RULES | why so limited set of actions on check message after sending?

[Guest]

I have been wondering for a long time what Microsofts reason is for the rather limited set of actions, when creating rules on the 'check messages after sending' option? Can any of the MVP's answer this

I would like to see the same set of actions as for 'check message when they arrive', in particular an action to delete and to move (instead of copy) messages . I find myself spending hours on a weekly basis on deleting and moving (not copying!) messages in my outbox, while this could have been nicely automated with a more extended set of actions. This lack of actions has bothered my already from previous Outlook versions. FYI: if Encourage on Mac can do this, why not Outlook on PC

Are there any other solutions on how to delete and move messages with rules once they end up in the 'sent items' folder? When can we expect any updates on the Rules? I've noticed that the current RULES UPGRADE NOW button has been greyed out since the beginning.... Why providing such a button if we cannot use it anyway?

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

Rules wizard has always been weak on rules. Create a when arrives rule and
run it now on the sent folder. You might want to try inbox rules (or exlife)
from ornic.com - they do a better job than rules wizard.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

If you feel comfortable working with VBA, you can add a routine to ask you
where you want to store messages. It could be adapted to handle specific
conditions where you want messages to go to particular places. See
http://www.slipstick.com/dev/code/setsavefolder.htm

Alternatively, turn off the automatic saving of messages to Sent Items and
use the rules with the 'copy to folder' action to handle *all* your filing
of outgoing messages. Or just leave the saving of Sent Items but set up that
folder with aggressive autoarchiving that deletes items rather than copying
them to an archive.

The Upgrade Now button is tied to a specific feature for upgrading rules
from a previous version of Outlook in an Exchange environment.
--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of
Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

I have been wondering for a long time what Microsofts reason is for the

rather limited set of actions, when creating rules on the 'check messages
after sending' option? Can any of the MVP's answer this?

I would like to see the same set of actions as for 'check message when

they arrive', in particular an action to delete and to move (instead of
copy) messages . I find myself spending hours on a weekly basis on deleting
and moving (not copying!) messages in my outbox, while this could have been
nicely automated with a more extended set of actions. This lack of actions
has bothered my already from previous Outlook versions. FYI: if Encourage
on Mac can do this, why not Outlook on PC?

Are there any other solutions on how to delete and move messages with

rules once they end up in the 'sent items' folder? When can we expect any
updates on the Rules? I've noticed that the current RULES UPGRADE NOW button
has been greyed out since the beginning.... Why providing such a button if
we cannot use it anyway?

 

[Guest]

Don't you agree that all these so called solutions are rather complex for the average user, and still pretty limited? I'm not a programmer, but it looks like you have to be one to automate and structure your sent items. I'm just wondering why Outlook doesn't come with a nice set of actions for those sent items (while there's an impressive list for incoming messages), which would safe a lot time for most users. Mac users who have MS Entourage are spoiled with this, while PC users are left behind.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

I don't find the rules approach that I suggested complicated at all; most
people don't even seem to find it necessary to refile their outgoing mail.
You can send suggestions to (e-mail address removed) and (e-mail address removed)
--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of
Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

Don't you agree that all these so called solutions are rather complex for

the average user, and still pretty limited? I'm not a programmer, but it
looks like you have to be one to automate and structure your sent items. I'm
just wondering why Outlook doesn't come with a nice set of actions for those
sent items (while there's an impressive list for incoming messages), which
would safe a lot time for most users. Mac users who have MS Entourage are
spoiled with this, while PC users are left behind.

 

[Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]]

I use both Entourage and Outlook and I never use the rules for handling
messages after they are sent in Entourage. It sounds like you are one of
the minority of users who uses rules to accomplish what most other people
don't care about or do manually.

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. Due to
the (insert latest virus name here) virus, all mail sent to my personal
account will be deleted without reading.

After searching google.groups.com and finding no answer, Peter VdW asked:

| Don't you agree that all these so called solutions are rather complex
| for the average user, and still pretty limited? I'm not a
| programmer, but it looks like you have to be one to automate and
| structure your sent items. I'm just wondering why Outlook doesn't
| come with a nice set of actions for those sent items (while there's
| an impressive list for incoming messages), which would safe a lot
| time for most users. Mac users who have MS Entourage are spoiled
| with this, while PC users are left behind.

 

[John. J]

It looks like I am the only guy on the planet who likes organize his sent
messages, which is hard to believe. Email is top priority to me when it
comes to communicating with clients, so I think it's pretty normal to keep
track of outgoing mails by automaticly organizing them. It has the same
importance as incoming mail to me.

When communicating with about 50 business people on a daily basis, I hope
you can understand that I'm looking for a better rules set, in order to
automate the 'move to user folder' process. It's just weird to me that
outgoing email is considered less important....

Anyway, enough ranting, let's see some people here who deal with the same
issue, cause I know they are out there. This issue has been addressed
several times in these newsgroups, but have always been answered with 'we
don't care' type of answers.

 

[Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]]

FWIW, Outlook offers a bunch of other ways to work with sent items without
using separate folders -- group the Sent Items folder by item, use Find to
search for the person's name or address, or use the Activities page on the
person's contact record. I suspect that most people find those methods
perfectly adequate, given the frequency with which they actually go hunting
for items sent to a particular person.

One of the things I like about Outlook is that there are usually 2-3
different ways to accomplish different tasks. I think we're up to at least 5
now for the basic goal of locating items sent to a particular person.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of
Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers

It looks like I am the only guy on the planet who likes organize his sent
messages, which is hard to believe. Email is top priority to me when it
comes to communicating with clients, so I think it's pretty normal to keep
track of outgoing mails by automaticly organizing them. It has the same
importance as incoming mail to me.

When communicating with about 50 business people on a daily basis, I hope
you can understand that I'm looking for a better rules set, in order to
automate the 'move to user folder' process. It's just weird to me that
outgoing email is considered less important....

"Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]"

wrote in message news:uUiJyEX%[email protected]...

I use both Entourage and Outlook and I never use the rules for handling
messages after they are sent in Entourage. It sounds like you are one of
the minority of users who uses rules to accomplish what most other people
don't care about or do manually.

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. Due to
the (insert latest virus name here) virus, all mail sent to my personal
account will be deleted without reading.

After searching google.groups.com and finding no answer, Peter VdW asked:

| Don't you agree that all these so called solutions are rather complex
| for the average user, and still pretty limited? I'm not a
| programmer, but it looks like you have to be one to automate and
| structure your sent items. I'm just wondering why Outlook doesn't
| come with a nice set of actions for those sent items (while there's
| an impressive list for incoming messages), which would safe a lot
| time for most users. Mac users who have MS Entourage are spoiled
| with this, while PC users are left behind.