Outlook automatically move emails to folder based on sender

An Outlook tutorial by Peter Kalmstrom

Outlook automatically move emails to folder based on sender
In Microsoft Outlook you can create rules for incoming E-mails. A rule performs an action automatically, based on the conditions you have specified. For example, an e-mail can be moved from the inbox to a specific folder according to the condition you have assigned to the rule.

Note that rules do not apply to e-mails that have been read. They only apply to unread e-mails.

To create rules for Outlook follow the steps below:

  1. Open Outlook and click on the Rules button under the HOME tab.
  2. Select Create Rule.

    Outlook automatically move emails to folder based on sender

  3. A Create Rule dialog will open. Here you can select conditions through checkboxes (Refer to the image below).
    • You can create a rule for a specific person. When he/she sends you an e-mail, it will automatically be moved to the specific folder that you will assign.
    • You can also specify a word (For example, Folder HelpDesk) in the subject. When an e-mail subject contains that word, the e-mail will automatically be moved to the folder that you will assign.
    Outlook automatically move emails to folder based on sender
  4. Click on Select Folder. A Rules and Alerts dialog will open. Under Choose a folder, select a folder or click on New.
    • When you click on the New, a Create New Folder dialog will open. Write the name you want to give to the folder (for example,,FHDLiveMonitoring in the image below) and click OK.

    • Outlook automatically move emails to folder based on sender
    • Now a folder named FHDLiveMonitoring is created.

  5. Outlook automatically move emails to folder based on sender
  6. Click OK. A Success dialog will open. To run this rule on messages already in the current folder check the checkbox.
  7. Now click on OK. The rule is created.

  8. Outlook automatically move emails to folder based on sender

Don’t Let Your Outlook Inbox Turn into a Mess

Many users spend a lot of time manually cleaning their inboxes by marking spam messages as spam and moving legitimate emails into appropriate folders.

If you’re among them, then you’re probably wondering if there’s a better way to keep your inbox from turning into a mess. Well, there is, and the solution is to sort Outlook incoming emails into specific folders automatically, which is exactly what this article is all about.

Best of all, the techniques described here work with other email services as well, making it easy to figure out how to automatically move email to folder in Yahoo and how to automatically sort emails in Gmail, for example.

How To Move Emails To A Folder In Outlook With A Single Click

Moving emails to a folder in Outlook with a single click is, unfortunately, not possible, but something even better is: you can learn how to automatically send messages to a folder of your choice and avoid having to make even a single click. How? By creating inbox rules.

Here’s how to create an inbox rule in the most recent version of Outlook:

  1. Open the Home tab and click Rules → Create Rule.
  2. Specify the condition that will determine when the rule will be applied and click the checkbox next to the “Move the item to folder” option.
  3. Choose a folder.
  4. Click OK to create the rule.

From now on, Outlook will move emails to the right folder in accordance with the rule you’ve just created. To stop it from automatically moving your emails:

  1. Open the Home tab and click Rules → Manage Rules & Alerts.
  2. Delete or modify the rule.
  3. Click OK to confirm.

Inbox rules in Outlook are a powerful tool that can make your life much easier if you use it correctly, and they can do a lot more besides telling Outlook to move emails to folders, so learning how to use them is well worth the effort it requires.

How to move emails to a folder in Outlook 2013

If you’re still using an old version of Outlook, namely Outlook 2013, then you should know that learning how to make messages from someone go to a folder of your choice is just as easy as with the latest version of this email client, but the individual steps you need to take are slightly different:

  1. Launch the mail client.
  2. Open an email message from the sender whose messages you want to automatically move into a specific folder.
  3. Open the Home tab and click Rules → Always Move Messages From [Sender].
  4. Select the folder where you want to move all new messages from the sender.
  5. Click OK to confirm.

Again, you can modify or delete created inbox rules from the Rules & Alerts window. Keep in mind that created rules are applied in the order shown in the Rules & Alerts window.

How to move emails to a folder in Outlook on the Web

The web version of Outlook may be sleek and polished, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t automatically move emails from a specific sender to a folder of your choice. All you need to do is follow the instructions below.

How to move emails to a folder in Outlook on the Web:

  1. Log in to account.
  2. Click the Settings gear icon and select the View all Outlook settings option.
  3. Navigate to the Mail tab → Rules.
  4. Click Add new rule.
  5. Configure the new rule to move messages from the desired sender to the desired folder.

Outlook on the Web will now use the rule to handle incoming email messages, saving you time for more important things.

How to move emails to a folder in Outlook on Mac

There are some major differences between the Windows and Mac version of Outlook, but the inbox rules creation process is, fortunately, more or less identical.

Follow these steps to learn how to send emails to a folder in Outlook on Mac:

  1. Launch Outlook.
  2. Open the Home tab and click Rules → Create Rule.
  3. Specify the condition that will determine when the rule will be applied and click the checkbox next to the “Move the item to folder” option.
  4. Choose a folder.
  5. Click OK to create the rule.

Learning how to automatically forward emails in Outlook is equally simple, so don’t hesitate to explore inbox rules to their full potential.

Move Emails To A Folder In Outlook Automatically Using Third-party Apps

Outlook makes it relatively straightforward to learn how to make messages go to a specific folder, but managing multiple inbox rules across several different versions of Outlook can get confusing rather quickly.

The good news is that there are third-party apps that let you create email rules with a single click and manage them all from one centralized location. One such app is Clean Email, and we believe that all Outlook users should know about it.

Follow our guides about automatically deleting emails in Outlook and how to auto-delete emails in Gmail.

Automatically Move Emails Using Clean Email

Clean Email is a popular inbox organizer tool with support for Outlook and other leading email services. With its Auto Clean rules, the app can automatically move emails to specific folders, and creating such rules is as simple as checking the “Selected and future similar emails” option before applying an action in Clean Email, like this:

  1. Go to: https://app.clean.email
  2. Sign in with your email account.
  3. Go to Inbox, open any email message, and move it to a folder of your choice.
  4. Tell Clean Email that you want to move all future similar emails.
  5. Confirm the action.

Outlook automatically move emails to folder based on sender
Outlook automatically move emails to folder based on sender

As you can see, the creation of Auto Clean rules takes less than a minute, and you’re certainly not limited to just moving messages from your inbox to specific folders.

Outlook automatically move emails to folder based on sender
Outlook automatically move emails to folder based on sender

Besides Auto Clean rules, Clean Email offers many other features to help you keep your Outlook inbox clean and organized. For example, the Quick Clean feature is perfect for turning a messy inbox into a more organized version of itself with just a few clicks.

Outlook automatically move emails to folder based on sender
Outlook automatically move emails to folder based on sender

Clean Email can also help you reach and maintain Inbox Zero by unsubscribing you from promotional and otherwise unwanted emails, blocking annoying senders, and more.

Outlook automatically move emails to folder based on sender
Outlook automatically move emails to folder based on sender

Because the app focuses on privacy and security, you can trust it even with sensitive personal and work emails.

How to Move Outlook Incoming Emails into Specific Folders Automatically - FAQs

How do I get emails to go directly to a folder in Outlook?

You can make emails go directly to a specific folder in Outlook by creating an inbox rule. You can do that directly from this email service or using a third-party inbox organizer app like Clean Email.

How do I organize incoming emails in Outlook?

Instead of manually organizing each and every email you receive, we recommend you create inbox rules. With their help, new messages can be automatically moved to the most suitable folders, saving you valuable time.

How do I move emails from one sender to a folder in Outlook app?

If you’re using the Outlook app on your mobile device, then you can move emails from one sender to a folder using a third-party inbox organizer app like Clean Email. The app itself doesn’t let you move multiple messages at the same time.

How do I create a rule in Outlook to move from a specific person?

To quickly create a rule that moves all email from a specific sender or a set of senders to a folder, right-click a message in your message list that you want to create a rule for, and select Create rule. Choose the folder where you want all messages from that sender or set of senders to be moved, and then select OK.

How do I automatically move emails to a folder in Outlook by subject?

Move emails to a specific folder by subject.
Select the email which contains the subject you want to move emails based on, click Home > Rules > Create Rule..
In the Create Rule dialog, check Subject contains and Move the item to folder checkboxes, then click Select Folder..

How do you make emails from a certain address go to a folder?

Create rules to filter your emails.
Open Gmail..
In the search box at the top, click Show search options ..
Enter your search criteria. ... .
At the bottom of the search window, click Create filter..
Choose what you'd like the filter to do..
Click Create filter..