How to import the rules?

[Mantvydas]

Hello, everybody,

has anyone succesfully imported into Windows Mail rules exported from
Outlook Express 6?

I've done an export of Registry Identities/Outlook Express/5.0/Rules, and
would very much like to import them into Windows Mail, but the place for
rules in Registry is now different, and most probably different syntax.

Has anyone seen any importer?

 

[Steve Cochran]

Not yet.

What should work is to edit the reg file and substitute the Identities path
with the new path to the rules. Then try merging it. You might backup the
WinMail key first in case it screws up.

The new path is:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows Mail\Rules

The filter part I wouldn't mess with, but I think the mail and news rules
formats are the same.

steve

 

[Steve Cochran]

That won't work. The rule gets inserted into the registry okay, but it
appears the rule format is a bit different so an interpreter might be
needed.

steve

 

[Steve Cochran]

Okay there are actually 4 issues, but I figured out two of them.

This is for a single rule at the moment. I'll try and program it so it
doesn't have to be done rule by rule.

First export the rule from the machine with OE:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Identities\{GUID}\Software\Microsoft\Outlook
Express\5.0\Rules\Mail\002

where GUID is the Identity and this is rule 3

Then edit the reg file with Notepad.

Do replace for

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Identities\{GUID}\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express\5.0

with

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows Mail

Then save the file.

Then the search strings have been changed to Unicode so set the cursor where
the Rule Criteria start. Then do a second replace until the end of the file
and search for

,

replace with

,00,

Then in the last line of each criteria add

,00

Then save.

Then create a mock rule in the registry with WinMail and close WinMail.
Then delete that mock key in the registry. Make sure the rule number in the
saved reg file matches that that you just deleted.

Then merge the file into the registry.

Open WinMail and go to Tools | Message rules and you see the new message
rule spelled out okay when you click on it, except for the folder name. You
will still have to specify the folder names again because those are coded
numerically, I think.

Anyway, that will work, but its a bit involved to do manually.

steve

 

[Mantvydas]

Hasn't anyone wanted to bring Outlook Express rules from the old computer to
the new with Windows Vista? Strange, that noone answers.

Mantvydas

 

[Jim Pickering]

I doubt it since it would require quite a bit of registry editing. The
location for rules in the registry is as follows:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows Mail\Rules

And you will note, there is no use of identities in Windows Mail (as there
was in Outlook Express). FWIW, it would just seem easier and quicker to
create new rules in Windows Mail.

 

[Steve Cochran]

You didn't see my replies?

steve

Hasn't anyone wanted to bring Outlook Express rules from the old computer
to the new with Windows Vista? Strange, that noone answers.

Mantvydas

 

[Mantvydas]

Sorry guys,

thank you for the replies, but really, I haven't seen them in Windows Mail!

I marked the conversation I started with "Watch Conversation", and I haven't
received any reply of yours (even my second message!) to my Windows Mail
everafter!

I only found all this conversation on its copy on the web
http://help.wugnet.com/vista/import-rules-ftopict22926.html

Somekinda bug of Windows Mail?

Thank you for the feedback guys, I really appreciate it, and I didn't want
to offend those who tried the various ways.

Regards,
Mantvydas

 

[Steve Cochran]

Try resetting this newsgroup.

RIght click on the newsgroup name in the folder list and go to Properties |
Local File and hit the reset button. Then go to Tools | Options | Read and
uncheck the option to download xxx headers at a time. Then go back to this
newsgroup and you should get all the messages.

steve

 

[Mantvydas]

Thanks, that helped!

Try resetting this newsgroup.

RIght click on the newsgroup name in the folder list and go to Properties
| Local File and hit the reset button. Then go to Tools | Options | Read
and uncheck the option to download xxx headers at a time. Then go back to
this newsgroup and you should get all the messages.

steve

 

[Mantvydas]

Hello, Steve,

thank you for a tip. You know, I got braver, and tried it for all my 38
rules exported from Outlook Express 6 in a .reg file.

It worked! With only a minimal side effect.

Just like you said, I did a replace for of
Identities\{GUID}\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express\5.0
to
Software\Microsoft\Windows Mail
in that .reg file,

and merged to the registry.

Result was fantastic. All my 38 rules were in (rule conditions remained
intact), with a single glitch: folder names to move to were gone. But that
was only a 5 minute manual fix!

My Outlook Express 6 -> Windows Mail migration was successful!

Note. Messages and folders themselves were imported earlier, from a message
store folder with all the DBXs with File -> Import....

Regards,
Mantvydas

 

[Steve Cochran]

Great! There's no way of getting around the problem with the folder names.
Those are stored in one of the dbx files, so there is no way of determining
such from the registry export.

cheers,

steve