Create an Outlook rule

Create an Outlook rule
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Once a month, we check emails from various services. These emails are typically reports from our accounting software and DMARC status emails. We want to create an Outlook rule to sort these emails.

  1. DMARC Service – these emails are not urgent, reviewed once a week. To avoid them clogging up our Inbox, we will send these to a specific folder.
  2. Accounting emails – all accounting emails must be marked as important and forwarded to our bookkeeper.

What is an Outlook rule?

Outlook rules tell outlook what to do with an email once it’s received. Put into a folder, forward to someone else, delete, mark as important, mark as read or copy.

You can set rules based on Sender, Subject, Sent To, Contains a specific word in body, subject sender. There are 31 rules built into Outlook which can be combined to suit your needs.

Do Rules Work When Outlook Is Off

No, yes, maybe, depends.

It really depends on your setup. Having worked for several small companies, it’s not always as simple as ‘We use Microsoft 365 for Business’.

If you use Microsoft 365, then when you create an outlook email rule they are mirrored to Outlook Web and will process when your computer is switched off.

If you have any other setup, then rules will only process while your computer and Outlook are running.

Create an Outlook rule

Create an Outlook rule

Rules help sort, file and forward any email you receive
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Computer Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes

Equipment

  • 1 Outlook

Ingredients  

  • 1 Email Any Email
  • 1 Email Any Email

Instructions
 

  • Open the email you want to move or forward
    Email Opened In Outlook Desktop
  • Select Messages then Rules > Create Rule
    Create Rule Menu In Outlook Desktop
  • In the Create Rule dialog tick the From sender checkbox, you can also add other conditions by selecting the relevant check boxes. You can
    Outlook rule pop up

Move An Email To A Folder

  • In the Create Rule dialog under Do the following, select the Move the item to folder check box
    Create Rule PopUp Move Folder
  • Choose the folder you want this email to be sent to
    Outlook Rule Select Folder Dialog Box

Forward An Email

  • In the Create Rule dialog
    Press Advanced options button then Next
    Outlook Create Rule PopUp Advanced
  • Tick the forward it to people or public group checkbox
    Rules Wizard Forward Email
  • Then press people or public group in the lower box and select or enter an email then.
    Press Next
    Rules Wizard Forward Email 2
  • You can now set any exceptions to this rule, we wont be in this recipe but please do as you need.
    Press Next
    Outlook Rule Expect Dialog
  • Outlook will now display a summery of your rule, double check and press Finish
    Outlook Rules Wizard Rule Summery

Post Author

Tom Hobbs

Tom has worked for small business for 20 years providing IT support and know how to entrepreneurs

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