Easy Mac OS X Lion - Kate Binder [38]
Click the box labeled Include messages from Sent to file messages you send along with ones you receive.
Click OK to create the smart mailbox.
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Tip: Any or All
Use any to collect messages that fulfill one criterion or another (if the subject contains “Paris” or “Grand Canyon,” file it under Vacation Plans). Use all to collect messages that fulfill both criteria (if the message sender’s name is “Claus” and the email address contains “northpole.com,” file it under Christmas).
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Filtering Email in Mail
The more email you get, the more you’ll appreciate having Mail help you with the filing. Mail can analyze each message you receive based on who sent it, where it was addressed, what it says, or several other criteria, and it can file that message in the appropriate mailbox. Mailboxes with unread messages are shown in bold type.
In Mail, choose Mail, Preferences.
Click the Rules button to see the filtering options.
Click Add Rule.
Give the rule a name in the Description field.
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Tip: Excluding Messages from Rules
You can make a set of rules that acts on all email messages except those in a particular group. First, create a rule that filters the group you don’t want to act on into the Trash or a mailbox. Then create another rule to apply your action to Every Message; this rule acts on all the messages remaining after the first rule is executed.
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Choose any or all from the pop-up menu; with any, the rule is activated if one or more condition is met, and with all, it’s activated only if they’re all met.
Set up the condition you want to filter on; click the + button to add more conditions.
Set up the action to be invoked if the conditions are met; click the + button to add more actions.
Click OK.
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Tip: Explore Your Options
There are many ways to select messages for special treatment. You can tag all messages sent to a particular address with a red label, or you can put messages from anyone in an Address Book group into a specific mailbox.
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Tip: Watching for Rule Interactions
The last action step in most rules should be Stop evaluating rules. That way, a message properly filed according to one rule won’t be refiled by another. You can also drag and drop rules to change the order they’re executed in.
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Intercepting Spam in Mail
Spam (or junk mail or unsolicited commercial email) is everywhere, and it’s increasing by the moment. Email users are constantly looking for new ways to deal with the deluge, and Apple has done its part by including a built-in, smart junk mail filter in Mail. With your help, the filter learns to better recognize spam day by day.
In Mail, choose Mail, Preferences.
Click the Junk Mail button to see the spam options.
Click the Enable junk mail filtering check box.
Click a radio button to tell Mail what to do with junk mail it receives.
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Note: How Does It Work?
Mail recognizes junk mail using what Apple calls “latent adaptive semantic analysis.” The program scans email messages for certain word patterns—not typical spam keywords such as “make money,” but speech patterns spammers tend to use.
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Click the check boxes to indicate which types of email shouldn’t be considered spam.
Click the check box to take advantage of junk mail prefiltering done by your ISP.
If you want to make Mail forget the list of known junk mail senders and subjects it has compiled, click Reset.
Click Reset again to confirm that you want Mail to forget its list of junk mail senders and subjects.
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Tip: Teaching Mail More About Spam
Mail marks junk mail with a brown label. If a message is brown but isn’t spam, click it and choose Message, Mark As Not Junk Mail. If you get spam that’s not labeled brown, choose Message, Mark As Junk Mail.
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Tip: Where to Put Spam
To put all your junk mail in a special mailbox, choose Mail, Preferences