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The Microsoft Outlook E-Mail and Fax Guide
Last Updated 7/27/2009 2:10:28 PM
Chapter 17: Using Outlook's Rules Wizard and Assistants
In this chapter, you will learn how to use the Rules Wizard, one of the most powerful and versatile features of Outlook
One of the most powerful and versatile features of Outlook consists of a set of tools that automatically process incoming messages based on rules and actions that you designate. The Rules Wizard lets you construct rules that sort messages into different types — those from your boss, high-importance messages, junk mail, and so on — and move them to different folders, send automatic responses, or perform other actions.
One of the beauties of these tools is that if you connect to Microsoft Exchange Server, they keep working, even when you’ve gone home. The Exchange server itself processes most rules. If you previously used Inbox Assistant rules with Microsoft Exchange Server, those rules can be converted to the Rules Wizard’s format and automatically updated on the server. As an Exchange Server user, you can also employ the Out of Office Assistant to handle messages when you’re on vacation or not checking your mail for a few days.
If you don’t use Exchange Server, the Rules Wizard works only when you are actually running Outlook, but it works on incoming messages from any source — and even on outgoing messages.
INSTALLING THE RULES WIZARD
The Rules Wizard was released after the initial version of Outlook. Look for it on the Tools menu. If your version of Outlook does not include the Rules Wizard, you need to download and run Ruleswiz.exe from Microsoft. Choose Help, Microsoft on the Web, Free Stuff to locate the Rules Wizard.
After you’ve installed the Rules Wizard, you can restart Outlook and begin using it. If you were previously using Inbox Assistant to process messages with Exchange Server, the Rules Wizard offers to convert your rules. See “Converting Inbox Assistant Rules” later in this chapter.
BUILDING RULES
The “wizard” part of the Rules Wizard is so named because of the way the tool helps you build rules without any special syntax. You build rules by selecting check boxes, picking from lists, and typing in words and phrases that you want to look for. You can also take any message and use it as a model for building a rule. Rules can be constructed to react to either incoming and outgoing messages.
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Special Note: Outlook does not allow you to apply rules to a folder on demand. Rules are applied only to incoming and outgoing messages as they are received and sent. |
The process of building a rule involves two required and one optional step:
- set the conditions that messages must meet for the rule to be applied
- set the actions you want applied to messages that match the conditions
- set any exceptions to the conditions (optional)
Below, we cover how to build a rule based on a sample, how to use the built-in templates for the most common sorts of rules, and how to build a rule from scratch.
Building a Rule by Example
The easiest way to build a rule is to start with a message similar to the messages you want to capture with your rule. For example, Figure 17.1 shows a message from a Web site that you often order merchandise from. You’d like to keep their confirmations in a separate folder called Orders. Let’s assume that you’ve already created the Orders folder, following the steps under “Creating a Folder” in Chapter 9.
To use a message as the starting point for a rule,
- Open the message, then choose Tools, Create Rule. In the Rules Wizard dialog box (Figure 17.2), the most likely conditions for the rule are at the top of the list, with specifics from this particular message already filled in.
- Under “Which condition(s) do you want to check?” select one or more conditions that should be matched in other incoming messages. When you select a condition, it is added to the “Rule description” box at the bottom of the Rules Wizard dialog box. If the condition contains underlined text, you can click on the underlined text in the “Rule description” box to change it. In Figure 17.3, we’ve chosen to look for particular text in the subject of incoming messages and have edited it to look for just “order number.”
- You can set as many conditions as you like. If you choose more than one, then the rule will be applied only when the message meets all conditions. When you finish setting conditions, click Next.
- In the next screen in the Rules Wizard (Figure 17.4), choose one or more actions that you want to be applied to the message. Table 17.1 lists your choices.
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TABLE 17.1: RULES WIZARD ACTIONS FOR INCOMING MESSAGES |
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Action |
Description
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| Move to |
Move the item to a different folder
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| Move a copy to |
Copy the item to a folder
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| Delete |
Remove the item from the Inbox
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| Forward |
Send the item to another address
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| Reply |
Reply to the sender using a custom message, which can also include additional recipients and attachments
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| Notify me |
Pop up a message
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| Flag |
Flag message for a particular action in a number of days
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| Clear the message flag |
Remove any message flag
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| Assign to category |
Assign the message to one or more categories
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| Play a sound |
Play a sound
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| Mark with Importance |
Set the Importance to Normal, High, or Low
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| Custom |
Perform a custom action
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- When you’ve selected all the actions you want to apply to this message, you can click Finish. If you see a message such as that in Figure 17.5, click OK. (See “Working with Server Actions” later in this chapter for more information about client-only rules.)
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Special Note: Custom actions are not included with the Rules Wizard. They are additional actions, such as printing a message, installed in the form of a .dll file on your computer. See “Understanding Custom Actions” later in this chapter. |
The preceding example created a rule that looks for the phrase “order number” in the subject of an incoming message and moves any “order number” message to the Orders folder. The Rules Wizard automatically gives this rule the name “order number” and makes it an active rule, at the top of the rules list (see “Considering Rule Order” later in this chapter).
Instead of clicking Finish in step 6 above, we could have clicked Next to walk through the last two screens of the Rules Wizard, where you set exceptions and give the rule a name. We do that under “Building a Rule Step-by-Step” below. But for most rules, you can skip those screens and finish the rule after selecting the conditions and actions.
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