4.11Mail rules: filing, tagging and cleaning automatically

Mail rules automate how incoming and existing messages are processed. A rule consists of a condition and a list of actions to file, keep, tag, move, or clean mail for you. Every action is logged and reversible.

Conditions and actions

A rule's condition contains rows of criteria that must all be true for a message to match. You can filter by sender, subject, folder, dates, attachments, labels, and other message attributes.

When a message matches all criteria in the condition, the rule executes its assigned actions:

• File attachments directly into a Library folder.
• Keep message content in knowledge.
• Add the sender to contacts.
• Apply tags.
• Move the message to another folder.
• Mark the message as read or unread.
• Flag or unflag the message.
• Delete the message by sending it to trash, performing an undoable deletion, or deleting it permanently. Deleting acts directly on your mailbox on the mail server, not merely on a copy.

When rules run

You can set rules to process incoming mail, sweep existing folders, or execute on demand:

• Run on sync — over what arrives, every two minutes: Applies the rule to new messages as they arrive during the two-minute sync cycle.
• Also run on a schedule — over everything in its folders: Sweeps all existing mail in the selected folders on a recurring daily, weekly, or monthly schedule. Leave this unselected to act only on arriving mail or manual runs.
• Manual run: Sweeps the rule's target folders on demand without waiting for a schedule.
• Enabled: Toggles whether the rule is active. When turned off, the rule configuration is kept but does not run on sync or on a schedule.

Safety controls for automated rules

Automated rules include multiple safety checks to prevent unintended changes to your mailbox:

• Preview matches: Before applying actions, you can view a preview of the newest messages that match the rule conditions.
• Dry run and confirmation: Any rule configured to move or delete mail must first pass a dry run, followed by one successful manual execution, before Run on sync — over what arrives, every two minutes can be enabled.
• Permanent deletion limits: Actions that permanently delete messages can only be triggered manually and never run automatically on sync.
• Target protection: If a rule's destination target or required access rights disappear, the rule pauses itself automatically.

Reviewing and reversing rule runs

All rule activity is tracked on the Rule runs page. This log records every dry run, execution, filter pass, undo, and retention sweep, detailing exactly which messages were matched and what actions were performed.

To manage or reverse an execution:

1. Open Rule runs to view the history of past sweeps.
2. Locate the execution entry you wish to inspect or revert.
3. Select Undo run to reverse the entire run. Moved messages return to their original folders, and modified flags or tags revert to their prior state.
4. Select Run again if you need to re-execute a completed sweep over the same criteria.

Quick filing from messages

You can create filing rules directly from a message without filling out a complete rule form. From an open email, choose to auto-file attachments from that sender to save every attachment they send into a specific folder. You can restrict the rule to documents, images, or all attachments, and choose to exclude small images such as logos.

You can also use Save as a rule… on an open message to convert its criteria into a rule. Every rule created from a message is listed under Mail rules, where you can modify its conditions, pause it, or delete it at any time.