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To create a filter in Zoho Mail, open Settings > Filters, choose the mailbox and whether the rule applies to incoming or outgoing messages, then select New Filter. Set the matching conditions and actions, save the rule, and review its position if other filters could match the same email. To apply a rule to older messages, use the available run-through option.

Create a Zoho Mail filter

  1. Sign in to Zoho Mail and open the Settings icon.

  2. Choose Filters.

  3. If you have multiple POP or IMAP mailboxes configured, use the account switcher to select the mailbox the rule should affect.

  4. Choose Incoming Emails Filter for received mail or Outgoing Emails Filter for mail you send.

  5. Select New Filter and enter a name that makes the rule’s purpose clear.

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  6. Choose how the conditions should combine, add the fields and values to match, then select the actions Zoho should take.

  7. Review whether the rule should stop later filters from running, then save. When creating an incoming filter, look for the option to run it through existing messages in a chosen folder if you want to process older mail.

Zoho describes filters as a way to organize email automatically by assigning actions to messages that meet specified conditions. The exact fields and actions can vary by filter type and account; check the options shown in your mailbox. Zoho Mail: Email filters

Choose the right conditions and actions

A filter connects the messages you want to catch (conditions) with what Zoho should do to them (actions). Conditions can use fields such as sender, subject, recipient, or other message details. Operators vary by field and may include options such as contains, does not contain, begins with, ends with, is, or is not.

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Decide whether conditions use AND or OR

Select what happens to matching messages

Depending on the filter type and account, actions can include moving a message to a folder, flagging or tagging it, marking it read, archiving or deleting it, or adding it as a note or task. For a basic sender-sorting rule, match the sender’s address and choose Move to Folder, then select the destination folder.

Incoming and outgoing filters do not necessarily offer identical criteria or actions. Zoho documents outgoing fields such as sender, subject, recipients, priority, attachments, and domain name; use the fields actually available in the outgoing filter editor. Zoho Mail: Incoming filters · Zoho Mail: Outgoing filters

Check filter order and overlapping rules

Zoho processes matching filters in the order displayed on the Filters page. Drag rules to change that order. If a matching rule has Stop Processing Other Filters enabled, later filters are skipped; otherwise, the message can continue through other matching rules.

Overlapping rules can produce unexpected results when a later rule repeats a one-time action—such as moving a message, deleting it, marking it read, flagging it, or forwarding it through a filter. If a message ends up in the wrong folder or has an unexpected status, check the order, which rules match it, whether stop-processing is enabled, and whether a later rule repeats an action.

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Apply a filter to older messages

A new filter does not automatically reprocess all previously received messages. When creating an incoming filter, use the run-existing-emails option if it appears and select the folder to process. You can also select a saved filter and use Run Through Filter to apply it to messages already in a folder. Choose the folder that contains the older messages you want the rule to handle.

What to know about IMAP accounts and organization settings

Zoho documents a reduced set of available actions for mailboxes configured as IMAP. Incoming IMAP rules may offer actions such as moving to a folder, flagging, tagging, marking read, adding a message as a note or task, or deleting after a set number of days. Outgoing IMAP actions are also restricted, and only certain IMAP-supported actions are reflected in the parent client. The choices displayed for your account are the reliable guide to what you can configure.

An organization’s super administrator or administrator can customize settings available to users. If you cannot access a filter setting, check with your administrator; Zoho’s help material does not enumerate every organization-specific restriction.

When to use Smart Filters

Zoho’s built-in Smart Filters classify newsletter and notification messages using header information and can create associated folders and tags. They suit those broad categories; use a standard custom filter when you need a rule based on your own sender, subject, recipient, or other criteria. Zoho Mail: Smart Filters

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Manage filters after setup

Zoho also documents options to save unfinished filter setups as drafts, enable or disable rules, duplicate or delete rules, and import or export filter configurations. If a rule is no longer useful, disabling it lets you stop it from running without deleting it. See Zoho Mail: Manage Mail Settings for related settings guidance.

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