InterStar Communications

click to enlarge	Start To start Outlook Express in Windows, click Start and move your mouse to Programs. Find the icon labeled Outlook Express and click on it once. This will open up Outlook Express's main window, shown to the left.
click to enlarge	Step 1a Click on Tools in the Outlook Express menu. A Tools menu will pop up.
click to enlarge	Step 1b Move the mouse down to Message Rules and another menu pops out to the side. Click on Mail in the new menu.
click to enlarge	Step 2 This is the New Mail Rule window. From here you can setup a variety of message rules to help organize your incoming e-mail. It consists of three main parts: Conditions, Actions, and Description.
click to enlarge	Step 3 In the uppermost Conditions section of the window, we have selected two items. Check "Where the Subject line contains specific words" and "Where the message body contains specific words". These two conditions will look for words you specify in both the subject and the message itself. We will specify the words later.
click to enlarge	Step 4 The next section is Actions. This is where you choose the action to be taken on a message when it meets the set conditions. We have selected one item: "Move it to the specified folder". We will create a new folder and select that one later.
click to enlarge	Step 5a The conditions and actions for the rule have been set, but we must still specify the words to look for and the folder to place messages in. Click on the first blue underlined link in the Descriptions section of the window that says "contains specific words". A window will pop up that will allow you to enter words or phrases to look for in incoming messages.
click to enlarge	Step 5b In our example, we have entered three phrases commonly found in spam messages. To add more, just type them in and click the Add button. They will then appear in the list below. To remove a word or phrase that you have already added, click on it and then click the Remove button. Once you done, click the OK button. Repeat this step for the other *"contains specific words"* link.
click to enlarge	Step 6 The Descriptions section of the window should now show the words that you entered in the above steps. Click on the blue underlined link that says *"specified"* to select the folder to move the incoming messages into.
click to enlarge	Step 7 In the window that pops up you will see a list of the folders you currently have in Outlook Express. In this example, we're going to create a new folder to hold spam e-mail. Click on the New Folder button to the right.
click to enlarge	Step 8 A small new window will pop up that will allow you to name the new folder. Type in *"Junk Mail"* for the folder name, then click OK.
click to enlarge	Step 9 The folder you just created will show up in the list of folders to choose from. Make sure that it is selected, then click OK.
click to enlarge	Step 10a Your New Mail Rule window should resemble this now. The conditions and actions have been checked, the words or phrases to look for have been specified, and the folder to move spam messages to has been created and selected.
click to enlarge	Step 10b At the bottom of the New Mail Rule window there is a space labeled *"Name of the rule:". We have entered "Junk Mail Filter"* for the name of our rule. Once you have entered the name, click OK at the bottom.
click to enlarge	Step 11 You should now see a Message Rules window. From here, you can create new rules or modify any existing rules. This will show the new rule you just made along with its description at the bottom. Make sure the checkbox next to the rule is checked so that it will watch your incoming messages. Click OK.
click to enlarge	Finished Congratulations! You now have a basic filter setup to watch for spam messages and send them to another folder. The screen shot to the left is Outlook Express's main window with the addition of a new Junk Mail folder to the left. To modify your message rules, following the first steps above will take you straight to the Message Rules window where you can change any of the rule's settings.