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How to Manage Email Using Rules in Apple Mail

How to Manage Email Using Rules in Apple Mail

Posted November 4, 2007 at 1:53pm by iClarified
In Apple Mail you can set up rules to filter incoming messages or reorganize messages you’ve already received. You can have Mail automatically perform actions, such as file, forward, or highlight a message, based on conditions or criteria, such as the message’s sender, recipients, subject, or content.

To manage messages using rules follow these steps:

Step One
Open Apple Mail by clicking its icon in the dock.
How to Manage Email Using Rules in Apple Mail


Step Two
Select Preferences from the Mail menu at the top left of the screen.
How to Manage Email Using Rules in Apple Mail

Step Three
Select the Rules tab from the Preferences window that appears.
How to Manage Email Using Rules in Apple Mail

How to Manage Email Using Rules in Apple Mail

Step Four
Click Add Rule to open the new rule window.
How to Manage Email Using Rules in Apple Mail

Step Five
In the description field, type a descriptive name for the rule.
How to Manage Email Using Rules in Apple Mail

Step Six
Indicate whether any one or all of the rule conditions must be true. Do this by selecting either Any or All
How to Manage Email Using Rules in Apple Mail

Step Seven
Set the conditions necessary for the rule to apply to a message. Do this by selecting different criteria from the dropdown menus.

For example in the first dropdown you could select From, then in the second dropdown select Contains, finally type in an email address in the entryfield to the right. This will select all messages from the email address you entered.
How to Manage Email Using Rules in Apple Mail

Step Eight
You can add more then one condition for your rule. Click the Add (+) button to add another criteria. If you change your mind and want to remove a condition then click the Minus (-) button.
How to Manage Email Using Rules in Apple Mail

Step Nine
Next you need to specify an action for your rule. Use the dropdowns menus to do this.
How to Manage Email Using Rules in Apple Mail

For example I selected Move Message from the first dropdown and then selected the mailbox I wanted the message moved to from the second dropdown.
How to Manage Email Using Rules in Apple Mail

Again with actions you can use the Add (+) button to add an action or use the Minus (-) button to remove an action.
How to Manage Email Using Rules in Apple Mail

Step Ten
Click the Ok button to save your rule.

Step Eleven
A popup will appear asking you if you want to apply your rules to messages in selected mailboxes. If you wish to do this then click Apply otherwise click Don't Apply.
How to Manage Email Using Rules in Apple Mail

Step Twelve
Press Command+w on the keyboard to close the Preferences window.
How to Manage Email Using Rules in Apple Mail

Step Thirteen
Now all incoming messages will be checked against the rule you just created. If you clicked Apply in Step Eleven your rule will have been applied to your existing messages.
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