I am using Outlook Express, v6.

I send a great deal of e-mails everyday and want to automatically file
these e-mails in the appropriate subfolders under the SENT ITEMS
folder.

The incoming e-mail filters (found under: Tools > Message Rules >
Mail) work perfectly fine, but I'm having trouble with the outgoing
e-mails.  It almost seems the filter is only designed to handle
incoming e-mails, which BTW, it doesn't say one way or the other.  The
"Mail Rules" tab in the filter just says "These rules will be applied
to Mail messages."

It seems like the functionality for doing this is there. The reason I
say this is one of the filters say "Where the to line contains"
(implying an outgoing e-mail, then [whatever action you want to take;
i.e. move, delete, etc.].  If the functionality is not there, it seems
like a very basic and serious design flaw, which MS could never be
accused of. ;-)

Please tell me how to do this.

Hi,

I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the functionality you seek isn't
there. There are mail programs that do include that functionality, but
Outlook Express is designed as an simplified version and so doesn't
have all the features that more sophisticated e-mail programs do.

The filters work for incoming e-mail only. So your only real choice
for letters you write is to save them in the Sent Items folder or not
at all.  But there is a workaround, which I'll describe below.

First, though, the reason you can filter letters by what's in the To
line is because it is possible to receive mail that has various
addresses, not always yours, in the To line.  For example, I receive
e-mail at several addresses and have them automatically forwarded to
me at mvguy-ga@my-handy-e-mail-address.com (not a real address).  So
all the mail sent originally to me at several addresses comes to me at
mvguy-ga@my-handy-e-mail-address.com.  Because of the way the mail is
forwarded to me, addresses other than
mvguy-ga@my-handy-e-mail-address.com show up in the To line. Through
filters in my e-mail program I then separate the letters into separate
inboxes depending on the address they were originally sent to.

Anyway, here's the workaround I suggest:

Whenever you send a letter, add your own address to the Bcc line.  (If
the Bcc line doesn't show up when you write a letter, go to the View
menu and select All Headers.)  What this will do is e-mail yourself a
blind carbon copy of whatever mail you send out.  (By making it a
blind copy, or Bcc, your intended recipient won't know that you're
sending yourself a copy.)

Now what you should do is create a Letters I Sent folder (or whatever
you want to call it) with some folders within it.  Then write filters
that handle all mail that has your address in the From line.  Then the
next time you get your mail, you'll receive copies of what you sent
earlier and the copies will end up in the folders you desire.

I do the same thing myself with a different e-mail program. It's one
way that I make a record for myself that I actually sent a letter out.

I hope I have explained this workaround clearly enough.  If I didn't,
please let me know.

Best wishes,

mvguy-ga





This answer was based on personal knowledge and the documentation of
Outlook 6 that I have installed on my computer.

Thank you for your answer and also for your suggestion.  I'm truly
disappointed in MS (for about the millionth time).  It seems so basic.