How to Make Outlook Express Sort Your Email for You

This time saver will sort your incoming mail into different folders for faster execution of replying to priority messages, or simply sorting the trash from your main "inbox" folder, making the reading your email easier. The more work your puter can do for you, the less work youll have to do.

Making and naming a new folder is a simple operation. With O.E. open, click "file", then select "new" from the menu, then select "folder".

Type the new folders name in the text field, click "okay" and youve created your new folder . Be sure that you have "inbox" highlighted in the left window panel when you do this or else it will put your new folder in with the wrong one, such as "drafts" or "deleted items".

Now that you have a specially name folder to put specific emails in, you need to tell O.E. what you want it to do or rather, which folder you want it soted into.

Making sure that youre in the "inbox", click the "Tools" option. Then select "message rules" from the menu. Then select "mail" from the sub-menu. When this window opens, select "new" from the options buttons.

A 3 window panel opens. In the top window you select the "conditions" of your new message rule.

Ill give you a working example of a message rule that you can refer back to as you follow the instructions, making it easier to understand whats going on.

In each new issue of 2Liners & Tips I supply a new address for subscribers to send their headline to. This is sent to my inbox folder named "Headlines"

I tell O.E. where to put, which messages I want, in the headlines folder by, selecting the condition (first window) "where the subject contains specific words" in this case , the word "Headlines"

In the second window, I choose what action that I want O.E. to take with my chosen "email condition". In this case, I want it to "move it to the specified folder"

Now in the bottom window you will see something like this:

When the subject line contains"specific words", Move it to the "specified" folder. The words, "specific words" and "specified folder" will be underlined as a hyper link.

Clicking the phrase " specific words" will open a text box, allowing you to enter your chosen words that defines the particular subject line, in our example the word is "Headlines". Then click OK to close.

Now click the link that says, "specified folder". A window opens to a view of your mailbox folders, just like the one you normally see in your left window pane.

Just click to highlight the folder ( in this example our folder is the Headlines folder) that you wish the chosen subject line to go to.

Now click Okay, then Okay again to close all out. In the bottom window, the message (including hyperlinks) will now read something like this :

When the subject line contains the word "Headlines" move it to the "Headlines" folder.

This may seem like a lot of work to begin with, but with a few minutes spent familiarizing yourself with these procedures, you can soon complete these actions in a matter of only a minute or so.

There are several other "conditions" that you can choose your email actions to perform, such as taking email "to" a certain address and sorting it into a certain folder. But as this was rather lengthy, we encourage you to spend a few minutes figuring this out and if you do get "stumped", Ill be glad to help you out.

About the Author

Patrick Hale

Publisher of 2Liners & Tips Ezine - The Free Headline Testing Ezine.For a Steady Stream of Useful Tips, from Computing to Marketing, Plus 3 Free Ads a week. To Subscribe Go to http://www.maxaid.com/2linerads.html

Pat@Maxaid
http://www.maxaid.com