Creating Email Rules in Outlook:
A Method to Manage OnCourse Notification Emails
Email rules allow you to automatically sort certain email messages out of your inbox into a specified
folder. This technique can be useful in managing your inbox size and making sure that messages can be
found when you need them!
1. First, create a folder in Outlook where you want these emails to be filed.
a. Right click on your Inbox folder and select “New Folder” from the menu:
b. Title the folder something that will make sense to you, such as OnCourse
Appointments, and place it in your name.#@osu.edu folder.
2. Next, from the File menu, select “Manage Rules & Alerts”
3. Select the “New Rule” button to create a new rule.
4. Select “Move message with specific words in the subject to a folder” and click Next.
5. Verify which condition(s) you want to check. “With specific words in the subject” generally is
sufficient for our purposes.
6. Click on the “specific words” hyperlink in the Step 2 area:
7. Type in the specific words or phrases to search for in the subject and click “Add”. For the
OnCourse Appointment Notifications, you will receive emails containing the following phrases in
the subject line:
a. [Appointment Notification]– this is the general email you will receive when an
appointment is schedule
b. [Appointment Updated]– this is the email you will receive if an appointment is changed
You can decide whether you want to filter all of those rules into the same folder or if you want to set
up different folders for each of the messages. Once you have added the phrase(s), click “OK”.
8. Now click on the “specified” hyperlink in the Step 2 area, select the folder where you want these
email messages to be moved, and click “OK”:
9. Click “Next”.
10. Now you will be asked to define what you want to do with the message. “Stop processing more
rules” and “move it to the specified folder” will be automatically checked. You can decide
whether or not you want all messages to be marked as read when they are moved into the
folder (scroll down the menu for this option). When you are finished selecting your options, click
“Next”.
11. Decide if you wish to set any exceptions to the rule (you do not need to have any exceptions).
Click “Next”.
12. Finish setting up your rule. Give it a name. If you are setting up a rule that might already apply to
emails in your inbox, you can check the box to run the rule now on your inbox. Keep “Turn on
this rule” checked. Click “Finish”.
