How to Set Up an Incoming Mail Filter in Windows Live Hotmail

To help you organize your incoming email messages, Windows Live Hotmail can put them in specified folders automatically.

Windows Live Hotmail was Microsoft's free web-based email service, designed to be accessed on the web from any machine on the internet. Microsoft transitioned Hotmail in 2013 to Outlook.com with an updated user interface and improved features. Outlook is now the official name of Microsoft's email service. People with Hotmail email addresses can access their email at Outlook.com. They use their regular Hotmail email address to log in through that link.

Set Up an Incoming Mail Filter in Outlook.com for Windows Live Hotmail

Use rules to file incoming mail automatically.

Go to Outlook.com and log in to your Live or Hotmail email account.
Select the Settings gear icon in the upper-right corner of the window and choose View All Outlook Settings at the bottom of the Settings pane.
Select Mail in the left pane and then choose Rules.
Select Add New Rule.
Enter a name for the new rule, such as the name of the folder where you want to file messages that meet the conditions.
Select a condition, such as From or Subject Includes. Enter the details of the condition, such as the name of the sender or the word in the subject by which you want to filter messages. Add additional conditions by choosing Add a condition.
In the Add an action list, choose Move to and choose the folder where you want to store filtered messages.
Select the Stop processing more rules checkbox. Select Save to create your rule and start filtering email messages.

Filter Email Automatically from the Inbox

Alternatively, create a new rule directly from the inbox that moves all email messages from a specific sender to a folder.

Right-click a relevant email in your message list and select Create rule.
Choose the folder to store all messages from that sender.
Select OK and then choose OK again.

Go to Settings > View all Outlook Settings > Mail > Rules to view, edit, or delete rules in your Outlook.com account

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for letting us know!

Tell us why!