Dealing With Read Receipts in Outlook XP

a somewhat printer-friendlier version of this page

If you request mail receipts for all the messages you send, you will soon be handling a lot of read receipts. This page outlines a way to automatically move them into an offline folder so that you can go back and retrieve receipts only when you need a specific one.

Step 1 - Create a Folder Amongst Your Personal Folders

Make sure you have an offline folder to use for your receipts. For the purpose of this example a folder titled "Read" has been created in the personal folder "Archive Folders." You may call your folder anything you want. If you do not know how to create personal folders see our help page. HISD limits the size of everyone's mailbox. Personal folders, however, do not count toward that limit because they are usually located on your computer, not on the mail server. The drawback to this means that if you are accessing your mail from more than one computer you may not be able to always access the messages in your personal folder. Stay tuned for instructions on a way to partially overcome this obstacle.

Step 2 - Go to the Rules Set-Up Dialog Window

From the Tools menu select "Rules Wizard..."

Step 3 - Create a New Rule

Click on the "New" button to create a new rule. Your windows will probably not look the same as the picture shown above. You may or may not already have your own rules.

Step 4 - Start From a Blank Rule

Click the radio button for "Start from a blank rule." Click the "Next >" button

Step 5 - Set Condition to Match Specific Words

Use the scroll bar at the right of the window and find the condition that exactly matches the one shown in the picture above. Click on the underlined "specific words" that will appear in the lower window.

Step 6 - Add Word and Space

Type "Read: " in the upper window and then click the "Add" button. Please note, it is very important that you type a colon and a single space character after the word "Read". Adding these two characters will ensure that Outlook does not apply this rule to a message with, for example, the subject line: "Did you read about the Superintendent?!" You wouldn't want to miss that one...

Step 7

Click the "OK" button if your window looks like the one above.

Step 8

Click on the "Next >" button to continue setting your rule.

Step 9 - Move to a Specified Folder

Select the check box as in the picture above and then click on the underlined word "specified" in the bottom window.

Step 10 - Indicate The Folder You Created Earlier

Find the folder you are planning to use in your personal folder. It may be above or below your mailbox, depending what you called it. Click on it to highlight it and then click the "OK" button.

Step 11

Click the "Next >" button for this and the next window that appears.

Step 12 - Name The Rule

Give the rule a name or simply accept the name it suggests. Click the "Finish" button.

Step 13 - Client-Only

You will receive the message above - simply click the "OK" button. What this means is that your rule will work only after you open Outlook. After you initially open Outlook you may notice a pause as the new messages in your inbox are checked to see whether the rule applies to them. This will take longer the more messages you have.

Step 14 - Finished

Click the "OK" button and you are finished.