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Organizing Email
Custom Email Folders


Two of the more popular email programs you can use are Microsoft Outlook Express, and Netscape Messenger. One feature that both of them share is the ability to organize your email messages in custom folders and automatically send incoming mail into those custom folders.

Before we get started, let’s look at a bit of shorthand that will make these instructions more readable and hopefully therefore more helpful. If I tell you this:

Click Tools / Message Rules / Mail

That's the same as saying this, only shorter:

Click the Tools menu near the top of your mail window, then when the menu opens up, choose Message Rules, which causes another menu to open, then choose Mail.

Also, if I tell you to right-click on something, that means to use the right-side mouse button, unless you are using a mouse configured for left-handed people, in which case of course you click the left-side button.


Let’s look at each program separately:

Outlook Express (OLX):

These instructions are for OLX version 5.5. If you are using a different version and find these instructions won’t work, let me know and we’ll figure it out. First, let’s make a folder in OLX in which to keep our explore-net messages. To do that:

  1. Create the folder:

    1. Start your OLX program. At this point, you need to be able to see the list of folders you already have, such as In Box, Out Box, Sent Items, etc.

    2. Right-click on Local Folders, click New Folder on the menu that opens. A dialog box entitled Create Folder will then open.

    3. Type in a name for the new folder, such as explore-net, then click OK. You should now be able to see that folder in your folder list, probably located just under the Drafts folder.


  2. Create a Message Rule:

    3. Message Rules are a way for you to tell OLX how to sort your incoming mail. It is a powerful and helpful tool that can help you create some order out of your mail.

    1. Start your OLX program.

    2. Click Tools / Message Rules / Mail. The Message Rules dialog box will open.

    3. Find the New button over on the right side of the dialog box and click it.

    4. The New Mail Rule dialog box will open. There are four text areas inside that dialog box. They are:

      1. Select the Conditions for your rule
        Find the line that says Where the To line contains people and click in the check box next to it.

      2. Select the Actions for your rule
        Find the line that says Move it to the specified folder and click in that check box.

      3. Rule Description
        You should see the underlined words contains people. Click on those words and the Select People dialog box will open. Type in explore-net, click Add, then click OK. You should also see the underlined word specified. Click on that word and the Move dialog box will open. You should now see the new explore-net folder you created earlier. Click once on the explore-net folder, then click on the OK button.

      4. Name of the rule
        This can be any name you like, and for our purposes, explore-net is great.

Figure 1: New Mail Rule Dialog Box


If your New Mail Rule Dialog Box looks like Figure 1, then you're set. Click OK, then click OK again, to close all the dialog boxes.

All mail you receive that has the phrase explore-net in the To field will now show up in your explore-net folder instead of your In Box

Netscape Messenger (NSM):

These instructions are for Netscape Messenger version 4.77. If you are using a different version and find these instructions won’t work, let me know and we’ll figure it out. First, let’s make a folder in NSM in which to keep our explore-net messages. To do that:

  1. Create the folder:

    1. Start your NSM program. At this point, you need to be able to see the list of folders you already have, such as In Box, Unsent Messages, Drafts, etc.

    2. Right-click on Local Mail.

    3. Click New Folder on the menu that opens. A dialog box entitled New Folder will then open.

    4. Type in a name for the new folder, such as explore-net, then click OK. You should now be able to see that folder in your folder list, probably located just under the Trash folder.


  2. Create a Message Filter:

    3. Message Filters are a way for you to tell NSM how to sort your incoming mail. It is a powerful and helpful tool that can help you create some order out of your mail.

    1. Start your NSM program.

    2. Click Edit / Message Filters. The Message Filters dialog box will open.

    3. Find the New button over on the right side of the dialog box and click it. The Filter Rules dialog box will open.

    4. Type in anything you want for Filter Name, explore-net is a good choice.

    5. On the next line are selector buttons to choose whether to Match any of the following, or Match all of the following. For the purposes of this explore-net filter, it does not matter which one is selected, just ignore it.

    6. On the left end of the next line is a drop box with the word Subject displayed. Click the arrow beside the box and move down the list and click on the word To.

    7. To the right of that box is another drop box, this one with the word Contains displayed. Very good, let’s leave it with Contains showing.

    8. To the right of that box is an empty box. Type explore-net in that box.

    9. On the left end of the next line is a drop box with the words Move to Folder displayed. That’s fine, just like it is.

    10. To the right of that box is another drop box, this one with the words In Box displayed. Click the arrow beside the box and move down the list and click on the folder name explore-net.

Figure 2: Filter Rules Dialog Box


If your Filter Rules Dialog Box looks like Figure 2, then you're set. Click OK, then click OK again, to close all the dialog boxes.

All mail you receive that has the phrase explore-net in the To field will now show up in your explore-net folder instead of your In Box


1994 - 2010 Paula Edmiston

http://theflyingcat.com/handouts/emailtips.html
Last Edited: 01 Dec 05