How to create automatic filters in Gmail or Outlook

Filters, one of the most useful functions of any self-respecting Email service or program, allow you to automatically divide messages received via email into categoriesso as to keep our mail organized and immediately read only the messages that interest us without having all the emails listed in the same very long and confusing list.

For example, you can put work emails in one part, friends’ emails in another, social media notifications in a third, and messages in yet another. news from How2do.org as priority and to be read immediately.
All the main Email services have filters for sorting mail, here we talk about the two most used,Gmail e Outlook (web and program).

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1) Create filters in Gmail

On Gmail we can use the labels to sort the received emails into several separate sections. To set labels in Gmail, just open the web page in Gmailside-click the + icon next to the item Labels and choose the label name.

After creating the right label, press on the search bar at the top, search for a sender, a recipient or the content of any type of email, press on the settings icon at the top right of the bar then click on Create filter.

In the new screen we can customize the creation of the filters but only after assigning the right label; to proceed we press on Apply label and choose the one we just created. We can customize the rest of the filters according to our needs:

• We can apply filters to work emails, INPS emails or in general to important emails Always mark as important, Add to Stars e Also apply the filter to matching conversations.
• Bank or Poste Italiane emails should be assigned the filter Never send in Spam, Always mark as important e Also apply the filter to matching conversations.
• We can delete emails from senders who send too many newsletters or repetitive messages immediately by activating the filters Mark as read, Never mark as important e Also apply the filter to matching conversations.
• For spam emails or emails that we don’t want to read we can activate the filters Remove, Mark as read e Also apply the filter to matching conversations.

To learn more we can read the guides to Preset automatic filters from Gmail to separate things like promotions, forum updates, and newsletters from the main inbox.

Still on the subject of Gmail filters we can read the following guides:

• Sort your inbox with filters and aliases in Gmail to manage received emails.
• Block unwanted emails in Gmail from specific addresses.
• Archive Emails.
• Automatic forwarding in Gmail and Outlook.com to forward emails to another address.
• Block spam emails, advertising and unwanted messages.

Thus obtaining full control over your Google email inbox.

2) Create filters in Outlook.com

On the website of Outlook.com we can create both labels (called in this case Categories) and the filters (called instead Rules).

To create labels, highlight the email to be filtered and press the button at the top Categories (in the shape of a price tag) and assign one of the colored categories present. To customize the categories, press on Manage categories and let’s create new ones, assign new colors or change the names associated with it.

Now we are ready to create effective filters on Outlook.com. To proceed, we open one of the emails we want to use as a basis for the filter, press on the three dots in the body of the message (not in the main Outlook interface) and select Advanced Actions -> Create Rule.

Let’s click on now More options to expand the rule creation menu and customize the filter according to our needs, assigning one or more conditions (message body, message type, recipient, sender or keywords contained in the text) and assigning one or more actions (including Categorizenecessary to assign the label created just now).

Still on the same screen we can press on Add another condition e Add another action to make the filter much more effective; if instead we wanted to exclude which type of email we press on Add an exception.

For further information we can read the article on how to create email rules and filters on Microsoft Outlook.

3) Create filters in email clients

For the most popular email clients like Microsoft Outlook, you can create rules for organizing messages, starting from a sender or a single email as seen in the chapter and in the link recommended earlier, so as to be able to replicate the filters already seen in the online version. If we don’t work in business the online version of Outlook is preferablebecause it is free for everyone and synchronizes effectively with the Mail app or with the new Outlook seen on Windows 11.

If instead we use it as an email client Thunderbird the filters are activated by pressing the three-line menu button, pressing up Message filters. For further information we invite you to read the official guide present on the Mozilla website.

Conclusions

When Let’s create a filter for email messages and try to always be careful: let’s avoid creating inconsistencies and make sure that the emails are filtered with a single event, common to multiple messages, such as a specific email address, a keyword present in the subject (for example company emails could always have the same domain or the same attestation or the same formula) or use a word that is certainly used in the emails to be filtered (for example Bill o Bills).

To learn more we can read the guides on how Create Email Aliases in Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo to add email addresses to your account and on best anti-spam services to protect business email and web.