Entourage rules don't work

[DFahmy]

Sorry if this is a basic question, but I've tried searching for
answers online and can't find anything that applies.

My Entourage rules don't work. I've set up a few -- one of them is
supposed to move incoming Hotmail messages into a dedicated folder,
another one moves POP and IMAP messages from certain senders into
dedicated folders.

I've selected what seem like all the right fields -- eg "If FROM
contains SMITH" then MOVE MESSAGE to SMITH FOLDER." And I hit enable.

It seems pretty straightfoward. I tried restarting, playing around
with the rules, deleting them all and starting all over again, doing
all kinds of things, but none of them are working.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I am about to go mad with
email overload.

Thank you
Dalia

 

[Diane Ross]

My Entourage rules don't work. I've set up a few -- one of them is
supposed to move incoming Hotmail messages into a dedicated folder,
another one moves POP and IMAP messages from certain senders into
dedicated folders.

See this rule for your Hotmail:

I've selected what seem like all the right fields -- eg "If FROM
contains SMITH" then MOVE MESSAGE to SMITH FOLDER." And I hit enable.

Assign this contact to a category and use this rule.

From is in category xxx

Move to folder xxx

Get Started Lesson: Learn to Setup Rules

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/rules/lesson.html>

If you still have problems, post a screenshot of the rule or write out all
the criteria. Remember Rules run in order.

There are 3 different kind of rules in Entourage:

Mailing List Manager (MLM)
Junk Mail Filter
Rules (custom rules you create)

They run in the order listed above. The custom rules also run in the order
they are listed. (top runs first)

Use the MLM for all lists. Use rules for the remainder. Try to use
categories instead of individual addresses when possible. When a new address
is added to a contact in the Address Book then it will automatically be
acted on by the rule if you use categories in your rules. See example:

<http://www.entourage.mvps.org/rules/example/rule002.html>

1) POP Rules act on a message ONLY when it first arrives in the Inbox (On My
Computer), NOT when it arrives in any other folder. Once it's moved to
another folder it won't be seen by rules.

2) IMAP Rules are meant to act on a message ONLY when it first arrives in
the IMAP INBOX, not when moved to another IMAP folder.

3) Exchange Rules act on a message ONLY when it first arrives in the
Exchange Inbox.

Each type of account has it's own rules. Click on the correct tab to check
your rules. (Mail (POP), Mail (IMAP) Mal (Windows Live Hotmail) Mail
(Exchange), News, Outgoing)

See "Using Rules with Entourage" for help and examples:

<http://entourage.mvps.org/rules/index.html>