Tip of the week # 621
7 September 2020


Automatically move messages where your name is in Cc out of your inbox (Microsoft Outlook) *

When I entered the world of work (many, many moons ago) there was no such thing as email and you would write office memorandums on a typewriter. If you needed to have more than one copy of the memo you would put a sheet of carbon paper between two or more sheets of paper and the pressure applied by the typewriter caused pigment from the carbon paper to reproduce the same - albeit slightly lighter - words on the sheets below. The top sheet was your original and each of the additional sheets was called a carbon copy. So why am I telling you this ...

This is what Cc in, for example, Outlook stands for and it's meant to be used as sending a copy, for information only. Let me repeat that ... for information only.

So if you're drowning in emails, why not concentrate on the important ones - those where you are in the To field - and automatically move messages where your name was only in Cc to a separate when I have time to read this folder?

Here's how:

  1. On the Home tab in the Move group, click on Rules, followed by Create Rule.
  2. Click on Advanced Options.
  3. Select where my name is in the Cc box.
  4. Click Next.
  5. Select move it to the specified folder.
  6. Underneath, in the Step 2 box, click on the specified hyperlink.
  7. Click on the when I have time to read this folder you created earlier or click on New to create a folder "on the fly".
  8. Click OK.
  9. Click Finish.
  10. Click OK.

Related tips

  1. 5 tips to prevent email overload upon your return from holiday - tip_489.php
  2. Automatically move low-priority emails from your inbox - tip_496.php
  3. Manage interruptions by setting up specific notifications only - tip_551.php
  4. Display the total number of messages in a folder, including those you read - tip_532.php

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* Unless stated otherwise, these tips were written for Microsoft Office 2010.