The simplest way to set up a rule is right from the email message.

  • Right-click the message title. In the context menu, select Create rule at the bottom of the list.
  • On the next screen, you will be prompted to set up the rule.
  • You need to name your rule.

Outlook rules are flexible and powerful. There are many customization options. First, you set up the criteria for the rule by using actions including forwarding, redirecting, and marking messages. After that, you can set exceptions. For instance, you could filter out Principal emails to a specific folder and emails from parents to another folder.

You can add as many conditions and actions as you like. In the screenshot above, you can see that there are three conditions and one action. If you do not want Outlook to process any outstanding rules, check Stop processing more rules. Rules are processed from top to bottom, so rules higher in the list are run first.

Set or Create Inbox Rules in the Settings Pane

You can also create rules from the settings pane, where you can also delete or modify existing rules.

  • Click the settings icon in the upper right corner of the screen.
  • Click on Mail under Your app settings.
  • A panel will appear on the right side of the browser window.
  • Under Mail, click Inbox and sweep rules.
  • In the center of the browser window, you will see Inbox rules.
  • Click on the plus symbol to add a rule.