How to Automatically Move Emails to a Folder in Outlook

Although there are a lot of different email clients available today, Outlook is still one of the more popular options. It is reliable and transparent, and it’s compatible with most email addresses. But, it is sometimes hard to keep track of all the messages. This is especially true if you choose to use Outlook to access all of your email accounts.

Over time, the number of emails you receive can really clutter your inbox making it nearly impossible to see the ones that are really important. Luckily, there is a solution. You can move emails to folders in Outlook and keep them neat and organized.

The best part is that you can automate this process, and this article will teach you how to do it.

Move Emails to a Folder in Outlook with a single click

Believe it or not, you can organize your Outlook emails with the click of a button. All you need to do is follow these instructions to set up rules in Outlook:

1. Open up Outlook.
2. Click on Home in the top-left corner of the screen. Choose to Create Rule in the Rules dropdown menu.
   
3. This will bring up the Edit Quick Step window. Select what conditions you want this quick step to run under, whether thats when you get an email from a certain person, or something else.
   
4. Now, under the section titled, Do the Following: , check to make sure the dropdown menu has “Move to folder” selected.
   
5. Click on the Choose folder field next to it and pick a preferable folder.
   
6. Then add an action by clicking on the + at the right of the menu.
   
7. Click on the Choose an Action menu and select Mark as read.
   
8. Click on Ok to save the changes.

How to Move Emails from a Single Sender to a Folder in Outlook

There is an alternative method for moving emails to folders in Outlook. This is achieved with rules within Outlook which are easy to set up. First of all, you need a designated folder. Open Outlook, right-click the inbox folder and choose New Folder.

Move Emails to a Folder in Outlook 2013

For Outlook 2013, the steps for automatically moving emails to a designated folder are nearly the same as for the newer version. Here they are:

1. Open Outlook and enter the email from the sender whose emails you want to move.
2. Click on the Home button.
3. Choose Rules and then Always Move Messages From [Sender]
   
4. Select the destination folder.
   
5. Save changes with OK. Now all the messages from the specified sender will automatically move to the designated folder.

Move Emails to a Folder in Outlook for Mac

Apple makes it really simple to set emails from a particular sender to go to a folder of your choice. To do this scroll through your emails, locate the sender, and follow these instructions:

1. Click Home at the top of your screen.
2. Click Rules
   
3. Click the Create Rule at the bottom of the pop-up window to add your rule just as we did above.
   

Click ‘OK’ when finished to save your rule. Depending on the version of Outlook you’re using on your Mac, the ‘Rules’ option may appear on the Home banner just next to the ‘Move’ icon.

Move Emails to a Folder in the Browser Version of Outlook

If you are using Outlook for Office 365, here is how you can move emails from one sender to a folder of your choosing:

1. Log into the Outlook site.
2. Click on the gear icon in the top right corner of your screen to open Settings.
3. Now choose View all Outlook settings.
4. Click on Mail from the Settings dialog and choose Rules. Finally, select Add new rule.
5. Name your rule.
6. Click on Add a condition menu and click on From, then type in the email address of the desired sender.
7. Now click on the Add an action menu, select Move to, and choose the destination folder.
8. Finally, you can save the changes and all the emails from this sender will land in the destination folder automatically.

Initiate Automation Protocol

That wasn’t so hard, was it? Now that you know how to automate moving emails, your life will be much easier (we hope). You can save a lot of time you would have spent looking through loads of emails.

Did you like this tutorial? If you have any other questions about Outlook, don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below.