Outlook Rules

[Guest]

Please tell me where I can find out about the check box in Outlook rules
labeled "stop processing more rules" and why can it not be unchecked when the
"permanently delete it" rule is checked?

 

[F.H. Muffman]

Please tell me where I can find out about the check box in Outlook
rules labeled "stop processing more rules" and why can it not be
unchecked when the "permanently delete it" rule is checked?

Well, you can find out about it below:

The stop processing more rules action means, well, just that. When you look
at the list of rules, they are evaluated from the first rule in the list to
the last rule in the list. Lets say you have three rules and a message
comes in that would be effected by all three. If the second rule has the
'stop processing more rules' action, then the third rule will not fire.

Now, why does this happen when selecting the permanently delete this item
action?

Well, consider the following actions that you might do in life:

1) Fll out your tax forms.
2) Burn the tax forms.
3) Mail the tax forms to the IRS.

(well, ok, you probably wouldn't burn your forms, but..)

Now, that series of events would be impossible. You just burned the forms.
You can't then do something else to them.

Same thing with the permanent delete. Once it's deleted, you can't then go
and forward it to someone else, or move it to a file, or anything. If
there's a rule that you want to be fired, make sure any rule that you plan
on having a permanent delete action in is the last in the list.

 

[Guest]

While you have made a great attempt to help me maybe I asked my question
poorly. I understand about moving rules and making this rule last but what I
would prefer is for the emails that meet the rule to be deleted "perminently"
and the rule not being turned off as it does when the "stop processing more
rules" is checked. The next set of emails that come in are not processed by
the rule because of it being turned off. Maybe something else is turning off
the rule, but when I just have the emailed deleted and the "stop processing
more rules" checked the rule does not turn off. Thanks for your help! Tim

 

[F.H. Muffman]

While you have made a great attempt to help me maybe I asked my
question poorly. I understand about moving rules and making this rule
last but what I would prefer is for the emails that meet the rule to
be deleted "perminently" and the rule not being turned off as it does
when the "stop processing more rules" is checked. The next set of
emails that come in are not processed by the rule because of it being
turned off. Maybe something else is turning off the rule, but when I
just have the emailed deleted and the "stop processing more rules"
checked the rule does not turn off. Thanks for your help! Tim

Ok, let me just make sure I understand what's happening then.

You have a rule that, when configured with the action 'Delete item
permanently', and the rule fires, the check box next to the rule unchecks?
But, if you configure the action to be 'Delete item' instead, it doesn't
uncheck, correct?

'Stop processing more rules' isn't going to be the cause. It is merely a
break that prevents other rules from having issues. In fact, consider what
you said "when I just have the emailed deleted and the "stop processing more
rules" checked the rule does not turn off". So it isn't actually the stop
processing causing the problem, but instead, something with permanently
deleting the item having an issue. Which just led me to an epiphany. What
type of mail account is this? It may not actually support a permanent
delete (easy enough to test... can you shift-delete a message that is just
sitting in the inbox that the message just came in from?).