XCLN: How to Delete Messages That Have a Blank Subject Line (253277)
The information in this article applies to:
- Microsoft Outlook 2000
- Microsoft Outlook 97
- Microsoft Outlook 98
- Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5
This article was previously published under Q253277 SYMPTOMS
You cannot create an Outlook rule to process incoming e-mail messages that have a blank Subject line.
CAUSE
This problem occurs because in Outlook, rules cannot process an e-mail message if the Subject line is blank. Rules can only process an e-mail message if the Subject line contains some content.
WORKAROUND
To work around this problem:
- In your Inbox, on the View menu, click Current View, and then click Customize Current View.
- Click Group By, and then under Group items by, click Subject to group e-mail messages according to subject.
In this view, e-mail messages that contain a blank Subject line are included in a group that is displayed similar to the following:
Subject: (none)(x items, y unread) - Process that grouped set of e-mail messages as necessary. For example, delete the grouped set of e-mail messages.
MORE INFORMATION
In Outlook you can create rules that process incoming e-mail messages based on a variety of criteria. One type of rule moves, deletes, or processes in some way incoming e-mail messages, based on the contents of the Subject line. For example, if you regularly receive e-mail messages that have a Subject line that contains JOKE, you can create a rule that deletes all incoming e-mail messages that contain JOKE in the Subject line. To create this type of rule, however, you must specify some text for the rule to look for in the Subject line of incoming e-mail messages. Therefore, you cannot create a rule to process an incoming e-mail message that has a blank Subject line.
| Modification Type: | Minor | Last Reviewed: | 4/28/2005 |
|---|
| Keywords: | kbprb KB253277 |
|---|
|