Rules just won't work

[Ken]

OL 2003

My rules simply won't work -- except when I "run rules now." I have a
number of rules to be applied as messages are received, to weed out and
delete messages from specified senders or domains, and to direct certain
messages to different folders.

They will not do what they're supposed to when the messages arrive. But
they WILL if I run them manually. (I know there's a problem with the
running of rules when OL starts up initially, but this is a problem even
while running.)

I've been careful about the order of the rules -- and even the very first
rule in the queue doesn't work.

Suggestions?

Thanks.
Ken

 

[Vince Averello [MVP-Outlook]]

Might you have multiple mail accounts and the rules are only applicable to
one of those?

 

[Ken]

Well, I DO have multiple mail accounts, but how would I know if they "are
only applicable" to one of them?

Thanks.
Ken

 

[Vince Averello [MVP-Outlook]]

In the Rules Wizard dialog see if the dropdown at the top of the dialog
indicates that it's applying the rules to the message store in question.

 

[Sparks Fly'n]

I had a similar problem, but it got worse when I transferred my OL to a new
computer. After getting my pst's reattached and working, my CPU was maxing
out for a least an hour. It wasn't until I managed to get into the Rules
Wizard and deleted all my rules that it had stopped.

But now when I tried creating a new rule, OL maxes out the CPU and doesn't
seem to do anything. Is there something that needs to be done on Exchange or
can I fix something in Outlook? It has only maybe taken a few minutes to
process my rules before.