How to Manage Email With Rules in Apple Mail.app

Most email programs allow you to manage, sort and file incoming mail automatically with rules. Apple's Mail.app is no exception. Based on criteria you set, Mail can move email to a new folder, highlight it different colors, file the email or even forward it elsewhere. This tutorial will take you through the steps necessary to move your email from eHow.com to its own folder.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Apple Macintosh Computer running Mac OS X
• Mail.app (included with OS X)

1. Launch Mail.app on your Apple Macintosh Computer by clicking on the icon in the dock or opening up your "Applications" and finding the icon there.
2. Click the plus sign on the bottom left of the Mail.app screen and select "New Mailbox."
3. Type in eHow in the pop-up prompt window. This will create an "eHow" mailbox in Mail.app.
4. Hold down the Command (aka "Apple") key and press the comma or go to Apple Mail's top menu and select Mail > Preferences to open Mail's preferences.
5. Click the "Rules" icon. It's the one with the envelope and arrows coming out of it on the top right of Apple Mail's Preferences window.
6. Click the "Add Rule" button on the right-hand side.
7. Type in a description of your rule. For this exercise, type in "Move Mail from eHow.com."
8. Select "any" or "all" from the drop-down box to specify if you want all the conditions to be met before performing the action or any of them. For this exercise, click "all."
9. Select "From" in the drop-down box in the first condition. This is the field that this rule will check. You can select From, To, CC, Subject, Message Content or a number of other fields.
10. Select "Contains" from the next drop-down box. Your other options are "Does Not Contain," "Begins With," "Ends with" and "Is equal to."
11. Type in the word you want to match. For this example, type in "eHow." You should have a full statement that says "From Contains eHow."
12. Select "Move message" in the first drop-down box in the "Perform the following actions" section. Here you can specify different actions like changing the color of the email message, redirecting it to another email address and even set up an auto-reply among other things.
13. Select "eHow" in the next drop-down box to specify which mailbox to send the messages.
14. Click "OK."
15. Click "Apply" or "Don't Apply" in the prompt that asks: "Do you want to apply your rules to messages in selected mailboxes?" If you select "Apply," Apple's Mail.app will apply the new rule to all the messages currently in your mailboxes. If you click "Don't Apply," Mail will leave your current messages alone. The rule will now be applied to all new emails that arrive.
16. Close off Apple Mail's Preferences window by clicking the red sphere in the top left.