Filters, folders and the out-of-office reply
Sorting mail into folders, flagging what matters and answering "I am away" is done by the server itself — and it keeps doing it while every one of your devices is switched off.
Why the server and not the program
Rules inside a mail program only run while the program runs. Turn the computer off and mail piles up until you turn it on again, while the phone chimes for every message in the meantime.
Our rules run on the server at the moment of delivery. The message lands in the right folder before any device of yours has heard of it.
Where to set them up
- Open webmail and go to Settings.
- Choose the Filters section.
- Press Create — a form with a condition and an action opens.
A simple rule: newsletters into their own folder
- Condition: "From" — "contains" — the address, or part of the address, of the newsletter.
- Action: "Move to folder" — pick one or create it.
- Save. The rule starts with the next message; it leaves the ones already delivered alone.
An out-of-office reply
In the same section, create a rule and choose the action "Reply with message".
- Write the reply — briefly, and without announcing that nobody is at home.
- Set how often to answer the same person: once a week is usually right, otherwise a conversation turns into a duel of auto-replies.
- Set a start and an end date. Without them the reply stays switched on after you come back.
Order matters
Rules run from top to bottom, and the first one that matches can stop the rest. When a message does not land where you expect, the cause is usually a rule above it rather than the rule itself.
Rules can be dragged around and switched off without deleting them — handy while hunting for the one that gets in the way.