Rules are very useful for managing high volumes of messages. For example, instead of having them all end up in your Inbox, you can create rules that will sort incoming messages and place them in different folders.

You can create rules in Outlook Express (included with Windows XP), using the steps outlined below.

1. Open Outlook Express.

2. Click the Tools menu option, point to Message Rules, and select Mail.
3. Select one or more conditions for the rule. For example, if you select Where the From Line Contains People, the mail message must be from the sender you specify in the rule before any processing occurs.
4. After you have specified the conditions, you must edit the value for each condition by selecting the hyperlink under Rule Description. For example, if you selected Where the To line contains people, you must then specify the particular senders.
5. Specify the actions for the rule. Outlook Express will take these actions if a mail message meets all the conditions. For example, you cam Move it to the specified folder.
6. Edit the values for the actions by selecting the hyperlink under Rule Description. For example, if you select the rule Move It to the Specified Folder, you then have to edit the value of the rule and tell Outlook Express which particular folder mail should be placed in.
7. Type a descriptive name for the rule.
8. Click OK.
9. Click OK the close the Message Rule dialog box.

Tags: windows, microsoft, xp, diana huggins, outlook express