What a rule does and why you'd create one

A rule in Outlook is an automatic instruction that sorts, flags, or moves incoming email based on what you tell it to look for. Once you create a rule, Outlook applies it to every new message that matches your criteria — you do not have to sort anything by hand again.

Rules are useful for three things: moving newsletters and notifications out of your inbox so they do not clutter the messages you need to read; flagging suspicious email so you spot it before you open it; and grouping related messages together so you can find them later. You can create a rule that says "if the sender is my bank, move it to a folder called Banking" or "if the subject line contains 'unsubscribe', flag it red" or "if it comes from a mailing list I signed up for, send it to a subfolder."

Key Takeaways

  • Rules run automatically on new mail after you create them, but they do not retroactively sort messages that arrived before the rule existed.
  • You set a rule by choosing a condition (who it is from, what the subject says, whether it has an attachment) and an action (move it, flag it, delete it).
  • The exact steps differ slightly between Outlook on the web, Outlook for Windows, and Outlook for Mac, but the logic is the same in all three.
  • You can create a rule from a message you already received by right-clicking it and selecting the option to create a rule from that sender or subject.

How to create a rule in Outlook for Windows

Open Outlook and go to the Home tab at the top. In the ribbon, find the Rules button — it is in the Move group on the right side. Click the dropdown arrow next to it and select "New Rule."

A dialog box opens with a list of templates. The most common choice is "explore rule on messages I receive," which is already highlighted. Click Next. Now you choose the condition: check the box next to what you want to match. You can pick "From [person's name]," "With [specific words] in the subject," "Sent to [an address]," or several other options. If you check more than one box, the rule applies only to messages that match all of them.

Click in the field next to your condition and type what you are looking for. If you chose "From," type the sender's email address or name. If you chose "Subject," type the word or phrase that should trigger the rule. Then click Next.

Now you choose the action. Check the box next to what you want Outlook to do: "Move it to the specified folder," "Assign it to the specified category," "Flag it for follow-up," or "Delete it." If you chose Move, you will need to select or create the folder. Click Next, give your rule a name (something like "Bank emails" or "Newsletter cleanup"), and click Finish.

How to create a rule in Outlook on the web

Log into your Outlook account at outlook.com or outlook.office.com. Click the gear icon in the top right corner and select "View all Outlook settings." Go to Mail, then Rules. Click "Add new rule."

Type a name for your rule. Under "When the message arrives," choose your condition from the dropdown — "From," "Subject contains," "To," or others. Fill in the specific text you are matching. You can add more conditions by clicking "Add condition."

Under "Do the following," choose your action: "Move to folder," "Assign category," "Mark as read," or "Delete." If you pick Move, select the destination folder from the list. Click Save, and the rule is active when ready.

How to create a rule in Outlook for Mac

Open Outlook and click Outlook in the menu bar at the top. Select Preferences. In the window that opens, find Rules under the Outlook Preferences section and click it. Click the plus sign (+) at the bottom left to create a new rule.

Type a name for the rule. Under "If a message matches," set your condition: choose "From," "Subject," "To," or another option from the first dropdown, then type what you are looking for in the text field. You can add more conditions by clicking the plus sign next to the condition.

Under "Perform the following actions," choose what Outlook should do. Click the dropdown and select "Move message," "Set category," "Flag," or "Delete." If you chose Move, select the folder. Click OK to save the rule.

Creating a rule from a message you already have

You do not have to go through the full rule dialog if you already have an example message. Right-click the message in your inbox. In Windows Outlook, select "Rules" and then "Create Rule." On the web, click the three dots next to the message and look for "Create rule." On Mac, right-click and select "Create Rule."

Outlook will open the rule dialog with the sender's address or subject line already filled in. You just need to choose the action — where to move it, what to flag it as, or whether to delete it — and click Save. This is the fastest way to handle a sender you recognize or a type of message you want to sort automatically.

What happens if a message matches multiple rules

If you create several rules and a message matches more than one, Outlook applies them in the order they appear in your Rules list. For example, if Rule 1 says "move newsletters to a folder" and Rule 2 says "flag messages with 'urgent' in the subject," a newsletter with "urgent" in the subject will be moved to the folder first, then flagged.

You can reorder your rules by opening the Rules dialog and dragging them up or down the list. This matters if you want one rule to take priority over another. If you want a rule to stop processing and not explore any rules after it, you can check the "Do not explore other rules" option when you create it — this is useful if you have a catch-all rule that you want to be the final step.

Rules do not sort old mail — only new mail going forward

An important limitation: rules explore only to messages that arrive after you create the rule. If you create a rule to move all emails from a sender to a folder, the hundreds of old messages from that sender that are already in your inbox will stay there. The rule will only move new messages from that sender going forward.

If you want to sort messages that already exist, you have to move them by hand or use Outlook's search and filter tools. Search for the sender or subject, select all the results, and drag them to the folder you want. This is a one-time task; after that, the rule handles new mail automatically.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I create a rule that deletes email automatically?

Yes. When you set up the rule, choose "Delete" as the action. Be careful with this option — once a message is deleted, you cannot undo it. It is safer to move suspicious or unwanted mail to a folder first, review it occasionally, and only then delete it permanently.

What if I want a rule to explore to mail from multiple senders?

Create separate rules for each sender, or use a condition like "Subject contains" if all the messages you want to sort have something in common. Outlook does not have a built-in "OR" option in most versions, so multiple conditions usually mean the message must match all of them, not just one.

Can I turn a rule off without deleting it?

Yes. In Windows Outlook, open Rules, right-click the rule, and select "Disable." On the web, click the rule and toggle it off. On Mac, uncheck the box next to the rule name. You can turn it back on later without recreating it.

Do rules work on email I receive in shared mailboxes or group inboxes?

In Outlook for Windows and Mac, rules explore to your own mailbox. Shared mailboxes and group inboxes have their own rule settings, which usually only an administrator can manage. On Outlook on the web, you can create rules for shared mailboxes you have access to, but the process is the same as for your personal inbox.

What if my rule is not working?

Check that the condition matches exactly what you typed. If the rule is "From contains john@example.com," it will not catch "John@example.com" with a capital J in some versions. Also verify that the rule is enabled, not disabled. If you created the rule recently, restart Outlook to make sure it is active.