edit the rule in Outlook.com.

  1. At the top of the page, select Settings .

  2. Select Mail > Rules.

  3. In the rule you want to delete, select Delete.

    Tip: If you just want to turn the rule off for a while, select the toggle next to the rule.

Inbox rules are applied to incoming messages based on the order they're in within the Inbox rules list. You can arrange the order in which the rules you create are applied to messages coming into your inbox.

  1. At the top of the page, select Settings .

  2. Select Mail > Rules.

  3. Select a rule, and then use the Up arrow or Down arrow to change the order in which the rule is applied to incoming messages.

Currently, you can't run inbox rules on existing messages in the Outlook.com beta. A new rule is applied only to messages you receive after the rule was created.

However, you can use Archive, Move to, and Sweep to automatically move or delete messages in your inbox. To learn more, see Organize your inbox with Archive, Sweep, and other tools in Outlook.com.

What else do I need to know about in Outlook.com

You might have created a rule to forward or redirect messages you receive to another email address. If so, it's important to know the difference between forwarding and redirecting.

  • A forwarded message appears as a message you received and then forwarded to another recipient. When the recipient replies, the reply will go to the address the message was forwarded from.

  • A redirected message keeps the original sender on the From line. When a recipient that a message was redirected to replies, the reply will go to the original sender.

See Also

Use inbox rules in Outlook for Windows

Create a rule in Outlook for Mac

Organize your inbox with Archive, Sweep, and other tools in Outlook.com

Mark email as junk or block senders in Outlook.com

Sort email messages in Outlook.com

Still need help?

To get support in Outlook.com, click here or select Help on the menu bar and enter your query. If the self-help doesn't solve your problem, scroll down to Still need help? and select Yes.

To contact us in Outlook.com, you'll need to sign in. If you can't sign in, click here

For other help with your Microsoft account and subscriptions, visit Account & Billing Help.

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To get help and troubleshoot other Microsoft products and services, enter your problem here

Post questions, follow discussions and share your knowledge in the Outlook.com Community.

  1. Select Settings Settings icon.
    A screenshot of the Settings button.

  2. Select Mail, which opens the Options panel on the left. Under Mail > Automatic processing, select Inbox and sweep rules.

  3. Select Add The Add icon under Inbox rules.

    Add inbox rule

  4. Type a name for the inbox rule in the Name box and then select a condition and action from their respective drop-down lists.

    New Rule dialog

    You can add additional conditions or actions by selecting Add condition or Add action.

  5. Add exceptions to the inbox rule by selecting Add exception and then choosing one from the Add exception menu.

  6. By default, the Stop processing more rules option is turned on. With this option on, when a message arrives in your inbox that meets the criteria for more than one rule, only the first rule will be applied. If you don't select this check box, all inbox rules that a message meets the criteria for will be applied.

    Stop processing rules

You can edit any inbox rule by selecting it and choosing Edit edit to open the rule so that you can change the conditions or actions of the rule.

If you have an inbox rule that you no longer want, you can select it and then select Delete discard to remove it. If you just want to turn the rule off for a while, remove the check mark next to the rule.

Inbox rules are applied to incoming messages based on the order they appear in within the Inbox rules list. You can arrange the order in which the rules you create are applied to messages coming into your inbox:

  1. Select Settings Settings icon.

    A screenshot of the Settings button.

  2. Select Mail, which opens the Options panel on the left. Under Mail > Automatic processing, select Inbox and sweep rules.

  3. Under Inbox rules, select the rule you want to move and then select the up arrow or down arrow Move rule up or down in list to place the rule where you want it positioned within the list of rules.

  1. Select Settings Settings icon.

    A screenshot of the Settings button.

  2. Select Mail, which opens the Options panel on the left. Under Mail > Automatic processing, select Inbox and sweep rules.

  3. Select Add The Add icon under Inbox rules.

    Add inbox rule

  4. Type a name for the inbox rule in the Name box.

  5. Under When the message arrives, and, select It includes these words, and then select in the subject.

    When message arrives

  6. Specify a word or phrase that would be in the subject line of the message to move, select Add Add, and then select OK.

    Specify words or phases

  7. Under Do the following, select Move, copy, or delete, and then select Move the message to folder.

    Do the following

  8. Select the folder to move the messages to and select OK.

  9. Select OK at the top of the dialog box.

  1. Select Settings Settings icon.

    A screenshot of the Settings button.

  2. Select Mail, which opens the Options panel on the left. Under Mail > Automatic processing, select Inbox and sweep rules.

  3. Select Add The Add icon under Inbox rules.

    Add inbox rule

  4. Type a name for the inbox rule in the Name box.

  5. Under When the message arrives, and, select It includes these words, and then select in the subject.

    When message arrives

  6. Specify a word or phrase that would be in the subject line of the message to move, select Add Add, and then select OK.

    Specify words or phases

  7. Under Do the following, select Move, copy, or delete, and then select Move the message to folder.

    Do the following

  8. Select the folder to move the messages to and select OK.

  9. Select OK at the top of the dialog box.

Note: If you use a work or school account to sign in to Microsoft 365, you're using Outlook on the web. If you're using an Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live, or MSN account, see Use inbox rules in Outlook.com.

See Also   

Use inbox rules in Outlook for Windows

Create a rule in Outlook for Mac

Organize your inbox with Archive, Sweep, and other tools in Outlook on the web

Filter junk email and spam in Outlook on the web

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