How to filter mail in outlook

Filtering mail in Outlook allows you to automatically sort, categorize, and prioritize your emails based on specific criteria. Here are the steps to filter mail in Outlook:

Method 1: Using the "Rules" feature

1. Open Outlook and go to the "Home" tab in the ribbon.
2. Click on the "Rules" button in the "Move" group.
3. Click on "Manage Rules & Alerts" to open the "Rules and Alerts" dialog box.
4. Click on "New Rule" to create a new rule.
5. Select the type of rule you want to create (e.g., "Move messages from someone to a folder").
6. Specify the conditions for the rule (e.g., "From a specific person", "Contains specific words", etc.).
7. Choose the action you want the rule to take (e.g., "Move it to the specified folder").
8. Click "OK" to save the rule.

Method 2: Using the "Filter" feature

1. Open Outlook and go to the "Home" tab in the ribbon.
2. Click on the "Filter" button in the "Tags" group.
3. Select the type of filter you want to apply (e.g., "From", "To", "Subject", etc.).
4. Enter the criteria for the filter (e.g., "From: John Smith", "Subject: Meeting Invitation", etc.).
5. Click "OK" to apply the filter.

Method 3: Using the "Quick Steps" feature

1. Open Outlook and go to the "Home" tab in the ribbon.
2. Click on the "Quick Steps" button in the "Move" group.
3. Select the quick step you want to use (e.g., "Move to folder", "Delete", etc.).
4. Customize the quick step by specifying the criteria and action you want to take.
5. Click "OK" to save the quick step.

Common filtering criteria

• From: Filter emails from a specific person or group.
• To: Filter emails sent to a specific person or group.
• Subject: Filter emails with a specific subject line.
• Contains: Filter emails that contain specific words or phrases.
• Has attachment: Filter emails that have attachments.
• Size: Filter emails based on their size (e.g., large, small, etc.).
• Date: Filter emails based on their date sent or received.

Tips and variations

• You can create multiple rules and filters to apply to different sets of emails.
• You can also use the "And" and "Or" operators to combine multiple conditions in a rule or filter.
• You can use the "Move" action to move emails to a specific folder, or the "Delete" action to delete emails that match the filter criteria.
• You can also use the "Mark as Read" or "Mark as Unread" action to mark emails as read or unread based on the filter criteria.