Email Overload: You Make the Rules

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In the previous post (Email Overload: How to Organise Your Messages with Folders) I explained how you can organise messages with folders. However, that ends up being a manual process – you have to select and move the emails yourself. You might prefer to do that, but what if your email program could do it for you? Let’s take some time to look at email rules and their setup.

What are ‘rules’ and how can they help?

Well in email terms they are actually a set of commands that your email program can run automatically when something happens. For example when a new email arrives, it looks to the rules, see if it matches any of them and then performs commands that you’ve told it. 

Are they useful all the time?

Most of the time yes, however, there are two types of rules – the technical names are server-side and client-side.

The most popular use is to move emails into folders, these can only work while the program is running. Your program is called the client, making this the client-side option.

Note: The computer that actually sends and receives your email is the server. These computer are always running, and any commands that it completes is the server-side.

So if your computer and email program is running all day long these will rules will work throughout the day. When your computer is switched off (Note: I do recommend that you switch the computer off overnight) then these rules can’t work.

However, you can tell it to run them later on when it checks (and receives) new emails and it should run automatically, but you can run them or start them manually any time you need to.

What can Rules do?

Simply put – anything that your email program can.

The most popular options are:

  • Move emails to a folder
  • Delete
  • Forward
  • Send a pre-written reply

It’s completely down to you, as you say “look at this message, does it have or is it, then do this”.

A rule can also do a number of things, not just one option.

Warning

I think that rules are really useful, however, I know from personal experience that you need to be careful.

Oh, not creating them, but forgetting about them.

A few years ago (quite a few years ago), I had a friend that was emailing me regularly.

I figured I’d be ‘clever’ and create a rule to move their emails into a specific folder.

Everything was fine, and worked as expected.

Until…

I got a call asking if I’d seen a specific message.

I hadn’t, and realised that I hadn’t seen a message from them in a while.

It took am little while but I finally realised that the rule had been working all this time, and the emails were all in the folder I’d created.

The moral of this story is that moving emails with rules are great BUT you need to setup something so that a) you realise an email has come in and b) you do actually go and have a look.

A simple solution that I came up with is to add it as a favourite, so the folder appears higher in my list, and of course I can then see how many emails are unread!

First step in email rules setup

No matter what program you’re using, the very first thing is to decide what you want the rule to do.

Yes, it’s as simple as that.

This allows you to think the process through. For example, you don’t want to delete it before you’ve sent a reply.

Is there anything that you need to setup? e.g. Do you need to create a folder? or is there one already?

Once you’ve got this all done – then it’s time to create the rule.

Email Rules in Outlook

You’re probably wondering where this command is in Outlook.

As you can guess it’s in the ‘Mail’ section.

Under the Move group, you can see Rules.

In Outlook the email rules setup can be found on the Home tab, under the Move group.
Rules on the Home Tab

Quick Rule to Move Emails

As it’s one of the most popular options for rules, Microsoft supplies a quick and easy way to create a rule to move emails into a folder.

Quickly create an email rule (Outlook) to move messages.
Move Messages From:

My example: Move emails from Jeanna Gabellini, into a folder.

If you’ve got an email from that person/account in your Inbox, select it first.

Now click on the Rules option in the Ribbon.

The first option picks up who your selected message is from and gives you the quick option to create a new rule to move their messages.

Click on the option, to see a list of your folders – select the one to move into.

You can also create a new folder if you need.

Once (the folder is) selected, Outlook automatically runs the rule, and moves any messages that match, into that folder.

Create a Different Rule

Remember I said that rules can be quite clever?

To create any other type of rule, you’re going to select Create Rule from the drop-down list.

Create Rule allows you to create any type of command that you want.
Create Rule in Outlook

The dialog box (Create Rule) shows you the most used options to define what email the rule should look for ‘When I get email with all of the selected conditions’ and then what to do ‘do the following’.

One of the useful options for the ‘conditions’ is that you can have, one, two or all three options setup to be really specific on what emails trigger this rule, or keep it more general with just one.

Then move onto the ‘what should happen’.

While there are (again) only three options, and yes, you can switch all of them on, I tend to use just the last one most – Move the item to folder.

It remembers the last folder selected, or click Select Folder to pick a different one (or create a new one).

I’m a bit old fashioned with some of these bits, and I generally prefer to create my folder first, then select it when creating the rule.

Email Rules in Gmail

First thing to be aware of Gmail calls them Filters, not rules.

Second thing to be aware of in Gmail the filters will only work on new (matching) messages.

Quick Filter to Move Emails

First select an example of the email that you want to move by selecting/ticking it.

Use the More (three dots) to see Filter messages like these
Filter messages like these

Next, look to the toolbar at the top of your Inbox, and the last icon with the three dots.

Click there to show ‘More’ options, and select ‘Filter messages like these’.

The “search” details of your selected email are entered for you, and matching emails are shown behind the search box.

The search option is filled in for you, click on Create Filter at the bottom
Create Filter from the select email

Click Create filter to confirm the search term.

Finally select what actions you want this filter to perform, when new matching emails arrive.

Select the actions to create the email rules setup
Select Actions for the Filter

Use ‘Apply the Label’ to either apply a pre-created label, or to select a “label folder” to move the email to.

If you want a refresher on how to create ‘label folders – Email Overload: How to Organise Your Messages with Folders (also linked below).

Click Create Filter.

The filter is created, but existing messages are not moved.

Create a Different Filter

If you don’t have an example of the email you want to filter, or want to manually create it, then follow these steps:

At the top of your inbox is the Search Mail field.

Click on the ‘Show Search Options’ icon, highlighted below.

Email Rules in Gmail is actually Filter, under the Search
Expand Search for the Filter Option

From the expanded options, setup what will identify the (type) of email that this filter will apply to.

Setup what identifies the message from the available search options
Search Options to Create a Filter

When your search criteria is setup, click Create Filter (which will be black and available).

The same actions list (as above) will be displayed.

Select what you want to happen when matching messages arrive.

Click Create Filter.

If you can, send a test message to check that everything is working.

Edit/Remove Filters

If you need to edit or delete a filter that you’ve created:

  1. Settings (Cog) in the top right corner
  2. See All Settings (from the pane on the right-hand side)
  3. Switch to the Filters and blocked addresses (from the options along the top)

Next Steps

Rules or Filters can be a great way to help you deal with email overwhelm.

They can help you manage your Inbox, as messages arrive.

I’ll remind you of my warning at the beginning of this post; make sure, especially if the rule/filter moves emails, that you have a way to quickly see if you have new messages to read, and you make the time to actually go and read them.

Otherwise have a happy time with email rules setup!

Need some more help dealing with your emails including Outlook’s Advanced Options for Rules? Do you need Email Overwhelm Rescue

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