What is a Rule?

Rules allow you to define actions that are performed on your mail. They can be actions that run automatically on all incoming mail, or actions that you opt to run manually. Rules are often used to direct incoming mail into specific folders based on specified criteria, but you can do other things with Rules, such as flag messages that meet certain criteria or automatically forward a copy of certain messages to someone else.

Creating Rules via Outlook

To create a Rule in Outlook you would:

  1. Go to File –> Info and then click on the Manage Rules & Alerts button.
  2. Click on New Rule
  3. Define the Rule as needed
  4. Click on Finish

Creating Rules via OWA

You can also created rules in Outlook Web Access (OWA) available at www.bu.edu/webmail or http://outlook.office365.com/. Particularly if you are using IMAP, a phone/device, or a non-Outlook client, you can login to OWA and still have the ability to create Rules that will centrally manage your mail.

  1. Login to OWA and click Settings (gear icon in the top right)
  2. Within Settings, click Mail
  3. Under the Automatic Processing category, click Inbox and Sweep Rules
  4. Define the Rule as needed
  5. Then click on Save