How to Use Webmail: Creating Mail Filters

Webmail enables you to set up filters to organize, file, delete, or do any number of functions automatically to your messages as they come in according to criteria you set. Setting up Webmail filters enables you to take advantage of improved anti-spam capabilities in the new mail system. The filters you set up in Webmail will process your incoming messages automatically before those messages reach your Inbox.

Webmail filters reside on the GUMail server, and are processed at the server level. So GUMail will filter your incoming messages whether you use Webmail, or another e-mail client, to read your messages.

You can have messages that contain specific words or phrases in the Subject, or that have a specific sender e-mail address sent to a specific folder. For example, you can set up a filter to have all messages you receive from your manager that contain the word "budget" sent to your Budget folder.

Mail filters are a powerful tool you can use to organize your messages and to prevent spam and computer viruses. Even with the filtering service that Georgetown uses to reduce spam, many messages still get through. Setting up your own spam filters will help catch any messages the GUMail filters miss.

 

1. Click on the Options link to open the Options window.

   

 

2. In the Options window, click on Message Filters.

   

 

The Message Filters pane will be displayed.

3. Click on the New button to start the process of creating a filter.

   

 

The options for creating the filter are displayed. You will now set up the conditions under which you want your mail messages to be filtered.

 

4. Add the conditions for the filter by performing the following:
   
   1. Select whether you want the actions associated with the filter to take effect when all conditions are met or when any of the multiple conditions are met.

      

    

   2. Choose the type of condition by clicking on the down-pointing arrow next to the Choose Type drop-down menu.

      

    

   3. Select the next option by clicking on the down-pointing arrow next to the contains drop-down menu.

      

    

   4. Enter the text to which you want the condition to apply.

      

    

   5. Click on the More button if you want to add another condition to your filter. Continue performing steps a through d until you've add all the desired conditions. (You can add as many additional conditions as you like.)

      

 

Now you'll need to choose an action you want Webmail to perform when the conditions you set up in your filter are met.

 

5. Select an action by performing the following:
   1. Select whether you want Webmail to move the message to a folder, forward all or part of the message to another e-mail address, or discard the message.

      Important: Your message will be permanently deleted if you discard it.

      In the screen example below, any messages meeting the specified condition (in this case, if the text "hot deal" appears in the Subject) will be moved to the Junk folder.
      

   

    

   Note: You can always create a new folder into which you want Webmail to move your messages.

   2. Choose if you want Webmail to remove attachments that meet the conditions you've set and choose if you don't want any more filters to be applied to a message if the actions associated with this filter are taken on a message.

      

    

   3. Click the Apply button when you're done.

      

    

You will return to the Message Filters window and your filter will be listed.

 

You can edit your filter at any time by clicking on the pencil icon in the Edit column.

 

6. Verify that your filter works by sending yourself a test message matching the conditions you set up in your filter.

 

If your filter works, your message should be filtered properly. The screen example shown below illustrates the filter created above, in which messages containing "hot deal" in the Subject line are moved to the Junk folder.