Take Control of Apple Mail in Tiger

Chapter . Automate Mail with Rules

Mail applies rules (which are sometimes called filters) automatically to incoming messages, moving them to specific mailboxes based on, for instance, the name of the sender or the nature of their content. For example, you can filter out potential junk mail and look for email from your boss or best friend. Because they are so powerful, rules are one of my favorite Mail features, and I have over 100 of them.

Although most people can put together basic rules without even looking at the documentation, some features are less than obvious. The rest of this section includes a quick primer on creating rules, and lots of tips and tricks.

Create a Rule

To create a basic rule, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Rules preference ...