Rules: directing emails from multiple senders

[Guest]

I'm using Outlook 2007 Beta 2.

Is there any way to get mail sent by any member of one of my personal
distribution lists to be moved to a folder? When I attempt it using the rule
wizard, and select one of my distribution lists "Apply this rule after the
message arrives from PEOPLE OR DISTRIBUTION LIST" I get the following message.

'Family' is a personal distrbution list that may not be used with this
feature. Would you like to use the individual members of 'Family' instead?

Clicking 'OK' works fine, except I haven't put everybody I want in the
Distribution List yet, so this is not an acceptable workaround. I want a
rule that just takes all the email from everyone in a particular category and
moves it to a folder, immediately upon receipt.

Another thing that boggles my mind is why can't rules be created by
right-clicking contacts in the contacts window? Why can't rules be created
that check if the SENDER is in a particular category, then moving (and
categorizing) the email to a specified folder? For that matter, why don't
the categories support custom shortcut keys? Ctrl+function key shortcuts are
too awkward for me. In general, I am still disappointed with the lack of
customization in Outlook. I downloaded the Outlook 2007 beta in hopes that
this was improved. While there are many neat features, I find it frustrating
that I cannot personalize the program. There are plenty of easily
implemented features that other programs (check out iView Media Pro) have
such as extensive drag and drop functionality, and dynamic rules which
automatically respond to changes. Why Outlook 2007 still uses the same
outmoded rule wizard from Outlook 2000 or earlier is beyond me.

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

rules can't use categories - you need them in a DL or add the names
individually to a rule.

Moving mail around is not really the best way to handle it. Everyone is
stuck on using outlook as they would a paper filing cabinet with a separate
folder for everything (then they can't find anything because they forget
where the folders are.) It's really not the best way to do it.

Outlook has a much larger user base than iview media pro and is much more
complex which makes it much easier to inadvertently add bugs with feature
changes. The Office team has limited funds to spend on new features - they
'triage' changes and take into consideration the amount of man-hours
required to implement each along with the value it will give to users when
deciding what areas to work on. They also look at customer 'pain points' and
areas that generate the most calls and cost compared to user complaints is a
factor in determining what changes come first and rule changes were not very
high on the list or implementing dynamic rules has a high cost to benefit
ratio. Believe me, if a feature is "cheap", i.e., doesn't require a lot of
effort, someone will work on it in their spare time, even it's not on the
list.