New Outlook Inbox rule condition lets users sort external emails automatically

Outlook offers a new condition for Inbox rules, letting users create rules based on whether a message came from outside their organization. This new rule condition builds on the existing external sender tag that already appears next to messages from outside contacts, giving users a way to act on the information automatically.

External sender tag in Outlook emails
External sender tag in Outlook emails

Users can now set up new Inbox rules to move external messages into a specific folder, apply a category, or otherwise prioritize them, making internal and external communication easier to distinguish. This can be especially useful for people who receive a high volume of email and want a faster way to spot messages from outside contacts, clients, or partners without manually reviewing each one.

Create or edit an Inbox rule in Outlook and select the “Marked with External” condition.

Select the "Marked with External" condition
Select the “Marked with External” condition

The new rule condition is available to users with an Exchange Online service plan in Outlook on the web, the new Outlook for Windows, and Outlook for Mac.

Important:
The rule condition requires the external sender tagging feature. This rule does not work if an Exchange administrator has disabled or not configured the ExternalInOutlook configuration.

ExternalInOutlook is disabled, so the new Inbox rule does not work
ExternalInOutlook is disabled, so the new Inbox rule does not work
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Tobias Asböck

Tobias is a Senior System Engineer with more than 10 years of professional experience with Microsoft 365 products such as SharePoint Online, SharePoint Premium, OneDrive for Business, Teams Collaboration, Entra ID, Information Protection, Universal Print, and Microsoft 365 Licensing. He also has 15+ years of experience planning, administering, and operating SharePoint Server environments. Tobias is a PowerShell Scripter with certifications for Microsoft 365 products. In his spare time, Tobias is busy with updates in the Microsoft 365 world or on the road with his road bike and other sports activities. If you have additional questions, please contact me via LinkedIn or [email protected].

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