Email forwarding is simple enough in Microsoft Outlook. But if you find yourself redirecting the same types of emails regularly, why not automate the task? You can automatically forward certain emails or even all of them.
Whether you use Outlook on the desktop or on the web, we’ll show you how to set up email forwarding. By taking just a few minutes now, you can save time later and move on to more important tasks.
Set up automatic forwarding in Outlook on your desktop
Forward specific emails
Select the mailbox you want to work with in Outlook, if you want to more than one.
advice: If you have an email in your inbox and it is one of those that you would like to forward, select it. This will give you a quick start in creating the rule because Outlook will use some of the details in the rules wizard.
Go to the Home tab, click the Rules drop-down arrow in the Transfer section of the ribbon, and select Create Rule.
When the Create Rule window appears, click Advanced to open the Rules Wizard.
The first step in setting up a redirection rule is to choose the condition. Check the box next to each condition you’d like to use to choose the email. As you do, you will see these displayed in the description below. Click {Next.
Now, you will select the action. You can choose to forward it to people or a public group or forward it to people or a public group as an attachment. Check the box as per your preference.
In the description at the bottom, click on “People or Public Group”.
Next, select the email address you want to forward messages to and click “To” at the bottom. If necessary, you can use the dropdown menu under the address book to choose a list of specific contacts. Click OK.”
Back in the Rules Wizard window, click Next and check the boxes for the exceptions you’d like to add, if any. Click {Next.
Give your rule a name, then check the Turn on this rule box. Optionally, you can check the box to trigger the rule immediately. Click Finish to save and enable the rule.
Forward all emails
If you prefer to forward all emails you receive to another email address, you will follow the same steps as above With one exception.
In the Condition step of the Rules Wizard (Step 1), check the Send to box [your email address]. This will apply the rule to all emails sent to this address. Next, proceed with the rest of the rule setting process for forwarding emails.
Related: How to automate BCC emails with rules in Outlook
Set up automatic forwarding in Outlook on the web
If you are using Outlook for the web, you can create a redirection rule just like the desktop version. But you will prepare Forward all incoming emails out of use rule.
For either option, click the gear icon at the top right to open the Settings sidebar. At the bottom, click “View all Outlook settings”.
Forward specific emails
To forward only specific emails, you have to set up a rule. Select “Mail” on the far left and then “Rules” on the right. Click “Add New Rule”.
There are only three steps to setting up a rule in Outlook for the web. Start by naming your rule.
Next, click on the drop-down box to select a condition. You can use criteria such as who the email is from, how your name appears, or what the subject line or body text includes.
Make your selection and then include any additional details required in the box to the right, if applicable. To include more criteria, click Add Another Condition and do the same.
Finally, you will add the action. Click the drop-down box to select an action and choose either “Forward to” or “Forward as Attachment” depending on your preference.
Enter the email address you want to forward emails to in the box that appears. To include another action or add an exception, click the corresponding link.
If you have other rules set up with similar terms, you can check the box to stop processing more rules if you like. This will ignore subsequent rules that apply to the same emails.
When you’re done, review your rule and click “Save.”
Forward all emails
Instead of forwarding specific emails, you can choose to forward them all.
Select “Mail” on the far left and then “Forward” on the right.
Check the box to enable forwarding. Next, enter the email address you want to forward messages to in the box. Optionally, you can check the box to keep a copy of forwarded messages. Then, click “Save” when done.
