Managing all my rules: do any tools exist OR do I have to write my own tools?

[I live on Quicken and Outlook]

I have well over 50 Outlook rules that sort incoming messages into
different mailboxes. I am on a number of Yahoo Groups lists. For
some of the lists, I have written rules for individual threads.

I am using OL 2003 with an ISP, not Exchange.


My specific issue is that it is impossible to "manage" the rules. For
example, here is functionality that doesnt' appear to be in OL2003,
nor in any of the "Rules" section tools on the Slipstick site:

1. print out a list of all rules
2. find the differences between two rules that have the same
conditions or actions.
3. display all the rules in a table format, with columns for all the
conditions, actions, exceptions, etc.
4. Edit a group of rules at once, e.g. remove all the occurrences of
"On this machine only."
5. A "mailmerge" type facility, e.g. for creating a separate rule for
a group of people in my Contacts list.
6. A way to group rules, so that some rules could be applied only to
a specific mailbox other than INBOX.
7. A way to select multiple or ALL rules to RUN RULES NOW.

Are there any existing tools for these functions? If I have to write
my own rules, how do I get started? which books or web sites? Assume
that I am learning VBA for another purpose (for Access).

Thanks in advance,

I Live On Outlook

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

no, there are no such tools to do what you want. I don't know if inbox rules
from ornicusa.com might offer better management tools - it does offer more
powerful rules.

To learn more about outlook programming, spend some time at outlookcode.com.
While you can do some stuff in rules with VBA, you really need to work with
VB, C#, C++ or Delphi to do deep programming in Outlook.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Need Help with Common Tasks? http://www.outlook-tips.net/beginner/



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[I live on Quicken and Outlook]

no, there are no such tools to do what you want. I don't know if inbox rules
from ornicusa.com might offer better management tools - it does offer more
powerful rules.

Diane,

Thanks. I already checked. None of their tools help manage the rules
list. They do have some nice tools that I would purchase if I needed
them.

To learn more about outlook programming, spend some time at outlookcode.com.
While you can do some stuff in rules with VBA, you really need to work with
VB, C#, C++ or Delphi to do deep programming in Outlook.

Ouch! Is this true of Access and other Office apps?

If all I need to do is list out all the rules, can I do that in VBA?
What is it about VBA that is limiting compared to VB or C++/C#? Is
straight C, which would be easier to learn than C++ or C#, sufficient
do do things with rules that can't be done with VBA?

Any books to help get me started with Outlook programming?

Thanks.