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MS Outlook Message Rules

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25 replies

by johngreer 1 view

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I'm looking for a program that will list each rule.

I'd also accept the data layout of the rules so I can write my own program.

The rules wizard is clumsy and takes time (have to page thru multiple screens to see the whole rule). Multiply that by the hundreds of rules I have, and that makes it virtually impossible to view each rule, let alone debug which rule is misbehaving.

I'm looking for something like this:
http://johngreer.homestead.com/files/rwz.htm

Clarification: I do not use Exchange, just plain Outlook 2003 on my PC. I HAD 2000 which kept my rules in the RWZ file. I know 2003 now keeps them within the PST file. I need a program, or data layout that will allow me to list the rules from within the PST.

25 replies

by johngreer

I'll give 7500 points to anyone who can supply me with a working data layout, or 15000 points for a working program (pref VB).

by johngreer

This program sounds cool, but it doesn't read my existing rules. It will create/learn new rules of its own, but not read my PST. At least that's what I've been able to make of it.

Thanks anyway!

by johngreer

Sounded promising until I read, "Currently, PST Attender cannot access individual Exchange users' PST files on local hard drives, but Sherpa is developing this capability for a future release of the product."

Thanks anyway!

by bucky kaufman (mcsd)

I dug deeply into the docs and found that the data from Outlook's rules wizard is not programmatically available. This is actually a good thing, because it would be a target-rich environment for an Outlook worm.

Instead, what Microsoft does, is make it possible for you to write your own rules wizard that stores your rules however you like - just not with Outlook's built-in ones.

by johngreer

Bucky,

What do you mean by "... what Microsoft does, is make it possible for you to write your own rules wizard that stores your rules however you like ...
"

Other than using the Rules Wizard, how do I write my own rules and how do I store them however I like?

by bucky kaufman (mcsd)

John,
I didn't actually read that specifically in the docs. What I saw was that there was no programming interface to the Rules Wizard. I contacted a developer at MS in Redmond and she told me that the Rules Wizard is locked up and it has no programming interface.

You rejected every answer, and marked the question as "answered". For that - you are a bad, bad boy - and you get a lump of coal at Xmas. :)

Sometimes the answer is "no".

If you want a more useful Rules Wizard, you can do so, but you gotta roll-your-own. Just pop into Outlook's Macro editor and put the launch code in the "Application_NewMail" procedure.

by johngreer

Bucky,

Thanks again for the pointers and for the coal :)

Marking the question as ANSWERED was totally unintentional on my part. I did not want to award points at this time, so I did mark the answers as unacceptable, hoping to divide the points later. I'll figure out how to "set things straight" once I figure out how much I have to do wht the final answer and how much is already automated. Obviously, the less I have to do , the more poiints I give out...

by zaferus

This may be a bit of a workaround, but sometimes you have to MacGuyver things to get what you want.

If you export your current rules set (tools - rules and alerts - options - export rules).
The default format is a .rwz file. This will put the rules data into a workable format that you can mold using one of the many rwz manipulation files that are mentioned in this thread. And now you have a data source to write your own if you don't like the one's available.

While you would have to do this as your rules changed to update your .rwz file, typically once your main rules sets are in place they don't change very often.

Zaf

by johngreer

That's exactly what I'm looking for, a RWZ manipulation program. If you can point me to one of those, even to a data layout so I can write my own, you get the points!!!

by zaferus

Here are two programs that let you work with Outlook rules:

http://www.soft411.com/company/Flow-Ruler/Flow-Ruler-for-Outlook.htm

http://www.soft411.com/company/Mauskar-Technologies/mSort-The-Easy-E-Mail-Sorter.htm#

The first lets you see your rules in a flow chart form, the second is a rule setting program that works outside of Outlook and lets you define almost unlimited rules with additional features the Outlook rules wizard doesn't provide.

Have a look and see if these meet your initial request of helping you better administrate your multiple rules, I'm having little luck finding rwz manipulation code.

Zaf

by johngreer

Zaf, looks like we're closer to my orig request than ever before, but still not on target. The first program looks like it would overload with my hundreds and hundreds of rules. The second program would be very difficult to convert my internal rules to external rules without being able to list out my current rules (which is my goal in the first place). :)

by johngreer

I'll give 10,000 points to anyone who can supply me with a working data layout, or 20,000 points for a working program (pref VB).

by maxwell edison

Have you seen these?

How to create a custom rule in Outlook 2000 by using Visual Basic for Applications

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=235852

How to create a script for the Rules Wizard in Outlook

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=306108

Or this one:

"....While the Rules Wizard is reasonably flexible, it does have some limitations and can be rather cumbersome to use. Is there a better way?.....Yes! And as you've probably guessed, it involves writing a macro with Visual Basic for Applications (VBA)."

Beyond the Rules Wizard: Automating Outlook E-mail Handling with VBA

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnovba01/html/RulesWizard.asp

by maxwell edison

I find it interesting that the person in answer number six said that he contacted a developer at MS in Redmond and was told that the Rules Wizard is locked up and it has no programming interface.

This seems to contradict the methods used in that "Beyond the Rules Wizard" link.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnovba01/html/RulesWizard.asp

I've been studying those things myself, and it looks as though it may be what you're looking for.

by johngreer

Thanks again for your persistence.

Unfortunately I've already read all three of the MS links you've provided before.
I have written my own rules program, but still cannot list/view the existing rules.
I really want a program that will list my existing rules, so I can combine them ir move them over to my VBA code.

It's hard to believe MS doesn't provide this interface fo us poor spammed users.

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