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Walkthroughs – Outlook

Walkthroughs created with Outlook 2007

These walkthroughs are companions to the product You Are Not Your Inbox: Overcoming Email Overload, an audio program by Stever Robbins. Click here for information about You Are Not Your Inbox.

Jump straight to the topic you’re interested in:

Color-coding messages using filters / rules

Option 1 – from scratch

  1. Under Tools, select Rules and Alerts

  2. Click New Rule

  3. Start with a blank rule – check messages when they arrive

  4. Click next
  5. Check the box next to criteria (for example with the word “kitten” in the subject)

    a.
    Check “with specific words in the subject” and click the linked phrase in step

    b. Type the word “kitten”

    c. Click add

    d. Click OK

  6. Click Next
  7. Click “assign it to category”

  8. In Step 2, click on the linked word “category”
  9. Select a category or create a new one

    a. Click New

    b.Name your category (“kittens”)

    c.
    Select a color

    d. Click OK

  10. Click OK
  11. Click Next
  12. Specify a name for your rule
  13. Make sure the box by turn on this rule is checked
  14. Check ‘run this rule now on messages already in my inbox’

  15. Click finish

Option 2 – from an email you want to filter

  1. Right click on an email that you want to filter in the inbox and select “create rule”

  2. Check and edit any of the conditions you want to filter for

  3. Click Advanced Options…
  4. Follow instructions above from step 5 on.

Filter messages from mom or an e-zine into a separate folder

Option 1 – from scratch

  1. Under Tools, select Rules and Alerts

  2. Click New Rule

  3. Under Step 1, Stay Organized, Select the appropriate action – in this case, Move messages from someone to a folder
  4. In Step 2, click on the linked text and select the appropriate options.  To create a folder for messages from mom:

    a. Click people or distribution list

    • Select mom from your address book and click from
    • Then click OK

    b. Click specified

    • Click New

    • Name your new folder

    • Click OK
  5. Click Next
  6. Make sure “from people or distribution list” is checked (and/or any other option)

  7. Click Next
  8. Make sure “move it to the specified folder” is checked (and/or any other option)

  9. Click Next
  10. Select any exceptions (none necessary)
  11. Click Next
  12. Name the rule
  13. Make sure the box by turn on this rule is checked
    • Check ‘run this rule now on messages already in my inbox’ if you want to do that

  14. Click finish

Option 2 – from an email you want to filter

  1. Right click on an email that you want to filter in the inbox and select “create rule”

  2. Check any of the conditions you want to filter for
  3. Check move the item to a folder

  4. Select the folder (create a new one if necessary)

  5. Click OK
  6. Check ‘run this rule now on messages already in my inbox’ if you want to do that

  7. Click OK

Autocorrect

Example turn YANYI into You Are Not Your Inbox: Overcoming Email Overload

  1. Under the Tools menu, select Options

  2. On the spelling tab, click spelling and autocorrection…

  3. Click autocorrect options

  4. Make sure “replace text as you type” is checked
  5. Under replace:, type YANYI
  6. Under with:,  type You Are Not Your Inbox: Overcoming Email Overload

  7. Click OK
  8. Click OK
  9. Click OK

Turn off "You have new mail"

  1. Under the tools menu, select options

  2. On the preferences tab, under email, click the Email Options… button

  3. Under message handling, click the Advanced Email Options… button

  4. Under “when a new item arrives in my inbox”
    • Uncheck all boxes

  5. Click OK
  6. Click OK
  7. Click OK