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#TipOfTheDay Retrospectively running Mail Rules in IBM Lotus Notes 8.*

Mat Newman  October 31 2012 06:57:33
One of the items I see frequently in the "Lotus Notes can't do that" comments on the internets relates to retrospectively running Mail Rules within the Lotus Notes Mail Database.

For those that aren't aware, Bob Balfe contributed an excellent plug-in called Mail Rule Utilities located on OpenNTF that does exactly that!

Once installed, the Mail Rule Utilities plug-in adds a new tool on the tool-bar: "Run Mail Rules"

Figure 1: the Run Mail Rules toolbar

The Run Mail Rules tool

The process is quite simple:
1.        Install the plug-in (restart the Notes client).
2.        Click the Run Mail Rules tool on the Tool-Bar (figure 1)
3.        In the Run Mail Rules dialog (figure 2), choose the rules to be run (select/de-select individually or all)
4.        Choose the folder to run the selected rules against
5.        Choose RUN

Figure 2: the Run Mail Rules dialog

The Run Mail Rules dialog

Here's hoping that excellent utilities like this one make it into your Widget Catalog, or the core product sometime soon ;-)

Running Mail Rules (even new ones) in IBM Lotus Notes retrospectively ... Easy! Thanks Bob!
Comments

1Sam S  11/01/2012 0:53:46  
#TipOfTheDay Retrospectively running Mail Rules in IBM Lotus Notes 8.*

The easy way to install this is via the extentions.xml link on the bottom of the openntf project page. In case that helps anyone.

2Mat Newman

11/02/2012 9:17:09  #TipOfTheDay Retrospectively running Mail Rules in IBM Lotus Notes 8.*

@1, Sam: Thanks mate, great tip! :-)

Mat Newman IBM Champion

3Gabor  12/16/2012 4:01:41  
#TipOfTheDay Retrospectively running Mail Rules in IBM Lotus Notes 8.*

Hi Mat!

I have some problems with reapplying my rules with this plug-in. Maybe you can help me.

I receive a personal stats mail from either the QA or the backup QA. I set up a rule for that, but it doesn't seem to work. I tried different When clauses, with the Then clause left as "move to folder Stats". I used 2-2 mail from both the QA and the backup QA for the tests. All of them contains the "Personal" word in the subject. The Notes quickhelp says the "contains" does a basic case insensitive substring matching.

Test rule 1:

sender contains QA

OR sender contains QAB

AND subject contains Personal

Result: moves mails only from QAB

Test rule 2:

subject contains Personal

OR sender contains QA

OR sender contains QAB

Result: moves mails only from QAB

Test rule 3:

sender contains QA

OR sender contains QAB

Result: moves mails only from QAB

Test rule 4:

sender contains QA

OR sender contains QAB

OR sender contains QA

Result: moves mails only from QA

Test rule 5:

subject contains Personal

AND sender contains QA

OR sender contains QAB

Result: moves mails only from QAB

Test rule 6:

subject contains Personal

AND sender contains QA

OR sender contains QAB

OR sender contains QA

OR sender contains QAB

Result: moves mails only from QAB

I work on a local replica of my own mail box, my OS is Linux, the Notes version is 8.5.3 Revision: 20110916.0921. It was installed from OCDC Ubuntu repository.

Thank you.

4Aman  03/14/2013 16:01:52  
So IBM Lotus Notes still doesn’t do that, right?

The whole point of the argument that Lotus Notes sucks, is again validated by this post.

In essence, IBM Lotus Notes:

1. Doesn't allow me to run mail rules on my past mail, (which is ridiculous in itself),

2. Doesn't provide a utility for the same,

3. Expects usage of 3rd party utilities for such an obvious and expected feature?

I rest my case.

5NotesStillSucks  07/25/2014 9:58:15  
#TipOfTheDay Retrospectively running Mail Rules in IBM Lotus Notes 8.*

I agree with Aman.

You have in fact proved that "Lotus Notes can't do that".

Notes is only installed in enterprise environments. Environments where users rarely (if ever) have authority to install 3rd party extensions. Therefore, this solution is useless.

6Gaetan  10/21/2014 3:06:48  
#TipOfTheDay Retrospectively running Mail Rules in IBM Lotus Notes 8.*

Doesn't work for LN9

7HappySpaceInvader  04/17/2015 19:43:25  
#TipOfTheDay Retrospectively running Mail Rules in IBM Lotus Notes 8.*

Responses #4 & #5 sum it up for me too.

I cannot imagine an organisation that would run Lotus Notes and also allow users to install a 3rd party plugin.

8Dream Unsafely  07/20/2015 16:47:28  
#TipOfTheDay Retrospectively running Mail Rules in IBM Lotus Notes 8.*

Indeed, IBM does not provide it by default.

However, the community does.

You could either use the functionality or complain about the fact that it does not come by default...

Anyway, I would not go as far as saying that a product sucks just because of this but Matt, if you know Lotus developers etc., you should tell them that this feature would be welcome in Lotus Notes.

Mat Newman

THE Notes (formerly IBM/Lotus Notes) Guy. Productivity Guru. Evangelist. IBM Champion for IBM Collaboration Solutions, 2011/2012/2013. Former IBMer. HCLite. Views are my own.

#GetProductive #GetHCLNotes

Mat Newman




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