Rules, or filters as they're called in some email programs, are an important method for email management. Uses for rules include moving messages to other folders; adding flags, reminders, or categories to messages; and sending replies to messages that meet specific conditions. Rules can be used for spam control, although they really aren't the best way to manage unwanted mail, especially considering the large amounts of spam many people get. Instead, you should use the Junk E-mail filter included in Outlook 2003 or one of the numerous third-party anti-spam programs that are available.
Creating a Rule from a MessageOrganizer is simple and builds simple rules, but it's not the only way to quickly make a simple rule. Right-click on any message and choose C reate Rule. The dialog shown in Figure 14.3 opens. Figure 14.3. The Create Rule dialog enables you to customize the conditions of a rule to suit your needs.
Using Create Rules, you can create a rule using the From, To, or Subject field and display the item in the Desktop Alert dialog (shown in Figure 14.10), play a specific sound, or move the message to a folder. Figure 14.10. The New Alert window is a small window that contains a custom message and a list of new mail that meets the conditions of the rule. This isn't the same as the semitransparent desktop alert used for all new mail.
The A d vanced Options button opens the Rules Wizard at the Select Conditions dialog, as shown later in Figure 14.6. Complete the rule using the wizard. Figure 14.6. You can choose as many conditions as you need from this list. However, each condition uses the AND operator to connect with the other conditions. The more conditions you have, the fewer messages you'll catch.
Using the Rules WizardTo create more complex rules, you need Outlook's Rules Wizard. You can open the Rules Wizard dialog using the T ools, Ru l es and Alerts menu selection. Rules and Alerts is shown in Figure 14.4, although your dialog might not have any rules listed yet. Figure 14.4. Use the Rules and Alerts dialog to create rules that help manage your messages.
Use this dialog to manage your rules. From here, you can create new rules, edit existing rules, and run your existing rules on any mail folder. Task: Create RulesTo create a new rule:
Because you might create rules for future use that you don't currently need, the T urn On This Rule check box enables you to disable the rule temporarily. The C reate This Rule on All Accounts option is available only when you have more than one email account that works with rules in your profile. It creates a copy of the rule for each account. Keep in mind that rules do not run on HTTP accounts. Fine-Tuning Your RulesIf you left R u n This Rule unchecked and decide later that you want to run the rule on messages already in Outlook, you can choose R un Rules Now from the Rules and Alerts dialog (refer to Figure 14.4). When selected, the Run Rules Now dialog opens, as shown in Figure 14.9. Figure 14.9. Use Run Rules Now to apply actions to messages later. You can apply the rule to all messages, only to unread messages, or only to messages marked as read.
Run Rules Now enables you to apply rules to any folder at any time. When you create a rule specifically to use it later, deselect Turn On This Rule, shown previously in Figure 14.8. When you want to run the rule, open the Rules and Alerts dialog and choose R un Rules Now. Run Rules Now is helpful when you want to delete or move sent items. If you create a rule to use when sending, the sent messages are copied , not moved. You can run a rule on the Sent folder later to move the messages.
If you're upgrading from an older version of Outlook, you can upgrade your existing rules to Outlook 2003's format from the O ptions dialog. After the rules are upgraded, they won't work with older versions of Outlook. In most cases, the first time you run Outlook, it will offer to upgrade your rules. If you choose No and change your mind later, you can use Upgrade Now to convert them. After you've created some rules, you can use the Rules and Alerts dialog to manage them. Using the buttons above the list of rules, you can open the N ew Rule dialog, make quick changes to the selected rule, copy or delete the selected rule, change the order in which rules are run, and import or export your rules using the Options dialog. The Change Rule menu contains a list of the most popular actions and enables you to quickly add an action to an existing rule without opening the rule for editing. It displays only the dialogs you need to complete the rule, such as a dialog to choose the flag color . These menus are toggles, so any action applied using this menu is removed when you select the menu again. Actions available on the C hange Rule menu include
The following actions apply to the selected rule without opening the actions screen. Hold the Shift or Ctrl key while selecting rules to apply the action to all the selected rules.
As mentioned previously, selecting an item from this menu toggles the action on or off. Choose C opy when you need to create a rule that's similar to an existing rule because it's often easier to change the fields than it is to create the rule again. When you no longer want a rule to run, you'll usually uncheck the box beside the rule name. When you're sure that you'll never need a rule again, select it and choose D elete. Outlook runs rules in the order they're listed in Rules and Alerts. Use the blue arrow buttons to change the order in which the rules are run. The order of rules doesn't usually matter, especially if you use the Stop Processing More Rules action in all of your rules. However, if you're having problems with the wrong rules firing on certain messages, try rearranging the order of the rules. Select the rule, and then click the up or down arrow to move it. As mentioned previously, look for Import and Export in Options. Using Rules with Your Email AccountsYou can use the Rules Wizard on POP3 accounts, on Exchange Server accounts, and for the Inbox on IMAP accounts when you download the full message during a send and receive. Rules do not work on HTTP accounts, either as the messages are downloading or by using Run Rules Now. Using rules with IMAP accounts has two limitations. First, for the rules to run automatically, the messages must be downloaded completely when you check for new mail. Second, you can't use a rule to move messages to another IMAP folder; however, you can move messages from an IMAP folder to a folder in your local message store. You might notice that your rules have the On This Machine Only condition added. On This Machine Only is an Exchange Server option, and it's automatically added to all rules created for non-Exchange accounts because you can't store rules on the server for the other accounts. Use it when you access your Exchange mailbox from more than one computer and want a server-side rule to work only on one computer or need to force a rule to be client-side. Outlook 2003 enables you to create rules specific to each account in your profile. These rules will run only on messages received on the specific account. When using this with POP3 accounts, use the Through the Specified Account condition in the Rules Wizard and select the proper account from the list. When the profile has both POP3 or Exchange Server accounts and an IMAP account, you must select the IMAP account in the Apply Changes to This F older list.
Exchange Server users have two types of rules available: client-side rules that run only when Outlook is open and sever-side rules that run as new messages arrive. When used in a rule, the following conditions and actions will create a client-side rule and will run only when Outlook is opened. Conditions
Actions
Rules used with Exchange server mailboxes are limited to 32KB of data. The exact number of rules available on the server side is dependent on the length of the condition or action used in each rule. You can have a greater number of rules if they're simple with short folder names or addresses, fewer when they're complex or contain long folder names . |