Conditional formatting in Outlook

Outlook 365 2016 2013 2010 2007
Usually Outlook users are using folders to organize messages, but you can also use colors. For example, you might apply a special color to all messages from a particular person. You can then see at a glance which messages are from that person.

Outlook has five predefined formatting rules, and you can create additional rules if you want to set up an additional conditional formatting. To create conditional formatting rules, do the following:

   1.   Select View -> Arrange By -> Current View -> Customize Current View... to open the Customize View dialog box:

Customize View in Outlook 2003

   2.   In the Customize View dialog box, click Automatic Formatting... to open the Automatic Formatting dialog box with a set of default rules:

Automatic Formatting in Outlook 2003

   3.   Do one of the following:

  • To temporarily turn off a rule, clear the check box for that rule
  • To change the text formatting that is applied to a rule, click the rule, and then click the Font... button to open the Font dialog box:
    Font and Color Formatting in Outlook 2003
  • To add a new conditional formatting rule, click Add to create a new rule named Untitled and then:
    • In the Name box, type a name of the new rule
    • Click Font... to specify the font characteristics that you want Outlook 2010 to use for tasks that meet the rule's conditions
    • Click Condition... to specify the criteria for this rule:
      Filter Formatting in Outlook 2003
  • To change the criteria for a rule, select the rule, and then click Condition... (this button is enabled only for user's rules, not for five predefined conditional formatting rules)
  • To delete a rule, click the rule, and then click Delete (this button is enabled only for user's rules, not for five predefined conditional formatting rules).

Please, disable AdBlock and reload the page to continue

Today, 30% of our visitors use Ad-Block to block ads.We understand your pain with ads, but without ads, we won't be able to provide you with free content soon. If you need our content for work or study, please support our efforts and disable AdBlock for our site. As you will see, we have a lot of helpful information to share.