Use inbox rules in Outlook for Windows
Use inbox rules to automatically perform specific actions on email that arrives in your inbox. For example, you can create rules that will change the importance level of messages as they come in, automatically move them to other folders, or delete them based on certain criteria.
If you're not on Outlook for Windows, check which Outlook version you're on, and then choose one of these options for information on inbox rules:
Important: Steps may be different between the new and classic Outlook for Windows. To determine which version of Outlook you're using, check if there's a File option in the menu (located above the ribbon). If there's no File option, follow the steps under the New Outlook tab. If File appears in the menu, select the tab for Classic Outlook.
Rules are applied to incoming messages and can be created from any folder.
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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, select Advanced Actions and then select Create rule.
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Choose the folder where you want all messages from that sender or set of senders to be moved, and then select OK.
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Select OK. The rule will be applied to all incoming messages. If you'd like to run the rule on your inbox immediately, select the check box for Run this rule now in Inbox.
Note: Currently, you can only run rules in which a message from a sender is moved to a folder. You can't run other rules, such as those that use a message title or mark a message as unread.
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. The rules settings menu will open.
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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.
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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 on the web.
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Press Save to create your rule or Discard to cancel rule creation.
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At the top of the page, select Settings .
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Select Mail > Rules.
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In the rule you want to edit, select
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Press Save to save your edited rule.
Note: Some rules created in other versions of Outlook can't be processed by Outlook on the web. You won't be able to run or edit the rule in Outlook on the web.
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At the top of the page, select Settings .
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Select Mail > Rules.
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In the rule you want to delete, select
.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.
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At the top of the page, select Settings .
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Select Mail > Rules.
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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.
By default, an inbox rule runs on incoming messages after you've created the rule. To run a rule on existing messages:
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At the top of the page, select Settings .
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Select Mail > Rules.
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Select
next to the rule you want to run.Note: Currently, you can only run rules in which a message from a sender is moved to a folder. You can't run other rules, such as those that use a message title or mark a message as unread.
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Right-click an existing message and select Rules > Create Rule.
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Select a condition, and what to do with the message based on the condition.
For example, to move messages with a certain title to a specific folder, select the Subject contains condition, select Move the item to folder, select or create a New folder, and then select OK.
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When you're done creating the rule, select OK.
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To use the rule right away, select the Run this new rule now on messages already in the current folder checkbox, and then select OK.
The message now appears in that folder.
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Select File > Manage Rules & Alerts > New Rule.
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Select a template.
For example, to flag a message:
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Select Flag messages from someone for follow-up.
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Edit the rule description.
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Select an underlined value, choose the options you want, and then select OK.
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Select Next.
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Select the conditions, add the relevant information, and then select OK.
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Select Next.
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Finish the rule setup.
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Name the rule, setup rule options, and review the rule description. Click an underlined value to edit.
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Select Finish.
Certain rules will only run when Outlook is on. If you get this warning, select OK.
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Select OK.
If you’ve set rules to organize your incoming mail but they’re not all working as you expect them to, these steps might help you find and fix the problem.
To fix a broken rule:
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Click File > Manage Rules & Alerts.
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If you see a message that says you have a broken rule that needs to be modified, click OK.
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Check the box next to the rule in red.
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Click the links under Rule description and edit the rule as needed, and then click OK.
To change the settings, name, location or behavior of a rule:
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Click File > Manage Rules & Alerts.
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Check the box next to the rule that you want to modify.
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Click Change Rule, click the type of change you want to make, and then complete the steps.
Note: To delete a rule, in the Rules and Alerts dialog, check the box next to the rule, and then click Delete.
You can delete a rule when it's no longer necessary.
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On the File tab, choose Manage Rules & Alerts.
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In the Rules and Alerts dialog box, on the E-mail Rules tab, choose the rule you want to delete.
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Choose Delete
> OK.
You can manually run one or more rules.
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On the File tab, choose Manage Rules & Alerts, and on the E-mail Rules tab, choose Run Rules Now.
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In the Run Rules Now box, under Select rules to run, select the check box for each rule that you want to run.
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In the Run in Folder box, to select a different folder, choose Browse, choose the folder, and then choose OK.
Select the Include subfolders check box to include all folders under the folder you chose in step 3.
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In the Apply rules to list, accept the default setting of all messages, or change to read or unread messages.
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Choose Run Now.
See also
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