Of all the e-mail you get, some will be important, some not so important, and some completely undesired. You might have subscribed to a mailing list that sends dozens of messages each day, or some advertising company might be sending you unwanted e-mail (called "spam"). Whatever the case, you can use filters to have incoming e-mail messages placed in specific folders, or even deleted, based on the subject line, the sender's e-mail address, or words in the body of the message. Messages affected by a filter are not displayed, but they are still present in the mail folder.

To create and edit a mail filter (Windows)

1. In the main Outlook Express window, in the folder list at left, click the Inbox folder.

   

2. Click the View button. Click Current View, then click Define Views...
3. Click New...

   

4. Click to activate of the Conditions in the scrolling list at the top of the window.
5. In the second field in the window, labeled 2., click on any underlined text to set up corresponding restrictions on what messages are shown.
6. If more than one criterion is selected, you can choose to show or not show messages that match both or either of the criteria.

To create and edit a mail filter (Macintosh)

1. Click the Tools menu, then click Mail Rules.
2. In the Mail Rules window, click the New Rule button.
3. In the Define Mail Rule window, enter a name for this rule in the Rule name text box, then select the criteria for the rule.

   

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4. Rules can be set up so that an action will be taken (such as deleting a given message) if any or all criteria are met.
5. Click OK when you're done.

CAUTION: Settings in the Mail Rules window govern the automatic relocation or deletion of messages. If you don't fully understand the functioning of the Mail Rules, it's best to leave the settings in this window unaltered.