What are email rules and filters?

Email rules, also called filters, are automatic instructions that your email program carries out when new messages arrive. You can set them up so that emails from certain senders are automatically moved to a folder, get a label, are marked as read, or are even deleted. By using rules smartly, you save time every day and keep your inbox organized without having to sort anything by hand.

Benefits of automatic sorting

Setting up email rules has several benefits that boost your productivity and reduce stress.

Saving time

Every second you spend sorting email by hand adds up. If you receive fifty emails a day and each one takes five seconds to sort, you lose more than four minutes a day on this task. That adds up to more than 25 hours a year spent on nothing but sorting email.

Staying organized

When emails are sorted automatically, your inbox stays clean and easy to scan. Newsletters disappear into a separate folder, internal emails get a label, and important messages from customers or your manager stand out right away.

Missing nothing

With rules you can automatically flag important emails or move them to a priority folder. That way there is less risk of a crucial email getting buried in the daily flood.

Creating rules in Gmail

Gmail uses the term "filters" for email rules. Creating filters is easy and flexible.

Method 1: From an existing email

Open an email you want to create a rule for. Click the three dots at the top right of the message. Select "Filter messages like these". Gmail now shows a search window with the email address already filled in. You can add extra criteria such as the subject or words in the message. Click "Create filter". Choose what should happen to matching emails: apply a label, archive, forward, mark as important, and so on. Click "Create filter" again to confirm.

Method 2: From the settings

Click the gear icon and select "See all settings". Go to the "Filters and Blocked Addresses" tab. Click "Create a new filter". Enter the criteria you want to filter on. Click "Create filter" and select the actions. Confirm by clicking "Create filter" once more.

Filter criteria in Gmail

Gmail offers several criteria you can filter on:

  • From: Filter on the sender's email address or name
  • To: Filter on the recipient address (handy if you have multiple email addresses)
  • Subject: Filter on words in the subject line
  • Has the words: Filter on the content of the message
  • Doesn't have: Exclude certain words
  • Size: Filter on file size
  • Has attachment: Filter emails with attachments

Available actions in Gmail

After setting the criteria, you can choose from several actions:

  • Skip the Inbox (Archive it)
  • Mark as read
  • Star it
  • Apply the label
  • Forward it to another address
  • Delete it
  • Never send it to Spam
  • Always/never mark it as important
  • Also apply filter to existing emails

Creating rules in Outlook

Outlook offers extensive options for email rules, in some cases with more options than Gmail.

Outlook Desktop (Windows)

Click "File" and then "Manage Rules & Alerts". Click "New Rule". You can choose from templates or start from scratch. Select the conditions that emails must meet. Choose the action to be carried out. Optionally add exceptions. Give the rule a name and click "Finish".

Quick method via right-click

Right-click an email in your inbox. Select "Rules" and then "Create Rule". Outlook shows a simplified dialog box where you can quickly set up a rule based on the sender, the subject, or who the email was sent to. For more options, click "Advanced Options".

Outlook on the web (Office 365)

Click the gear icon and search for "Rules" in the settings. Click "Add new rule". Give your rule a name. Set a condition (for example, "From" equals a specific email address). Choose an action (for example, "Move to" a specific folder). Click "Save".

Available actions in Outlook

Outlook offers an extensive set of actions:

  • Move to a folder
  • Copy to a folder
  • Delete
  • Forward to a person or as an attachment
  • Redirect to another address
  • Reply using a specific template
  • Flag for follow-up
  • Categorize with a color
  • Play a sound
  • Display a desktop alert

Practical examples of email rules

Here are some commonly used rules you can put to work right away.

Labeling newsletters automatically

Create a rule for emails that contain "uitschrijven" (Dutch for unsubscribe) or "unsubscribe" in the body. These emails are almost always newsletters. Automatically give them the label "Newsletters" and skip the inbox, so they are archived right away.

Flagging emails from your manager

Create a rule for emails from your manager's address. Automatically mark them as important and add a star. That way they never slip past your attention among other messages.

Filter emails that contain certain project names or project codes in the subject or body. Move them automatically to the matching project folder or give them the right label.

Handling notifications from tools

Automatic notifications from tools such as Jira, GitHub, Slack or project management software can flood your inbox. Create a rule per tool that moves these emails to separate folders or archives them automatically.

Keeping CC emails separate

Emails where you are in the CC are often for your information and do not require immediate action. Filter emails where you are not in the "To" field and give them a low priority or move them to a "CC" folder.

Advanced tips for email rules

With these advanced techniques, you get even more out of your filters and rules.

Combine multiple criteria

You do not have to limit yourself to one criterion per rule. For example, combine sender AND subject to filter very specific emails. In Gmail you can use search operators such as "OR" to catch multiple senders in a single filter.

Use wildcards and operators

In Gmail you can use search operators in filters. For example, "from:@company.nl" catches all emails from addresses ending in @company.nl. This is handy for filtering all email from an organization, no matter who the specific sender is.

Rule order in Outlook

In Outlook, rules are run in order. If an email matches the first rule, the following rules may be skipped (unless you turn off "Stop processing more rules"). Think carefully about the order of your rules so they work as well as possible.

Test your rules

After creating a rule, it is wise to test whether it works correctly. Send yourself a test email that meets the criteria and check that the right action is carried out.

Managing and maintaining rules

Over time, rules can become outdated or conflict with each other. Regular maintenance is important.

Review periodically

Go through your existing rules every quarter. Delete rules for projects that have been completed or senders you no longer have contact with. This keeps your rule system efficient.

Document complex rules

If you have a lot of rules or use complex combinations, consider documenting them somewhere. That way you will still know later exactly why a certain rule exists and what it does.

Conclusion

Email rules and filters are powerful tools for keeping your inbox manageable. By filtering smartly on sender, subject or content, you can automatically sort, label, archive or delete emails. Start with a few simple rules for your most common emails and expand gradually as you gain more insight into your email flow. The effort of setting up good rules pays for itself every day in time saved and a clearer overview.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a rule and a filter?

The terms are used interchangeably. Gmail calls them 'filters', Outlook calls them 'rules'. Both do the same thing: automatically carry out actions on incoming emails that meet certain criteria.

Can I also apply rules to emails that are already in my inbox?

Yes, when you create a filter in Gmail you can check 'Also apply filter to matching conversations'. In Outlook, when you create a rule you can choose to run it right away on the current folder.

How many email rules can I create?

Gmail allows a maximum of 1000 filters, which is more than enough for most users. Outlook has no hard maximum, but too many rules can affect performance. Keep things manageable with 20-50 rules.

Do my rules also work on my phone?

Rules in Gmail and Outlook.com run server-side, so they work no matter which device you use. Rules created only in Outlook Desktop work only when that computer is on and Outlook is running.

Looking for an email address? See our plans.