Important Mail Alert for Microsoft Outlook

How to work with rules

Create a rule

The message you wait for can be from a certain person, it may contain definite text or numbers. To be notified when it arrives, you need to enter this information in the Rules section and the add-in will scan all incoming messages for this key word or address and alert you when the important email arrives.
Important Mail Alert will look for the alert text in the To, From, Subject fields and in the body of the letter.

1. To add the rules, go to the Rules tab.
   
2. Type the key word or phrase in the Enter alert text field at the bottom of the add-in pane.
   
   

   Note	The add-in will look for the exact match of the word or phrase you type in.

3. Press the Add rule button.
   
   You can also press Enter on your keyboard to save a rule.
   

   Tip	Tip: You can see the number of existing rules at the top of the add-in pane. Click on the number and navigate to the Rules section with the alert text.

Edit a rule

It is possible to change the contents of a rule if necessary.

1. Open the Rules tab.
   
2. Double-click on the rule you want to change. You can also edit a rule if you right-click on it and select the Edit option from the menu.
   
   Make the necessary changes to the alert text and press Enter to confirm.

Disable/enable a rule

If you have a rule that you will not need on this particular day, benefit from the Disable option.

1. You can temporarily switch off a rule if you untick the checkbox next to it in the Rules section.
   
   It is also possible to turn off a rule by right-clicking on it and picking Disable from the context menu. After that you will see it unchecked on the add-in pane.
   
2. To enable a rule, just tick the checkbox next to it in the Rules section.
   
   One more way of switching the rule on is to right-click on its name and pick the Enable option from the list.
   

Delete a rule

1. To delete a rule that you do not need any more, go to the Rules tab and click on the cross next to it.
   
   You can also remove a rule by right-clicking on it and selecting Delete from the menu list.
   

How to work with alerts

Get and manage alerts

Important Mail Alert checks all the in-coming messages for the alert text from your rules.

1. When the e-mail you are waiting for arrives, the add-in shows an Important Mail Alert box on top of all applications you are working with.
   
   

   Note	As soon as an email with alert text arrives, the add-in pane will turn orange.

2. Click on the Important Mail Alert message box to navigate to the add-in pane.
   
   Or close the message by clicking on the cross in its top right corner. The add-in pane will stay orange till you delete the alerts.
   
3. Go to the Alerts tab to see all the messages that correspond to your criteria.
   
4. You can open an e-mail by double-clicking on it. You will also see its contents if you right-click on the message and select Open from the menu list.
   
   

   Tip	Tip: You can see the number of important letters as part of the Alerts link at the top of the add-in pane.

Mark alerts as unread

After you open an e-mail, its name will automatically grey out on the Important Mail Alert pane. If you just opened an e-mail but want to keep it unread in the list of notifications, you can mark the message as unread. Just right-click on the e-mail and pick the Mark As Unread option.

You can mark a message as read the same way.

Delete alerts

Once you see your important message, you can delete alerts from the add-in pane.

If you want to remove an alert, click on the cross next to it or select it in the list and press the Delete key. You can also right-click on the notification and select Delete from the list.

How to manage the add-in pane

Close or open the pane

You will see Important Mail Alert pane the first time you start Outlook after installing the add-in.

1. To close the pane, you should press the cross in the top right corner of the pane.
   
2. If you need to open the add-in, click on its icon.
   If you have Outlook 2010, you will see it on Ablebits.com tab
   
   If you have Outlook 2003-2007, you can see it on Outlook toolbar.

Maximize and minimize the pane

1. There are two ways you can use to minimize the Important Mail Alert pane and see it as a horizontal strip.
   
   1. Click on the double arrow in the top right corner of the pane.
      
   2. It is also possible to minimize the view by double-clicking on the name of the add-in at the top of the pane.
2. You can maximize the pane by clicking on it the same way.