Why are rules so slow?

[weewillie]

Am running outlook sp2 on vista sp2 and laptop is working fine

when I create a rule moving the email into a folder and then request
it now be actioned, it can take ages (>1min) even if there is only 1
message
rarely a rule will work quickly in this respect
my pst file is c 2gb

Is there anything I can do to get these new rules to run faster?

 

[Roady [MVP]]

Which version of Outlook are you using?
How many rules do you have configured?
Does it work faster when all rules are turned off?

Do you have a virus scanner installed which integrates itself with Outlook?
Uninstall this integration part of your virus scanner and try again; you'd
still be sufficiently protected by your on-access scanner part of the virus
scanner. For more details see;
http://www.msoutlook.info/question/20

 

[weewillie]

oops

outlook=2007 sp2

no of rules= several hundred

how do you turn off rules when you are creating one?

virus scanner bitdef is not integrated with outlook

thanks for you help

David

 

[Roady [MVP]]

no of rules= several hundred
There you go ;-) Each email will be checked against several hundred of rules
so no wonder why it is slow.
See if you can combine rules, sort your rules so that the one that applies
most often is listed at the top and use the condition "stop processing
rules" accordingly. For an explanation on how that works see;
http://www.msoutlook.info/question/340

To review your current rules use;
Tools-> Rules and Alerts...

In addition, you might want to consider using other sorting methods such as
Search Folders, Automatic Formatting, Custom Views and Categories. For an
intro on those features see;
http://www.howto-outlook.com/howto/sortmail.htm

 

[weewillie]

Thanks Roady,

But with loads of folders and people constantly changing their email
addresses, particularly newsletters, and the fact that you have no
facility to export rules and organise them etc ................

They're actually not that old
June of last year I had a pst collapse and lost my folders and rules,
email history was ok
I tried what I thought were pro outlook support people, but they were
not as clued up as the people I've met in here

I go so far back, I used to regularly communicate with Vince Am???lo
the MSVP and Sue from slipstick

Thanks for your help

David

 

[Roady [MVP]]

Hi David,

Instead of creating a separate rule for each newsletter, create a single
rule which contains all the addresses of the newsletters that you have
subscribed to. If you can create aliases on your mailbox (ask your ISP if
you do not know), it would be even better to create a separate address which
you use for all your newsletter subscriptions. For instance
(e-mail address removed)
This way you won't have to add any new rules when signing up for a new
newsletter; 1 rule will do the trick.

If you want to organize all your mail in separate folders per contact, then
I can recommend this add-in;
http://addins.howto-outlook.com/sperry_incomingemailorganizer
If you decide to order, use BH93RF24 to get a discount.

I go so far back, I used to regularly communicate with Vince Am???lo
the MSVP and Sue from slipstick

That is indeed way back! Vince Averello is no longer an MVP and Sue Mosher
sold Slipstick a long time ago. I wrote an Outlook 2003 book with her .
Slipstick is now owned by MVP Diane Poremsky.

 

[weewillie]

Hi Robert,

I do indeed sort all newsleters etc into their own individual folder
Is this tool really worth $30? (thanks for the discount offer, very
kind)
What benefit does it give you over the standard rules?

other replies inline below

Hi David,

Instead of creating a separate rule for each newsletter, create a single
rule which contains all the addresses of the newsletters that you have
subscribed to. If you can create aliases on your mailbox (ask your ISP if
you do not know), it would be even better to create a separate address which
you use for all your newsletter subscriptions. For instance
(e-mail address removed)
This way you won't have to add any new rules when signing up for a new
newsletter; 1 rule will do the trick.

If you want to organize all your mail in separate folders per contact, then
I can recommend this add-in;
http://addins.howto-outlook.com/sperry_incomingemailorganizer
If you decide to order, use BH93RF24 to get a discount.

That is indeed way back! Vince Averello is no longer an MVP and Sue Mosher
sold Slipstick a long time ago.

those were the days

I wrote an Outlook 2003 book with her .

was it in the wopr family or independent? What was the title?

Slipstick is now owned by MVP Diane Poremsky.

But we owe a lot to Sue for getting us started

Thanks for the help

Regards

David

 

[Roady [MVP]]

The benefit of the add-in over using rules is that it is much more
manageable when you have a lot of contacts and it will be faster. Separating
mails per contacts in separate folders will always remain one of the more
tricky and labor or resource intensive method of sorting. With Search
Folders, Instant Search or a setting your view to Arrange By From, you can
achieve almost the same with little additional effort and remain flexible.

Personally, I only have a handful of rules to move mails from aliases I have
assigned to newsletters and discussions lists. To make sure I don't miss any
incoming emails which have directly been sent to another folder, I use a
Today's Unread Mail Search Folder;
http://www.msoutlook.info/question/122

My business emails all arrive in the Inbox folder and I move them manually
when I've processed them (this could mean just marking them for follow up so
that I'll get a reminder from which I can open the item). Even then, I use a
very flat folder structure which is usually per customer or per project. I
strive to have the Inbox folder empty by the end of each day.

The book I wrote with Sue Mosher has been published by Elsevier/Digital
Press and is called Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003. It's not exactly a
user manual but more targeted towards network administrators and how to
deploy and manage Outlook installations. Sue was indeed the one who started
it all first with Slipstick and after that with OutlookCode.com. She now has
left that as well and moved on to a non-Outlook "haven" at
http://www.placekeepers.org