Coming SoonPro editionOutlook & Microsoft 365

Outlook Rules Manager

Every rule in every mailbox in one place, server-side and client-only, including the hidden ones Outlook never shows, each one verified: what it matches, what it does, which rules shadow it, which ones can never fire, which folders no longer exist, which forward mail outside the company, and what it would have done to the last month of mail. Fix, reorder, test, export and restore, with a history of every change.

The problem

Outlook's rules dialog is a list of names. It does not say which rules are server-side and which only run while Outlook is open, it hides rules created through other clients or by an attacker, it has no test mode, no history and no way to see why a message went where it did. The 256 KB server limit stops rules silently, new Outlook dropped the .rwz export, and after a few years a working mailbox has dozens of rules nobody dares touch. Administrators get Get-InboxRule in PowerShell and nothing visual.

Features

  • One inventory from three sources: Microsoft Graph message rules (server), the Outlook Object Model on the PC (client-only rules) and extended MAPI for the hidden folder-associated rules that neither dialog shows; each rule labelled with where it lives and whether it runs when Outlook is closed
  • Verification of every rule: conditions that can never match, actions on folders that no longer exist, rules shadowed by an earlier 'stop processing', duplicates, rules over the size limit, rules that forward or redirect outside the organisation, rules that delete or mark read security mail, disabled rules with errors, and the order problems that make two rules fight
  • Dry run against the last 30 days: for every message, which rules fired, in which order, and where it ended up, so a rule can be fixed before it moves a thousand messages the wrong way; 'why is this message here?' answered for any message
  • Build and edit with the real options (conditions, exceptions, actions, order), test on a chosen message set, then write back through Graph or the Object Model; plain-language description of each rule, with an optional AI rewrite into a sentence anyone understands
  • Export and restore for every rule type (JSON with a signed manifest), version history with diffs, rollback, and templates applied across several mailboxes or a shared mailbox
  • Weekly check that reports new, changed or suspicious rules, which is also the first screen of Mailbox Compromise Check

How it works

Inventory

  • Graph: /me/mailFolders/inbox/messageRules for server rules; Exchange Online PowerShell for administrators across mailboxes
  • Outlook Object Model for client-only rules on the PC where classic Outlook runs; new Outlook has no client rules
  • Extended MAPI read of the inbox's folder-associated items to surface hidden rules and rules with blank names

Verification rules

  • Never-match conditions, dead folders, shadowing by stop-processing, duplicates, size limit, external forward or redirect, delete or mark-read on security senders, disabled-with-error
  • Every finding shows the rule, the reason and the one-click fix, with the change previewed before it is written

Dry run and explain

  • Replays the ordered rule set over recent messages in memory; nothing is moved
  • Per-message trace: rules evaluated, rules fired, final folder and flags

Who it is for

Office manager

Forty rules and one missing invoice

The dry run shows an old 'move to Suppliers' rule catching the new accountant's mail because of a stop-processing rule above it; one reorder fixes it and the trace proves it.

IT consultant

A compromised assistant mailbox

A hidden rule with a blank name forwards anything mentioning 'invoice' to an outside address; Rules Manager lists it, removes it and keeps the evidence.

Small business owner

New starter setup

The sales team's rule template is applied to the new mailbox in a minute, with the rules verified before they are written.

Benefits

  1. Every rule, including hidden ones, visible and verified
  2. See what a rule would do before it does it
  3. Export, history and rollback that Outlook never had

Built to be trusted

  • Dry runs never move mail
  • Every write is previewed, logged and reversible
  • Hidden rules are reported before they are ever touched

Good to know

Client-only rules exist only where classic Outlook is installed and signed in; new Outlook and the web have server rules only. Hidden rules are read through MAPI, which needs classic Outlook or the MAPI runtime on the PC. Administrator-wide inventories need an Exchange administrator role and consent. The dry run reproduces Exchange's rule logic closely but not every edge case of every action.

Under the hood

For technical readers
  • Microsoft Graph messageRules
  • Exchange Online PowerShell
  • Outlook Object Model (COM)
  • Extended MAPI (read-only)
  • Local dry-run engine; Reports
Related products

Works well with

Coming SoonPro edition

Mailbox Compromise Check

Outlook & Microsoft 365

Answers 'is someone else in my mailbox?' for a Microsoft 365 account.

Coming SoonFree edition

Outlook Doctor

Outlook & Microsoft 365

Fixes the Outlook that will not start, keeps asking for a password, hangs on 'Loading profile', loses search, or takes a minute to open.

Coming Soon

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