To create a rule for mail messages

1. On the Tools menu, point to Message Rules, and then click Mail.

   Message rules cannot be created for IMAP or HTTP mail accounts.

2. On the Mail Rules tab, click New.
3. Select the conditions for your rule by selecting the desired check boxes in the Conditions section. (You must select at least one condition.)

   You can specify multiple conditions for a single rule by clicking more than one check box. Click the and hyperlink in the Rule Description section to specify whether all of the rule conditions must be met before the specified action occurs (and) or whether at least one must be met (or).

4. Select the actions for your rule by selecting the desired check boxes in the Actions section. (You must select at least one condition.)
5. Click the underlined hyperlinks in the Rule Description section to specify the conditions or actions for your rule.

   You can click contains people or contains specific words in the Rule Description section to specify the people or words you'd like Outlook Express to look for in messages. If you enter multiple people or multiple words per condition, use the Options button in the Select People or Type Specific Words dialog boxes to further customize the condition.

6. In the Name of the rule box, select the default name, type a new name for your rule, and then click OK.

Notes

• You can create a new rule by selecting an existing one on the Message Rules tab and clicking Copy. This is helpful when the new rule you want to create is similar to an existing one.
• You can create a rule from a message by selecting a mail message in the main window and then on the Message menu clicking Create Rule from Message. This helps by automatically filling in the name of the person on the From line; no other information from the message, however, is entered into the rule.

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