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Can Rules Be Fun? You Betcha!
Customize Microsoft Outlook by
Creating Your Own Rules
NOTE: My directions apply to MS
Office 2007; earlier versions may not be exactly the
same.
In today's totally connected world, it's easy to get
distracted.
Perhaps the worst offender is email; every time a
new message arrives, we're compelled to answer, or
at least see who it's from.
However, there's a way to be alerted to only those
emails that need to be read when they
arrive, keeping me from interrupting work for
non-urgent email or worse, spam.
My graphic artist and webmaster Lynnette is someone
whose emails I want to read as they arrive.
I chose to create a rule so that every time she
sends me a question, comment, or response, I am
alerted to it by assigning her emails their own
distinct sound.
Make sure the sound on your computer is not muted
(you can simply R-click the icon of the megaphone
icon at the bottom right of your keyboard to enable
sound).
With Outlook's In-Box open and your list of email in
front of you, do the following to create your own
rule:
1. R-click the sender's name for whom you want
a sound alert;
2. Click on Create Rule;
3. At the top, check 'From:' (insert name here
if needed);
4. At the bottom, check 'Play A Selected
Sound';
5. Click on Browse, highlight a sound name,
and click Open;
6. Now you're back in the dialogue box. Click
the Play button (it's the right arrow next to the
sound name you chose) to hear the sound. If you like
it, click OK. If you don't, just click Browse and
repeat the process until you find one you like.
7. Finally, you'll be asked if you want to run
this sound on all the email from the sender already
in your In-box. Either way (check it or don't),
press OK and you're done.
Bear in mind that Outlook needs to be open - even if
minimized so it's out of the way - for you to hear
incoming mail alerts in real time.
If your email program is closed, when you open it
later, you'll hear the sound for each email from
that sender as it loads up.
If you're feeling ambitious, check out the other
ways of using Outlook's Create Rules function.
Look in that dialogue box further and you'll see
options for moving your mail to a specific folder
you designate, as well as other uses.
What was the sound I assigned to Lynnette? It's
ta-da! It just has a happy feel to it.
And by the way, if you're in need of a very talented
and easy-to-work-with programmer/designer who is
well worth every penny she charges, you can reach
Lynnette yourself via her website.
Mention my name in your email to her to get a FREE
telephone consultation about your website needs.
Check out her portfolio and find her contact info at
www.taylormadesolutions-4u.com.
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