How to Use Rules in Microsoft Outlook on Windows 11

Posted on 19th June 2023

Introduction

Microsoft Outlook is a popular email client that is used by millions of people around the world. It is available on both Windows and MacOS. In this article, we will focus on how to use rules in Microsoft Outlook on Windows 11. Rules are a great way to manage your emails and keep your inbox organized. With rules, you can automatically move emails to specific folders, flag emails, and more. In this article, we will show you how to create and manage rules in Microsoft Outlook on Windows 11.

Creating a Rule

To create a rule in Microsoft Outlook, click on the File tab and then click on Manage Rules & Alerts. Alternatively, you can press Ctrl+Alt+M on your keyboard. On the Rules and Alerts dialog box, click on the New Rule button. This will open the New Rule wizard. On the first page of the wizard, you will see a list of pre-defined rules. You can select one of these rules or you can click on the Next button to create a custom rule.

Customizing Your Rule

On the second page of the New Rule wizard, you will be able to customize your rule. First, you need to select the condition(s) for your rule. For example, you can select the From condition to move all emails from a specific sender to a specific folder. You can also select multiple conditions. For example, you can select the From and Subject conditions to move all emails from a specific sender with a specific subject to a specific folder. Once you have selected the condition(s), click on the Next button.

Specifying the Action(s) for Your Rule

On the third page of the New Rule wizard, you need to specify the action(s) for your rule. For example, you can select the Move the item to folder action to move all emails that match your rule to a specific folder. You can also select multiple actions. For example, you can select the Move the item to folder and Flag the message for follow up actions to move all emails that match your rule to a specific folder and flag them for follow up. Once you have selected the action(s), click on the Next button.

Specifying the Exception(s) for Your Rule

On the fourth page of the New Rule wizard, you can specify the exception(s) for your rule. For example, you can select the Except if the subject contains specific words exception to exclude all emails with a specific word in the subject from your rule. You can also select multiple exceptions. For example, you can select the Except if the subject contains specific words and Except if the message is from specific people exceptions to exclude all emails with a specific word in the subject and all emails from specific people from your rule. Once you have selected the exception(s), click on the Next button.

Specifying a Name and Folder for Your Rule

On the fifth and final page of the New Rule wizard, you need to specify a name and folder for your rule. The name of your rule is for your reference only and it can be anything you want. The folder is the folder where all emails that match your rule will be moved to. Once you have specified a name and folder for your rule, click on the Finish button.

Managing Your Rules

Once you have created one or more rules, you can manage them from the Rules and Alerts dialog box. To open the Rules and Alerts dialog box, click on the File tab and then click on Manage Rules & Alerts. Alternatively, you can press Ctrl+Alt+M on your keyboard. On the Rules and Alerts dialog box, you will see a list of all your rules. You can select a rule and then click on the Edit Rule button to edit it. You can also select a rule and then click on the Delete Rule button to delete it. To run all your rules at once, click on the Run Rules Now button. To create a new rule, click on the New Rule button.

Conclusion

In this article, we have shown you how to create and manage rules in Microsoft Outlook on Windows 11. Rules are a great way to manage your emails and keep your inbox organized. With rules, you can automatically move emails to specific folders, flag emails, and more. We hope this article has been helpful and that you will start using rules in Microsoft Outlook to manage your emails.

If you want to get more out of your Inbox, you can create rules to automatically sort your email into different folders. You can also use rules to automatically delete certain emails or to flag them for follow-up.

To create a rule in Outlook on Windows 11, open the Rules Wizard by going to File > Manage Rules & Alerts. Click the New Rule button at the top of the Rules and Alerts dialog box.

On the first page of the Rules Wizard, you’ll see a list of rule templates. These can be used to create rules that will do things like move all email from a certain sender to a specific folder, or delete all email with a certain subject.

If you don’t see a rule template that does what you want, you can click the “Check messages when they arrive” option and then click Next. On the next page of the Rules Wizard, you’ll be able to specify the conditions that will trigger the rule.

For example, you could create a rule that moves all email from a certain sender to a specific folder. To do this, you would select the “with specific words in the sender’s address” option and then enter the email address of the sender in the text box.

Once you’ve specified the conditions for the rule, click Next. On the next page of the Rules Wizard, you’ll be able to specify the actions that the rule will take.

For example, you could specify that the rule should move the email to a specific folder. To do this, select the “move it to the specified folder” option and then click the Browse button.

In the “Select Folder” dialog box, select the folder that you want to move the email to and then click OK.

Once you’ve specified the actions for the rule, click Next. On the next page of the Rules Wizard, you’ll be able to specify any exceptions to the rule.

For example, you could specify that the rule should not apply to email from a certain sender. To do this, select the “except if the sender is” option and then enter the email address of the sender in the text box.

Once you’ve specified the exceptions for the rule, click Next. On the final page of the Rules Wizard, you’ll be able to give the rule a name and decide whether or not you want to run the rule on all existing email in your Inbox.

When you’re finished, click Finish. The rule will now be applied to your Inbox and will run automatically on any new email that arrives.