Inconsistent Rule

[Guest]

I use Outlook 2003 rules wizard and I have created a rule that automatically
forwards specified emails as an attachment to another location. The problem
is that sometimes the original message gets marked as read before I have
actually opened it and read it and other times the original message remains
unread. Please tell me how I can keep all of the messages as unread until I
click on them and read them.

 

[Guest]

Try adding "stop processing more rules" to the end of the rules preceding the
one that doesn't seem to work, and see if that helps.

--
Jocelyn Fiorello
MVP - Outlook

*** Messages sent to my e-mail address will NOT be answered -- please reply
only to the newsgroup to preserve the message thread. ***

 

[Guest]

I have tried that, it did work, but doing so reset the whole email sorting
process with rules back to the drawing board. This is because I don't have
access to the computer that the rules are on at all times. The two rules must
be able to run automatically or I receive a backlog of emails, many of which
I need as soon as they arrive.

So I did go and change the wording of the rules changing it from two rules
to sort incoming mail to be forwarded into one. As well as changed the sent
items rules to one instead of two.

This has not corrected the problem. I have one rule for the sent items box,
would this also affect the first rule? If it does, is there any way in
rules to mark the messages unread after they have forwarded the items out?
This would allow both rules to run without a problem.

 

[Guest]

I don't know of any rule offhand to mark a message as unread, but I'll take a
look around -- you might search http://www.slipstick.com also (a great
resource for Outlook information, 3rd party addins, etc.). It's possible
that a custom action would have to be written to accomplish what you want,
and custom actions are written in C+ (I think) code.

--
Jocelyn Fiorello
MVP - Outlook

*** Messages sent to my e-mail address will NOT be answered -- please reply
only to the newsgroup to preserve the message thread. ***

 

[Guest]

thank you for taking the time to look, I have searched
http://www.slipstick.com and there was nothing helpful. Could it be the
marking it read because the message is being sent as an attachment?

 

[Guest]

It could be. I really don't know for sure.

--
Jocelyn Fiorello
MVP - Outlook

*** Messages sent to my e-mail address will NOT be answered -- please reply
only to the newsgroup to preserve the message thread. ***

 

[Guest]

Thanks for your help but we have just decided to let it remain as read and
hope that maybe in a future version they may fix the problem.

A new problem that has been happening lately is that some emails are
forwarding while others aren't. I've done a brief comparision of the sent
and unsent emails and found that some had the contact name while other showed
the email address.

Does it matter in rules when you say that anything sent to or cc to your
name should be forwarded does the system only recognize your name (Jane Doe)
or will it also recognize your email ([email protected]) and apply the rule to
both?

If it is suppose to recognize both, any reason why it wouldn't work or if it
isn't designed to recognize both, is there a way to build it into the rule?

 

[Guest]

How is your rule worded, exactly? I have found I have to use the Advanced
tab to specify that the rule look at the e-mail address since the display
name may be different sometimes, while the e-mail address stays the same.

--
Jocelyn Fiorello
MVP - Outlook

*** Messages sent to my e-mail address will NOT be answered -- please reply
only to the newsgroup to preserve the message thread. ***

 

[Guest]

It's set up to read:
From people or distribution list, where my name is in the to or cc box
forward it to people or distribution list as an attachment.
All the emails in the distribution list work fine, they are set up with the
name and email address showing.
Where is the advanced tab and how does that change the where my name is in
the to or cc box?

thanks again for the help

 

[Guest]

Sorry, I had a momentary lapse of brain function -- I was thinking of
automatic formatting rules when I mentioned the Advanced tab, not mail rules.
I *think* the rule usually looks at just the display names and not the
actual e-mail address (which doesn't make sense to me), but let me see if I
can get some clarification on that for you.

--
Jocelyn Fiorello
MVP - Outlook

*** Messages sent to my e-mail address will NOT be answered -- please reply
only to the newsgroup to preserve the message thread. ***

 

[Guest]

Since the rule is on a hit or miss basis could it have anything to do with
the fact that it would be sent to other people not on the rule email list?
i.e. (e-mail address removed); (e-mail address removed), where (e-mail address removed) is on the list while
(e-mail address removed) isn't.

Also is there any place where I can find simple yes or no answers to
questions like will forwarding an email as an attachment will make the email
read as read or that says what rules could be used together without messing
each other up. This just seems to be a difficult way to find answers in an
efficient manner.

 

[Guest]

Sorry -- it's been a while and I'm not sure I'm following your first
paragraph below. I did think of another way you might be able to word your
rule, just to see if it works: Instead of using "with my name in the To or
Cc box", used "with specific words in the recipient's address", and then use
your e-mail address as the "specific words".

As for your second question -- complex problems rarely have simple answers,
and if they do, they're usually listed in someone's FAQ somewhere. You might
try these sites for some basic Outlook help and answers for FAQs:

http://www.slipstick.com
http://www.howto-outlook.com/
http://www.outlook-tips.net/index.html

And barring that, there's always Google Groups -- http://groups.google.com,
where you can search the Outlook groups for questions that may have been
asked (and possibly answered) before in these newsgroups.


--
Jocelyn Fiorello
MVP - Outlook

*** Messages sent to my e-mail address will NOT be answered -- please reply
only to the newsgroup to preserve the message thread. ***