topic Re: Outlook and rules in Tech Help - Software/Hardware etc

Outlook and rules

Mav — Sat, 20 Jan 2024 19:48:16 GMT

I'm hoping someone can offer some advice, please.

I have outlook 365 installed on the PC (don't like the web version) and am having trouble with rules not working. Let's say I have a domain with Mythic Beasts xxyyzz.me.uk. The default mailbox set in Mythic Beasts is spec@xxyyzz.me.uk. I have one other mailbox set up for a specific address so no need for rules there.

I have various folders in Outlook where I would like certain emails to go based on the senders address but they all just go to the 'spec' folder. If I run the rules manually all emails go to their relevant folders.

An example rule on the inbox 'spec@xxyyzz.me.uk' is as follows;

There are no exceptions, the rule does not stop after it is processed and the rule is turned.

Any clues as to why the rule fails to work as the emails come in?

Cheers.

Edit: I use IMAP but can't see how that would make a difference.

Re: Outlook and rules

dvorak — Sat, 20 Jan 2024 20:03:19 GMT

Are your rules server or client side?

Re: Outlook and rules

Mav — Sat, 20 Jan 2024 20:03:59 GMT

Client side.

Re: Outlook and rules

dvorak — Sat, 20 Jan 2024 20:05:05 GMT

Could be why, I think you should recreate them server side through the web client.

Re: Outlook and rules

Mav — Sat, 20 Jan 2024 20:07:24 GMT

I've never done that. Is it difficult?

Re: Outlook and rules

dvorak — Sat, 20 Jan 2024 20:16:47 GMT

Ah, I just reread your post. Ignore me, I was thinking you were using the microsoft365 email too, but it's mythic beasts.

Re: Outlook and rules

IMM — Sat, 20 Jan 2024 20:48:15 GMT

Have you remembered that the rules only work when the emails arrive in Outlook.

If you want to run the rules on items that are already in your mailbox / folder then you need to go to manage rules and run rules.

Re: Outlook and rules

Mav — Sat, 20 Jan 2024 21:15:03 GMT

@IMM

Yes, I understand that. As I said in the OP running the rules manually after all the emails have arrived works just fine. They simply don't work as the emails arrive.

Re: Outlook and rules

MisterW — Sun, 21 Jan 2024 07:55:36 GMT

@Mav seems you're not alone with the problem ...

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook_com/forum/all/outlook-for-desktop-rules-do-not-run-automatically/f28c4ec7-4065-490a-8e4a-3c2ca182a5b1

Re: Outlook and rules

Champnet — Sun, 21 Jan 2024 08:45:11 GMT

@Mav As I remember the rules are actioned sequentially so check there is no rule neart the top of the list whick could affect rules further down the list. Also check rules which end with "and stop processing more rules"

Re: Outlook and rules

Mav — Sun, 21 Jan 2024 14:53:18 GMT

@MisterW

Interesting read of which most I have tried.

@Champnet

I have only one rule turned on at the moment and none of them had the 'stop processing more rules' option set.

Re: Outlook and rules

Champnet — Sun, 21 Jan 2024 15:01:59 GMT

@Mav A simple test to check if rules are working.

Create a folder dummy, set up a rule : subject contains xyzzy move to folder dummy
Send an email to yourself , no text just subject xyzzy.
See what happens.

Re: Outlook and rules

Mav — Sun, 21 Jan 2024 15:29:01 GMT

@Champnet

It's strange that some rules on another domain work as expected.

I tried your suggestion as above then once more but this time with 'test' in the subject and the rule changed from 'Specific words in the subject' to 'from people or public groups' with the other domain I am sending from in the relative field.

Both of these worked as expected.

In the meantime I had gone into MythicBeasts mail configuration and saw that I had a default mailbox set to 'box@xxyyzz.me.uk' then another mailbox set exactly the same. After deleting the second (non-default mailbox) things seem to work as expected. One email has just had the rule work properly.

I'm beginning to think it all may have something to do with how I have mailboxes set up within MythicBeasts! Maybe the screenshot below for a different domain but with similar issues can help?

@MisterW

Can you see anything untoward in that setup?

Re: Outlook and rules

IMM — Sun, 21 Jan 2024 15:43:56 GMT

I may be wrong here - but I think that the Outlook rules only work on items in the Inbox. If I've read your mythic beasts set up correctly your default email address routes to Inbox/all else - so new emails will appear in the all else folder and not be seen by the Outlook rules.

Re: Outlook and rules

MisterW — Sun, 21 Jan 2024 15:46:34 GMT

@Mav Ok, so I'm not familiar with Outlook but do its rules operate just on INBOX or will it process subfolders ? ( I suspect its INBOX only )

You have some of your mail addresses storing mail directly into folders e.g mikew stores in ...INBOX/mikew, this is done directly by the Mythic server, in which case Outlook will not see the mail in INBOX.

As regards specific email addresses and default, AIUI the default rule will ONLY apply if there is no match on any specific email address.

Does that help ?

edit: well it seems 2 of us think the rules only apply to INBOX

Re: Outlook and rules

Mav — Sun, 21 Jan 2024 16:58:35 GMT

Thanks @IMM and @MisterW

I didn't realise that Outlook rules only worked on the Inbox. I am now setting about reconfiguring mailboxes within MythicBeasts making it all less complicated.

I deleted almost all the rules I had set up (probably around 50) to try and sort this out so will now add them again.

Hopefully all will be smooth. Watch this space...

Re: Outlook and rules

Champnet — Sun, 21 Jan 2024 17:34:24 GMT

Sometimes, with a little knowledge, we do tend to over complicate things.

Collect emails into Outlook then use the rules to separate them….

Re: Outlook and rules

Mav — Sun, 21 Jan 2024 17:41:40 GMT

@Champnet

I now totally agree except for one thing Outlook isn't exactly user-friendly at times.

For example I was wondering why all my test emails to the mailbox mythic_beasts@xxyyzz.uk weren't arriving till I realised I had to set up a new Account in Outlook then suddenly 47 emails going back till I when I transferred my domains to MythicBeasts arrived.