Mail Filters

You can filter your mail by automatically deleting or filing messages with certain characteristics which you specify. You do this by defining filter rules (for example, deleting all messages from a particular address) and then specifying when to apply those rules (for example, every time your INBOX is refreshed).

Note: These filters only get activated when you use the Horde groupware applications. There are other, better options for filtering mail that will filter all your mail and work with all your mail software. These are called server side filters. We don't yet have any documentation for server side filters.

Why Use Filters?

To organize your incoming mail:
- You might, for, example, have all the mail from a listserv that you subscribe to filed in a folder. You can then review those messages at your leisure without them cluttering up your INBOX.
- You might, for example, have all the mail from one of your professors filed in a folder for easy reference.
To reduce your exposure to SPAM
- You might, for example, have all the mail with the word "advertisement" deleted.
- You might, for example, have all the mail from a particular SPAM sender deleted.

NOTE: If you set a filter to delete certain mail, that mail will be marked for deletion, but will remain in your mailbox until you purge deleted messages.

Warning

Define your filter rules carefully to avoid inadvertently deleting or misfiling important mail.

Defining Filter Rules

In the icon bar at the top of any page, click Options.
In the Mail Management column, click Filters.
Click Edit my filter rules.
Specify how you want your filter rule to work.
1. Check the checkbox(es) next to the field names you want to filter by. If for example, you want to filter mail from a particular sender, check the From checkbox.
2. In the Text field, type the text by which you want to filter. This might be an mail address, a word, a name, or a phrase.
3. Click either the delete message or move message to radio button, depending on what you want to happen to the filtered mail. If you want the messages moved to a folder, select that folder from the select folder pop-up list.
4. Click the Create button.
Repeat Step 4 to create more filter rules if you wish.
Specify the order in which you want the filters applied by ordering the list of filter rules. Filters are applied in the order they appear in the list.

Specifying When to Apply Filters

In the icon bar at the top of any page, click Options.
In the Mail Management column, click Filters.
Check the appropriate checkbox to indicate when you want your filter rules applied.
Click Save Options.

Applying Filters Shortcut

To apply your filters at any time while reading your mail, click on the Apply Filters icon at the top of your folder view.