Getting multiple emails in local folders

J

Jones

I have written some rules to move mail from my Hotmail server to local
folders. Frequently I end up with multiple copies of the same email in the
local folders, even though (I assume) I only received one on the server.

Has anyone else experienced this problem?

Eric
 
B

bons

Are these valid messages, or SPAM? I frequently get
duplicate SPAM messages (one right after the other).
 
J

Jones

They are valid messages.

I think that maybe my rules are getting applied to the Deleted Items folder
when messages are copied there after they are moved to the local folder. I
think this may be the case because periodically I get messages that say:

"The message(s) could not be deleted from the Hotmail folder. The server
does not support manual deletion of messages. The deleted items folder
should be emptied periodically by the server."

I tried creating a rule at the beginning of my rules list that executes and
doesn't apply more rules unless the folder was the inbox. But then it seems
like none of the rules ran even on the inbox.

I don't understand why rules would run on the Deleted Items folder. I guess
when messages show up there, they are considered 'new'??
 
D

Diane Ross

I think that maybe my rules are getting applied to the Deleted Items folder
when messages are copied there after they are moved to the local folder. I
think this may be the case because periodically I get messages that say:

"The message(s) could not be deleted from the Hotmail folder. The server
does not support manual deletion of messages. The deleted items folder
should be emptied periodically by the server."

I tried creating a rule at the beginning of my rules list that executes and
doesn't apply more rules unless the folder was the inbox. But then it seems
like none of the rules ran even on the inbox.

I don't understand why rules would run on the Deleted Items folder. I guess
when messages show up there, they are considered 'new'??
Click to expand...

FYI....Your Hotmail Deleted Items folder is not on your computer, but are on
the server. As you stated above YOU cannot delete these messages.

Rules do not apply to folder, but to the messages as they arrive.

Check out <http://www.entourage.mvps.org/rules/index.html>

There are examples there along with how to get started.

If you still have problems with a rule, you need to give your rule. Example:


*If any criteria are met
IF Any to recipient contains (enter address or name)
THEN Move Message (select folder)
 
J

Jones

FYI....Your Hotmail Deleted Items folder is not on your computer, but are on
the server. As you stated above YOU cannot delete these messages.

Rules do not apply to folder, but to the messages as they arrive.

Check out <http://www.entourage.mvps.org/rules/index.html>

There are examples there along with how to get started.

If you still have problems with a rule, you need to give your rule. Example:


*If any criteria are met
IF Any to recipient contains (enter address or name)
THEN Move Message (select folder)
Click to expand...

Thanks. I really think this is a bug in Entourage....

Here's an experiment I did...

1) I created a category called 'Rule Applied But Not In InBox'

2) Then I created a rule in my MSN account:

*If all criteria are met
IF Folder Is not 'InBox (Jones's MSN E-mail)'
THEN Set Category 'Rule Applied But Not In InBox'

3) Then I sent myself an email from another account.

4) When I checked the email in my MSN Inbox, I had received the email, and
it had the 'Rule Applied But Not In InBox' category.

So...for some reason the rule is not recognizing that the message is in the
InBox folder.

This seems like a bug in the 'Folder' criteria....
 
D

Diane Ross

Thanks. I really think this is a bug in Entourage....

Here's an experiment I did...

1) I created a category called 'Rule Applied But Not In InBox'

2) Then I created a rule in my MSN account:

*If all criteria are met
IF Folder Is not 'InBox (Jones's MSN E-mail)'
THEN Set Category 'Rule Applied But Not In InBox'

3) Then I sent myself an email from another account.

4) When I checked the email in my MSN Inbox, I had received the email, and
it had the 'Rule Applied But Not In InBox' category.

So...for some reason the rule is not recognizing that the message is in the
InBox folder.

This seems like a bug in the 'Folder' criteria....
Click to expand...
As I stated above, Rules do not apply to mail in a folder, but to the
messages as they arrive. You can select messages in folder and then manually
apply a rule.

I just don't understand your logic on applying the criteria for your
category.

You need to set a category to your addresses. Then create a rule to move
messages with category xxxx to folder xxxx. Mail that is not moved by a rule
will go to your Inbox or to the Spam folder.
 
J

Jones

As I stated above, Rules do not apply to mail in a folder, but to the
messages as they arrive. You can select messages in folder and then manually
apply a rule.
Click to expand...

Yes. My rules are being applied to messages as they arrive in the InBox,
and then again when they arrive in 'Deleted Items'. So I am looking for a
way for rule to determine whether or not the incoming message is in the
InBox, or not. It seems like I should be able to use the 'Folder' criteria.

So are you saying that rules are applied to messages BEFORE they arrive in
the InBox? I don't think so. I can watch messages show up in my InBox, and
then disappear as the rules move them to their respective folders.
I just don't understand your logic on applying the criteria for your
category.
Click to expand...

The rule I show above was just to illustrate that the 'Folder' criteria is
not working as I would expect. Sorry I wasn't clear.

Do you know how the 'Folder' criteria is supposed to work?
You need to set a category to your addresses. Then create a rule to move
messages with category xxxx to folder xxxx. Mail that is not moved by a rule
will go to your Inbox or to the Spam folder.
Click to expand...

Most of my rules move messages based on the incoming email address or text
in the subject line. It seems to me like that should work just as well.
 
P

Paul Berkowitz

Yes. My rules are being applied to messages as they arrive in the InBox,
and then again when they arrive in 'Deleted Items'. So I am looking for a
way for rule to determine whether or not the incoming message is in the
InBox, or not. It seems like I should be able to use the 'Folder' criteria.

So are you saying that rules are applied to messages BEFORE they arrive in
the InBox? I don't think so. I can watch messages show up in my InBox, and
then disappear as the rules move them to their respective folders.
Click to expand...

They apply to messages as they arrive in the Inbox. ONLY the Inbox - no
other folder.
The rule I show above was just to illustrate that the 'Folder' criteria is
not working as I would expect. Sorry I wasn't clear.

Do you know how the 'Folder' criteria is supposed to work?
Click to expand...

Yes. (I once had to ask myself!) It's ONLY for rules as applied manually
from the Message menu or from a contextual menu (Apply Rule) to messages
selected in folders as Diane described. There's no point trying to do
anything with it on rules run automatically as messages are downloaded,
since there folder is ALWAYS the Inbox. (This is for POP rules: for IMAP
rules it's the particular IMAP INBOX for each IMAP account.)
Most of my rules move messages based on the incoming email address or text
in the subject line. It seems to me like that should work just as well.
Click to expand...

It does. Try to avoid dozens of "if" criteria - it slows things down. The
advantage of using a category (which assumes you will put these email
addresses as email addresses of contacts in your Address Book, so you can
assign a relevant category to the contact) is that the Address Book
preference "Automatically match message categories to sender's categories"
works MUCH faster than a regular rule. Then the rule can just specify a
category, so if 20 email addresses/contacts have just one category between
them the script will run much faster. Of course if each one has his own
category and folder, it makes no difference - 20 = 20 either way.


--
Paul Berkowitz
MVP Entourage
Entourage FAQ Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org/toc.html>
AppleScripts for Entourage: <http://macscripter.net/scriptbuilders/>

Please "Reply To Newsgroup" to reply to this message. Emails will be
ignored.

PLEASE always state which version of Entourage you are using - 2001 or X.
It's often impossible to answer your questions otherwise.
 
J

Jones

They apply to messages as they arrive in the Inbox. ONLY the Inbox - no
other folder.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your tips, Paul.

It sure seems like rules should only apply to messages as they arrive in the
InBox, but I am almost certain that mine are getting applied as they arrive
in my Deleted Items folder, too.

This is a Hotmail account, by the way.

The reason I am certain about rules getting applied to the Deleted Items
folder is that if I look in the Entourage Error Log, I see a list of error
messages that say "The message(s) could not be deleted from the Hotmail
folder. The server does not support manual deletion of messages. The
deleted items folder should be emptied periodically by the server."

The only reason that I can think of for these error messages, is that rules
are being applied to the Hotmail Deleted Items Folder. I.e. The rules are
moving the messages from the Deleted Items Folder to my local folder (thus
creating a duplicate email in the local folder), but the Hotmail server
doesn't allow deleting those items from the Deleted Items folder after they
have been moved.

Why doesn't the folder rule work only on rules that are invoked manually?
 
P

Paul Berkowitz

Thanks for your tips, Paul.

It sure seems like rules should only apply to messages as they arrive in the
InBox, but I am almost certain that mine are getting applied as they arrive
in my Deleted Items folder, too.

This is a Hotmail account, by the way.
Click to expand...

Oh. That rather absurd thing.
The reason I am certain about rules getting applied to the Deleted Items
folder is that if I look in the Entourage Error Log, I see a list of error
messages that say "The message(s) could not be deleted from the Hotmail
folder. The server does not support manual deletion of messages. The
deleted items folder should be emptied periodically by the server."
Click to expand...

There's no such rule. You probably tried to empty the Hotmail Deleted Items
folder. Maybe by a schedule? You can't do that. The server cleans up after
itself about once a week or so. You can't try to empty it. Just maybe you
have a script being run from a rule that says

delete theMsg
delete theMsg

( which will delete POP messages absolutely). The second delete would cause
the error.
The only reason that I can think of for these error messages, is that rules
are being applied to the Hotmail Deleted Items Folder. I.e. The rules are
moving the messages from the Deleted Items Folder to my local folder (thus
creating a duplicate email in the local folder), but the Hotmail server
doesn't allow deleting those items from the Deleted Items folder after they
have been moved.

Why doesn't the folder rule work only on rules that are invoked manually?
Click to expand...


--
Paul Berkowitz
MVP Entourage
Entourage FAQ Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org/toc.html>
AppleScripts for Entourage: <http://macscripter.net/scriptbuilders/>

Please "Reply To Newsgroup" to reply to this message. Emails will be
ignored.

PLEASE always state which version of Entourage you are using - 2001 or X.
It's often impossible to answer your questions otherwise.
 
J

Jones

Oh. That rather absurd thing.

There's no such rule. You probably tried to empty the Hotmail Deleted Items
folder. Maybe by a schedule? You can't do that. The server cleans up after
itself about once a week or so. You can't try to empty it. Just maybe you
have a script being run from a rule that says

delete theMsg
delete theMsg

( which will delete POP messages absolutely). The second delete would cause
the error.
Click to expand...

I now know what is going on and I fixed it.

Rules were indeed running on my deleted items folder. When I set up a
repeating schedule to check for new messages on the Hotmail server, I set it
up to Synchronize ALL of the Hotmail folders (InBox, Deleted Items, Junk
E-Mail, and Sent Items). The default is to just synchronize the InBox.
Once I changed the account options in the schedule to the default value
(only syncronize the InBox), I stopped getting the duplicate messages.

Thanks for your help.
 
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