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Email filtering for Staff and Research Postgraduates
This Guide is for staff and research students and illustrates how to use Outlook Web App (OWA) to create message filtering rules (known as Inbox Rules) for your incoming email.
A similar facility is available in Outlook, but this Guide will focus on OWA, because:
- OWA is available from any computer where you have internet access;
- the same choice of Inbox Rules is available;
- the set-up method is simpler;
- any rules you create in OWA will also be visible from and apply to Outlook, and vice versa.
Please note that the Inbox Rules facility is not available in OWA Light, which is an optional, simpler version of OWA you can choose on the OWA login page. However, if you create Inbox Rules using the full version of OWA on a different computer, the rules will be stored on the Exchange server and will operate even if you later use OWA Light on another computer.
CONTENTS
- Introduction
- Getting started
- Selecting message conditions
- Selecting message actions
- Saving your new Inbox Rule
- More options
- Handling combined message features
- Handling alternative message features
- Deleting or disabling an Inbox Rule
- Changing an Inbox Rule
Introduction
Inbox Rules consist of one or more conditions to be applied to incoming email, and one or more actions to be taken on the email if the conditions are satisfied. You can create as many rules as you like, to test for different things. Rules can be applied together or be made exclusive.
The conditions all apply to features of an email, such as who it's from or to, words or phrases it contains, how big it is, whether it contains attachments, and so on. As standard, only one condition can be chosen per rule, but the More Options feature allows you to specify more than one condition.
The actions are things that are to be done with the email, such as moving it to a folder, or discarding it. As standard, only one action can be chosen per rule, but in more advanced mode you can specify more than one action.
Rules can also contain exceptions, such that the specified actions will not be taken if any of the exceptions apply to the email, even if the other conditions are satisfied.
Getting started
First, login to OWA in the normal manner, but remember to use the standard version of OWA, not the Light version. Then:
- Click on Options at the top right of the OWA window, then click on Create an Inbox Rule... in the drop-down menu:
(NOTE: you would click this link even if you wanted to change or delete any existing rules) - In the Inbox Rules panel, if you do not yet have any rules set up, you should see a view like that shown below.
Otherwise, a list of previously-created rules will be visible. - To create a new Inbox Rule, click on New...:
- This opens a New Inbox Rule dialogue box with sections for selecting message conditions ('When the message arrives, and:') and selecting message actions ('Do the following:').
Selecting message conditions
In this section you will be selecting a message condition for filtering, that is, a feature of the message content which sets it apart from other messages. As standard, one condition per rule can be selected.
Click on Select one under the 'When the message arrives, and:' label to open a list of available options. The options are as shown below - click any of them here to see the instructions for that option:
- It was received from...
- It was sent to...
- It includes these words in the subject...
- It includes these words in the subject or body...
- It includes these words in the sender's address...
- My name is in the To or CC box
- [Apply to all messages]
It was received from... / It was sent to...
The It was received from... or It was sent to... options open a Contacts panel, in which you can select an address either in the Global Address List or in your own Contacts lists, or enter a specific email address by hand.
Click on the required address in the Contacts list and then click the From-> or To-> button (depending on the option chosen) to add it to the box:
.... 
If the required address is not in any Contacts list, click in the box alongside the From-> or To-> button and enter the required email address by hand. When done, click on the OK button.
It includes these words in the subject/body/sender's address
The 'It includes these words...' options all require you to add words or phrases to identify features of messages you want to filter. Clicking either option opens a dialogue box to add such words or phrases:
Click in the box labelled Type words or phrases here, then enter the required words or phrases, then click the 
icon to add the words or phrases to the rule. You can repeat this step if you want to add more words or phrases.
When done, click OK. You will see the chosen words or phrases listed alongside the box.
If you want to add or remove words or phrases, click on the listed words, which will re-open the dialogue box.
My name is in the To or CC box
The My name is in the To or CC box option will select messages which include you as a direct addressee (rather than a mailing list). This option will not include messages which have been BCC'd to you.
Apply to all messages
The [Apply to all messages] option means what it says: the rule will apply to every incoming message. Use with care!
Want to add more conditions?
You can add extra criteria for this filter rule (so that more than one condition is needed) by clicking on the More Options... button in the dialogue box. You will see an Add Condition button, with which you can add extra criteria for this rule. See also the sections about handling combined or alternative message features.
Selecting message actions
In this section you will be specifying what is to be done with messages that fit the chosen criteria.
Click on Select one under the 'Do the following:' label to open a list of options. The options are as shown below - click any of them here to see the instructions for that option, but note that two options are limited or unavailable on the Sussex Exchange system. As standard, one action from the list can be chosen, but the More Options feature allows you to choose more than one action.
- Move the message to folder
- Mark the message with a category
- Redirect the message to (note: very limited)
- Delete the message
- Send a text message to (note: not available)
Click on Move the message to folder... to be shown a list of your folders:
- From the list, find and click on a folder to which messages are to be moved as soon as they arrive.
- Alternatively, click the New Folder button to create a new folder specially to receive these messages.
- Click OK.
Mark the message with a category
The Mark the message with a category option allows you to choose a category with which to label the message. Categories and their use are described in more detail on the Microsoft Office website.
The message redirection facility has very limited scope on the Sussex Exchange system, and as such we are unable to recommend or support its use.
The Delete the message option will discard the incoming message outright (it will not be put into the Deleted Items folder). Care is needed when deciding to select this option. Consider using the Move message to folder option instead, then you can review the contents of the chosen folder at intervals, perhaps emptying it as required.
Sorry, but the text message facility is not available on the Sussex Exchange system.
Saving your new Inbox Rule
When you have completed the definition of your Inbox Rule, click the 
button at bottom right of the New Inbox Rule panel.
If you want to abandon the creation of the current Inbox Rule, click 
instead.
More options
In the New Inbox Rule panel, you can click on 
to obtain more advanced options for filtering.
The advanced selection and action options provide more detailed lists, and if you move your mouse pointer over any of the options it will open a sub-menu showing the options in that category.
The method of selecting conditions and actions is otherwise more or less the same as described above.
In More Options you can also specify extra selection conditions and/or actions, using the Add Condition or Add Action buttons.
Exceptions
The More Options section also provides - using the Add Exception button in the Except if section - a means of selecting conditions which should not trigger the associated action. For example, you might want to create a rule which deletes messages whose sender's address contains '@example.com' except for messages specifically from 'ann.other@example.com' (or indeed the other way around). The Except if option provides the same choice of message selection criteria. As with Conditions and Actions, you can add more than one Exception.
'Stop processing more rules' option
This is a clickable option in the More options section. If selected, it means that if the conditions in this rule are satisfied for a message, no other rules will be executed after this one. If this option is not selected, conditions and actions in other rules you may have created will also be used, which could lead to multiple actions taking place.
Handling combined message features
The testing logic of Inbox Rule conditions is such that a single rule can test only conditions that are all true. For example, you can test if a message comes from a certain address and if it contains certain words in the subject, all within one Inbox Rule. Use the More Options feature to add the extra conditions.
Handling alternative message features
If you want to test for alternative conditions (that is, conditions that will satisfy the Rule if any of them are true), you will need to create a separate Inbox Rule for each condition. For example, suppose you want to test if a message has been sent from ann.other@example.com or from joe.bloggs@example.com, create two rules, one to test for email from the ann.other address and the other to test for email from the joe.bloggs address. You must make sure that the Stop processing more rules option is de-selected in both rules, otherwise it won't test both conditions and you won't get the desired effect.
Deleting or disabling an Inbox Rule
Open the Inbox Rules dialogue, as explained in the Getting Started section.
Click on the title of the Rule you want to delete, then click the 
(Delete) icon:
In this example, we're deleting a rule for messages received from ann.other@example.com.
A pop-up message will appear, asking you to confirm. Just click Yes to confirm the deletion:
Alternatively, to temporarily switch off the rule, click on the tick-box under the On column so as to clear it:
This will stop the rule from actually being used, but it will remain present in your list of rules should you want to switch it on again.
Changing an Inbox Rule
Open the Inbox Rules dialogue, as explained in the Getting Started section.
Click on the title of the Rule you want to change, then click on Details:
This opens up the same dialogue box as used when you create a new rule: follow the instructions as under Selecting message conditions.
Note: in some circumstances, the following warning may appear on screen when you try to save changes to a rule:
Click Yes or No according to circumstances (if you've never used Outlook to create rules, click Yes).
created on 2013-04-05 by Andy Clews
last updated on 2013-04-22 by Andy Clews