Forum Discussion
Need Help With Rule
Hi! I am trying to create a new rule that will successfully sort emails like the attached example into a separate folder. The problem is that there is nothing in either the subject line or the body of the email that is unique. In the attached example, what you see for the body of the message is the entirety of the message--there is nothing beyond the reference number line that I could key on. Every email produced by our ticketing system includes "Ref:MSG" followed by a number, so I my rule cannot key on that without picking up a lot of other messages that I don't want to catch with this rule.
In the attached example, the text "Short Description: Move" would be enough to make the rule work, but I cannot figure out how to get at that. It's not part of the subject line, it's not part of the body, and I don't find it in the message headers. However, if I right-click on that text and select the View Source option, it appears to be HTML. I get this:
</head><body><div>Short Description: Move
Is there any way that I can use that in a rule?
Thanks for any help that you can offer!
--Tom
Hi mtthomasm516,
here's how you can create a rule to sort emails based on content found within the HTML source:
Open Outlook: Launch your Outlook application.
Go to Rules and Alerts: Navigate to the "Rules" tab, then click on "Manage Rules & Alerts".
Create a New Rule: Click on "New Rule".
Start from a Blank Rule: Select "Apply rule on messages I receive" and click "Next".
Define Conditions: Since the content you're looking for isn't in the subject or body, select "with specific words in the message header". In the Rule Description box, click on the underlined "specific words".
Enter HTML Content Criteria: In the "Search Text" dialog, type "Short Description: Move" (or whatever text you want to key on) and click "Add". Then click "OK".
Define Actions: Click "Next" to define what you want to do with messages that meet this criteria. Choose "move it to the specified folder" and select the folder where you want these emails to be moved.
Finish and Name the Rule: Click "Next" and give your rule a name, then click "Finish".
Test the Rule: Send a test email that matches your criteria to verify that the rule works as expected.
- Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, that does not work as the text that I want to key on is not in the header either. I actually already have a rule exactly like that, and it's not working.
--Tom
