The Microsoft Outlook 2016 email client includes many automation features that can make it easier to manage your incoming and outgoing messages. This functionality is configured through a feature called mail rules, which allow you to set certain actions or behaviors to occur when a specific event is triggered. For example, you could design a pop-up alert that appears whenever you receive a message from a certain colleague. Or you could automatically add category tags to outgoing messages based on words in the subject line. Read on to learn more about creating rules in Outlook 2016.

Step 1:


Open the Outlook 2016 program on your PC and go to the “Mail” tab in the lower-left corner of the window.

Step 2:

Go to the “Home” tab in the top ribbon bar.

Step 3:

Click on the “Rules” button and choose the “Manage Rules & Alerts” option. This will open a pop-up window with a list of any existing mail rules you have previously configured.

Step 4:

Click on the “New Rule” button to begin configuring a new mail rule.

Step 5:

Select one of the rule template options in the top section of the window if the automation step you want to use is already defined. If you cannot find your desired rule in the list of templates, look down at the “Start from a blank rule” section. From there you can choose whether to apply the rule on incoming or outgoing messages. Then click the “Next” button.

Step 6:

Choose one or more rule conditions from the list that appears in the pop-up window. These act as your rule triggers and can be configured based on sender, subject, body, category, or other message properties. Click “Next” after selecting all desired conditions.

Step 7:

Select the action that you want to occur when one of the conditions from the previous step are triggered in Outlook. These actions can include message archiving, message forwarding, desktop alerts, and more. After selecting one or more actions, click “Next” again.

Step 8:

Enter a name for the new rule and check the “Turn on this rule” box if you want to activate it right away. Then click “Finish” to complete the process.

For more help with using rules in Outlook 2016, consult the Microsoft knowledge website.