Create Message Rules In Windows Mail (Vista)
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 Windows Mail (included with Vista), using the steps outlined below.
- Open Vista.
- Click the Tools menu option, point to Message Rules, and select Mail.
- 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.
- 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 email address.
- Select the action or actions for the rule. Windows Mail will take these actions if a mail message meets all the conditions. For example, you can select Move it to the specified folder.
- 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 Windows Mail which particular folder the message should be placed in.
- Type a descriptive name for the rule.
- Click OK.
- Click OK the close the Message Rule dialog box.
7 Comments
Chuck Whitaker
November 28th, 2006
at 9:05am
I’ve been using Outlook since… dunno, long time, and I have numerous–a hundred or so–rules. Through 2003, Outlook makes it extrodinarily difficult to manage lots of rules: sorting/ordering/organizing them one rule up or down one space at a time, locating a specific rule, etc. Has MS done anything to make this better? This seems like a niche that an external editor using an exported list might be able to fill, but I haven’t seen anything
dumbfounder
February 3rd, 2007
at 11:54am
I use IMAP and I am trying to setup rules in Windows Mail. I would like to move messages to a folder but it only lets me specify a target that is a local folder, not one on the IMAP server. Outlook let me do what I wanted, but Windows Mail has rendered itself useless to me because it can’t perform this function. What’s the dealio!?!
Paul Rooney
July 12th, 2007
at 7:25am
Hi
Am trying to setup “out of office” in Windows mail, but can’t find it – is it me???? have a new HP Pavillion, fast broadband and Vista – ISP is BTINTERNET can anyone help????
AW Jansen
November 30th, 2007
at 12:49pm
I found a strange behavior of Windows Mail under Vista, compared with Outlook Express under Win98!
If more than one rule is valid for a message, only the last rule is performed on the message.
By OE under Win98 all the rules were performed in the order of the rule-set.
First a copy-rule to map A followed by a move-rule to map B, will now under Vista result in only a move to map B.
Danny
May 6th, 2008
at 2:28pm
How do I create an email rule in windows mail (vista) that moves or copies an email that has just been sent (sent item) to a particular folder (or any folder other than the sent items folder)? I’m sure it’s easy.
Maude
November 24th, 2008
at 8:30pm
I need to set up a rule that forwards all my outgoing messages to the directors of the company I work for. I can’t work out how to do this in Mail (Vista). I don’t seem to be able to choose only outgoing messages as opposed to all messages.
sushil gujjar
November 9th, 2009
at 4:46am
thanks,
i am very happy from your suggestion…