Using Rules to Tame Your Wild Inbox

1. Using Rules to Tame Your Wild Inbox Gini Courter and Annette Marquis TRIAD Consulting, LLC

2. What are Rules? • Instructions to Outlook about how you want your mail handled. • Rules can move, copy, forward, reply, and delete mail automatically based on criteria you set. • Can be used to handle all mail or only on a temporary basis while you are out of the office.

3. Ways to Create Rules • By example • Setting junk mail and adult content options • Rules Wizard • Importing rules • Setting Color rules • Out of Office Assistant

4. Creating Rules by Example • Click the Organize button. • Select the message you want to use. • Choose From or Sent To to indicate which type of messages should be moved. • Select the folder where you want the messages to/from this person moved. • Click the Create button to create the new rule.

5. Using Junk Mail and Adult Content Rules • Click the Junk E-Mail tab in the Ways To Inbox Organize pane. • Choose a color for each type of message (you can apply the same color to both). • Click the Turn On buttons. • If you’d prefer the messages were deleted or placed in a specific folder, choose Move from the drop-down list and then select the folder to which you would like the messages moved.

6. Using the Rules Wizard to Create Complex Rules • Activate the Rules Wizard (Tools  Rules Wizard). • Choose to create a rule from one of the templates or Start with a Blank Rule. • Enter a Rule Description. • Select any conditions you want checked before the rule is applied. • Choose what you want to do with the message. • Identify any exceptions to the rule. • Name the rule.

7. Changing Rule Order • Change the order in which rules are processed so that a message that might be affected by more than one rule is handled on a priority basis. • Click the Move Up and Move Down buttons to rearrange rules.

8. Exporting/Importing Rules To use on another computer or share with another user. • Choose Rules Wizard on the Tools menu. • In the Apply Changes To This Folder drop-down list, click the Inbox you want. • Click the Options button. • In the Options dialog box, click Export or Import Rules. • Type the path and file name for the set of rules you want to export or locate the path of rules you want to import. • Click Save.

9. Using Colors to Organize Messages Using colors you can create rules to color messages from or sent to a specific person and clearly distinguish messages sent only to you. • Click the Organize button on the Standard toolbar. • Click the Using Colors tab. • Click the Automatic Formatting button. • Click the Add button in the Automatic Formatting dialog box and type a descriptive name for the rule. • Click the Font button and choose a font. • Click the Condition button to open the Filter dialog box. In the three tabs of the dialog box, set the filter conditions. • Click OK to create the condition.

10. Using the Out of Office Assistant When you are going to be away for the office and you work in a Microsoft Exchange Server environment, you can use the Out of Office Assistant to notify senders that you are gone and to organize, forward or otherwise handle your incoming mail.

11. Using the Out of Office Assistant • Tools  Out of Office Assistant. • Enter the message you want senders to receive while you are away. • Click the Add Rule button and set up a rule that identifies what you want to happen with mail you receive. • Click OK when you have finished creating the rule. • Repeat Steps 3 and 4 to create additional rules. • Click the Move Up and Move Down buttons to change the order in which the rules are applied. • Select I Am Currently Out Of The Office to apply the Out Of Office Assistant. To turn off the Out of Office Assistant, choose Tools  Out of Office Assistant and select I Am Currently In the Office.

12. Rules Summary Create rules to: • Decrease the volume of mail you have to review. • Avoid seeing junk and adult content mail. • Organize mail to handle it more efficiently. • Handle mail in your absence. • Simplify your life.