Setting email rule in Outlook 2013 - where matching keywords found within a Word or PDF attachment documents - creates a certain action such as Forward etc.

Question

Setting email rule in Outlook 2013 - where matching keywords found within a Word or PDF attachment documents - creates a certain action such as Forward etc.

Gaurang Patkar 0

Hi all -

So receive a lot of emails with PDF / Word attachments - but i need to open each attachment to see if my name is included in the mail as someone to action a point (And this would be in the Word or PDF document, not the main body of the mail). Its an automated process that attaches these PDF's for action.

I was trying to create a email rule to filter out such emails and move them to my "Action" folder, if my name was found and if there are attachments. This does not seem to work - and I am not sure what i am doing wrong. Basically it works if my name is in the body of the email (And not the attachment) and there is an attachment.

I am sure there must be a way to do this - as when i search for a keyword only found in a PDF in Outlook 2013 - it is parsing the attachment and giving me the correct results - so there must be a way to do this via email rules.

Can anyone help me on this please!? Thanks in advance.

SokiGuo-MSFT 31,536 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2023-11-02T07:45:24.87+00:00

Hi @Gaurang Patkar

Just checking in to see if above information was helpful. If you have any further updates on this issue, please feel free to post back. If you think my reply is helpful to you, please remember to mark it as an answer. Warm thanks.

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SokiGuo-MSFT 31,536 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2023-11-02T07:45:24.87+00:00

Hi @Gaurang Patkar

Just checking in to see if above information was helpful. If you have any further updates on this issue, please feel free to post back. If you think my reply is helpful to you, please remember to mark it as an answer. Warm thanks.

Answer 1

SokiGuo-MSFT 31,536 Microsoft External Staff

Hi @Gaurang Patkar

I was trying to create a email rule to filter out such emails and move them to my "Action" folder, if my name was found and if there are attachments. This does not seem to work - and I am not sure what i am doing wrong. Basically it works if my name is in the body of the email (And not the attachment) and there is an attachment.

Outlook rules do not have the ability to search the contents of any attachment, only the contents of the email message. This is why your rule works when your name is in the body of the email, but not when it is in the attachment.

To get this feature more quickly, I have found a post in feedback collection website, and you could vote for it. Many features of our current products are designed and upgraded based on customers’ feedback. You can also make suggestions on that website and hope Microsoft will notice this in the future. Thank you for your understanding and support.

Hope this helps!

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

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Gaurang Patkar 0 Reputation points

2023-10-30T13:20:07.79+00:00

I'm not sure I fully agree with this. For example - I have a specific number in a PDF in my Inbox - "PO32GG121R". This is nowhere in the subject or body of the email itself and only in the words of the attached PDF document.

Yet Outlook easily this fast and easily when i search for that string. How is that working? Any thoughts?
SokiGuo-MSFT 31,536 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2023-10-31T02:24:58.7833333+00:00

Hi @Gaurang Patkar

Outlook instant search uses Windows' built-in Windows Search service, which already indexes more than 200 common file types by default. If you are using Windows 8 or later, then you have installed iFilter for pdf files because it is included in Windows. So, you can search for the content contained in the attachment in the instant search.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.
SokiGuo-MSFT 31,536 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2023-11-08T07:03:11.6133333+00:00

Hi @Gaurang Patkar

Haven't received your message for a long time. I am checking the status of this case. Please let us know if you would like further assistance. Meanwhile, if the reply is helpful to you, please try to mark it as an answer, it will help others who encounter the same issue and read this thread. Thank you for your understanding and patience!

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Setting email rule in Outlook 2013 - where matching keywords found within a Word or PDF attachment documents - creates a certain action such as Forward etc.

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