Setting up Outlook on the web mail handling rules

Outlook on the web (previously known as Outlook Web App, or OWA) is the web browser version of Outlook that is used by Office 365 or other Exchange-based users. You can create Inbox rules in Outlook on the web to automatically perform specific actions on email messages as they arrive, based on your criteria. For example, you can create a rule to automatically move all mail sent to a group you're a member of to a specific folder.

This article describes how to access Outlook on the web, and then use Outlook on the web to:

• Access the Inbox rules page
• Create a rule from the Inbox rules page
• Create a rule from a message
• Run rules
• Edit a rule
• Turn off/on a rule
• Delete a rule

Note:
For information about mail handling rules using a desktop version of Outlook, see the following Cloud Direct knowledge article: KB0010994, Setting up Outlook mail handling rules.

Accessing Outlook on the web

Outlook on the web is the web browser version of Outlook that is used by businesses and organisations. You can use Outlook on the web to access the email, contacts, and calendar in your Office 365 for business or other Microsoft Exchange-based email via a web browser. The web address you'll use to sign in to Outlook on the web depends on the type of account you have. For example, if you're using Office 365 for business, go to the Office 365 sign-in page.

Note:
Outlook on the web can only be used to access Office 365 for business and other accounts that are hosted on a server that's running Microsoft Exchange Server 2013. If your email address ends in @outlook.com, @hotmail.com, @live.com, or @msn.com, then you're using the free Outlook.com (formerly Hotmail.com) email service, and not Outlook on the web.

Signing into your Outlook on the web account

To sign in to your Outlook on the web account, proceed as follows.

Note:
If you don't know your email address and password then contact the person who manages your email account to obtain these details before continuing.

1. Open your web browser or, if it's already open, open a new window.
2. Go to the sign-in page at Office 365 sign-in.

3. Enter the full email address for your Office 365 for business, Office 365 Education, or other Exchange-based email (for example, someone@contoso.com).

Note:
If your email address is already visible on the Office 365 sign-in page, then simply click on the email address.

4. If prompted, enter your password, then click Sign in.

You're now signed into your Outlook on the web account.

Accessing Office 365 applications
To access Outlook (mail), People (contacts), or Calendar, simply select the appropriate application from the App Launcher.

Accessing the Inbox rules page

Managing your Inbox rules in Outlook on the web is carried out from the Inbox rules page. To access the Inbox rules page, proceed as follows.

1. Sign in to your Outlook on the web account.
2. Ensure the Outlook on the web Mail app is selected (use the App Launcher if necessary, to select this app).

3. At the top right hand corner of the page, click the Settings icon and, from the subsequent menu options, click Options.

The Mail options page opens.

4. On the left hand menu pane, click, Mail > Automatic processing > Inbox and sweep rules.

The Inbox rules page opens.

The Inbox rules page shows an overview of all your Inbox rules. From here, you can review what a rule does, turn rules off or on, create new rules, edit existing rules, or delete rules that you no longer need.

Creating a rule from the Inbox rules page

To create a new rule using the Inbox rules page, proceed as follows.

1. Click the Add icon.

The New inbox rule page opens.

2. Complete entries on this page as follows:
   1. Name – Enter a name for your new rule.
   2. When the message arrives, and it matches all these conditions – Click on the drop-down box to reveal a list of conditional statements. Select the required statement from the list, and follow any associated instructions.

i.   If required, click Add condition to add further conditional statements. An additional drop-down box will appear each time you click Add condition. Repeat Step 2b until all required conditional statements are entered.

3. Do all of the following - Click on the drop-down box to reveal a list of actions to take. Select the required action from the list, and follow any associated instructions.

i.   If required, click Add action to add further actions. An additional drop-down box will appear each time you click Add action. Repeat Step 2c until all required actions are entered.

Note:
If you create a forwarding action, you can add more than one address to forward to. The number of addresses you can forward to may be limited, depending on the settings for your account. If you add more addresses than are allowed, your forwarding rule won't work. If you create a forwarding rule with more than one address, test it to be sure it works.

4. Except if it matches any of these conditions – Click, Add exception to reveal a drop-down box of conditional statements that will be exceptions to the rule. Select the required statement from the list, and follow any associated instructions.

i.   If required, click Add exception to add further exceptions. An additional drop-down box will appear each time you click Add exception. Repeat Step 2d until all required exceptions are entered.

5. Stop processing more rules – Tick to turn on, or un-tick to turn off, the option to stop processing more rules. By default, the option to stop processing more rules is turned on (ticked). With this option on, when a message comes in that meets the criteria for more than one rule, only the first rule will be applied. Without this setting, all rules that the message meets the criteria for are applied.
   For example, without Stop processing more rules selected, if you have a rule to move all messages sent to a public group to a particular folder and another rule to move anything from your manager to another folder, and your manager then sends a message to that group, you'll find a copy of the message in both folders.
   If you want only the rule that moves messages from your manager to be applied, put that rule higher in the list than the rule that moves messages sent to the group, and then edit the first rule to add the option to stop processing more rules.

3. Click OK, at the top left hand corner of the New inbox rule page, to save your rule.

A Warning message appears.

Caution:
Using Outlook on the web to modify your rules will delete any rules that were previously turned off using Outlook. If this is an issue, click Cancel, and use Outlook to edit your rules. If you want to proceed, then click OK.

4. Click OK to proceed.

The rule is saved, and now listed in the Inbox rules page.

Creating a rule from a message

You don't have to use the Inbox rules tab to create a rule. You can also create rules directly from messages. To create a rule directly from a message proceed as follows.

1. Right-click the message in the message list pane.
2. Click, Create rule.

The New inbox rule page opens, with some of the options pre-selected from information contained in the message.

Running rules

Rules are run from top to bottom in the order in which they appear in the Inbox rules list. To change the order of rules, proceed as follows.

1. Click the rule you want to move.
2. Click the up or down arrow to move the rule to the position you want in the list.

Editing a rule

To edit a rule, proceed as follows.

1. From the list of rules in the Inbox rules page, select the rule to be edited.
2. Click the Edit icon at the top of the list.

3. The selected rule opens in an editable page.

4. Make amendments to the page. Refer to, Creating a new rule, Step 2, if required.
5. Click OK, at the top left hand corner of the page, to save your changed rule.

The Inbox rules page re-appears. The changed rule is listed.

Turning off/on a rule

If you want to turn off a rule for a while, but don't want to delete it permanently then proceed as follows.

1. From the list of rules in the Inbox rules page, locate the rule to be turned off.
2. Un-tick the checkbox to the left of the rule.

The selected rule is now turned off. To turn it back on again simply tick the checkbox.

Deleting a rule

If you have a rule that you no longer want, you can delete it as follows.

1. From the list of rules in the Inbox rules page, select the rule to be deleted.
2. Click the Delete icon at the top of the list.

3. The Delete this rule message appears.

4. Click, Yes to delete the rule.

The rule is deleted, and no longer listed in the Inbox rules page.