Rules in Outlook can be used for a number of different things. Many people use rules to keep their inboxes clutter free and organized. For example, you can have all messages from a specific sender placed in a separate folder.

In a previous tip I showed you how to create a rule in Outlook 2007. At some point, after a rule is created, you may decide that you want to temporarily disable the rule. If you delete the rule you will need to recreate it when you want to use it again. Therefore, a better option is to turn the rule off.

To turn a rule off in Outlook 2007:

1. Open Outlook 2007.
2. From the Tools menu, click Rules and Alerts.
3. If you have more than one e-mail account, in the Apply changes to this folder list, select the Inbox that you want.
4. From the list of rules, select or clear the check box next to the rule you want to turn off.
5. Click OK.

To turn the rule back on, repeat the steps described above.