Share via

Want to create Outlook rule: all received messages with no one in "To" field sent to separate folder

Anonymous
2023-10-06T02:54:49+00:00

Hi Community,

I'm trying to create a rule in Outlook whereby all messages I receive that have no email addresses in the "To" field are sent to a separate folder. The goal is to capture and redirect mass emails that have a bunch of addresses in the "bcc" field, but none in the "To" field.

When I sort my inbox by "To", all of these emails are lumped under "(none)" as the sender. However, when I right click on any one of the messages to create a new rule, the only option I'm presented with in the "Sent to" dropdown menu is "me only". This is not technically correct in the sense that my address is not in the "To" field (but rather in the bcc field).

I asked Bing AI chat for help with this already, and it gave me the following steps to try:

To create a rule in Outlook 365 that applies to all incoming emails where the “To” field is empty, follow these steps:

  1. Open Outlook 365 and click on the***“File”***tab.
  2. Click on***“Manage Rules & Alerts”***.
  3. Click on***“New Rule”***.
  4. Select***“Apply rule on messages I receive”and click on“Next”***.
  5. Select***“with specific words in the recipient’s address”and click on“specific words”***in the bottom pane.
  6. In the***“Specify words or phrases to search for in the recipient’s address:”field, type “(none)” and click on“Add”***.
  7. Click on***“OK”***to close the dialog box.
  8. Click on***“Next”***.
  9. Select***“move it to the specified folder”and click on“specified”***in the bottom pane.
  10. Choose a folder where you want to move these emails and click on***“OK”***.
  11. Click on***“Finish”***.

This rule will now apply to all incoming emails where the “To” field is empty and move them to the specified folder.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions or if there’s anything else I can help you with.

I tried these steps twice to be sure I was doing it right. Each time, instead of being met with the usual pop-up asking me to check a box if I want the rule to be applied immediately to all messages already in my inbox, I was met with a pop-up saying "This rule will only run when you check your email in Outlook. If Outlook isn't running, this rule won't work for email you check online or from another device." And then nothing happens; all of the messages with no address in the "To" field remain in my inbox.

Any help on creating such a rule would be greatly appreciated.

I'm using the MS365 version of Outlook on Windows.

Thank you,
Taylan

Outlook | Windows | New Outlook for Windows | For home

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments

5 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2023-10-10T19:40:52+00:00

    Dear Libeamlak,

    Thank you for this extra suggestion. I understand the logic behind adding this additional exception. But for the rule to be robust, I would need to add every possible person and group to that list. I tried adding all of the email addresses in my organization's directory to the list, but Outlook did not allow me to add that many addresses.

    Really, what I am looking for a simple rule that catches all emails in which the To field is blank. I just figured out a way to do this: by adding a condition to capture any messages containing "To: Undisclosed recipients" in the message header. I had to do some digging into message headers to figure this out. I tested the rule out, and it works. Please see screenshot below.

    Thanks for all your help with figuring out how Outlook rules work. I learned quite a bit.

    Sincerely,

    Taylan

    6 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2023-10-06T18:59:28+00:00

    Hi Libeamlak Zelalem MSFT,

    Thanks for responding so quickly. I think your proposed solution would work in most instances. But if I understand correctly, this rule will also unwantedly move emails that are sent "To" a particular person (other than me) and BCC'd to me (which would not necessarily be a mass email). While I don't expect this situation to occur very often, I'd still prefer a rule that doesn't make this mistake.

    I get many mass emails a day from various senders that all meet the following criteria: no email addresses in the "To" or "CC" fields. Is there a way to make a rule that would capture all emails that meet these criteria?

    Thank you,
    Taylan

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2023-10-06T07:04:54+00:00

    Dear Taylan Morcol,

    Thank you for choosing the Microsoft Community! We are happy to help you.

    Typically, since in keeping with the privacy intended by blind copies, the BCC corresponding header field and its contents are removed when the message is delivered. Therefore, BCC is regarded as an envelope property rather than a message property. so, you should always expect the BCC property to be empty on a received message. Thus, there is not straightforward way to create rule in Outlook using BCC field. However, you can try the following workaround.

    1. Open Outlook 365 and click on the***“File”***tab.
    2. Click on***“Manage Rules & Alerts”***.
    3. Click on***“New Rule”***.
    4. Select***“Apply rule on messages I receive”and click on“Next”***.
    5. Select "Where my name is not in the To box" and click on "Next"
    6. Select "Move it to the specified folder" click on***“specified”***in the bottom pane. Choose a folder where you want to move these emails and click on***“OK”****. Then, click on "*Next"
    7. Select "Except where my name is un the Cc box" and click on "Next"
    8. *Check "Run this rule now on messages already in "inbox"" checkbox and click on "*Finish". You can refer to the screenshot below.

    Image

    I look forward to your update.

    Sincerely,

    Libeamlak | Microsoft Community Moderator

    1 person found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2023-10-12T16:38:43+00:00

    Hello Taylan Morcol,

    Many thanks for your kind update,

    I am glad that your issue is resolved and the rule worked as expected. I also really appreciate the time and effort you put into solving this issue. If there are any questions, please feel free to let me know.

    Thank you for your precious time. Have a nice day!

    Sincerely,

    Libeamlak | Microsoft Community Moderator

    0 comments
  5. Anonymous
    2023-10-10T09:06:26+00:00

    Dear Taylan Morcol,

    Many thanks for your kind response,

    Yes, your understanding is absolutely correct. But, as I tried to mention in my previous reply, since BCC is regarded as an envelope property rather than a message property, the content will be removed so, we can't filter values in the BCC field. Therefore, if you have emails that your account is not in "TO" and "CC" field but other users account is in "TO" or "CC" field, you can add these accounts as exception in your rule. You can try using "Except if sent to People or public group" exception condition. You can refer to the screenshot below.

    Image

    I look forward to your update.

    Sincerely,

    Libeamlak | Microsoft Community Moderator

    0 comments