Mail Rule Won't Deactivate

I was playing with the rules in Mail, setting up background colors for certain emails. It wasn't working as intended, so I deleted the rules. Now, all of my messages are shown in a highlighted color, that won't go away. The rules have been deleted. Attached is a screen shot for reference.
Any help is much appreciated.

Well, I was able to find a roundabout way to solve this problem.
I created a new rule that changed the background color of messages to white. Applied the rule to all messages. Expanded all conversations. Once all background colors revereted to white, I went back and deleted the rule.
All seems to be back to normal.

Similar Messages

Why won't Mail.app rules won't migrate, System Tiger to System Leopard?

Hi,
Mail.app rules won't migrate from System Tiger to System Leopard.
Here's what I did:
-- Clean install of System Leopard 10.5.6 onto a new Mac Pro.
-- Used Migration Assistment to move files from System Tiger to System Leopard 10.5.6.
-- Mail.app's rules failed to migrate.
So, I manually finder-copied MessageRules.plist into the proper folder to replace the newly created and empty rules set in System Leopard's mail.app, and afterwards, the rules then showed up in mail's preferences.
However, the "manually migrated" [finder copied] rules won't run.
In order to narrow the scope of the problem, I moved the former System Tiger's mail.app rules to the desktop and allowed mail.app to re-create a new rules plist file, then I created a test rule and it worked.
Questions:
Why won't System Tiger's mail.app rules files migrate to System Leopard, and won't work upon manual migration?
What is the remedy to "properly import" the rules to the new [System Leopard based] mail.app, or to make the manually moved rules plist file work?
For what it's worth I did follow the procedures at
http://discussions.apple.com/thread....9306&tstart=90
in order to make the messages migrate, but that failed to affect the rules.
Thanks much,
Jack

Here's the fix, along with recommendations for Apple programmers.
http://www.macfixitforums.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/463491#Post463491

Lost mail rules when upgrading to ML, can't restore from time machine

Hi,
I've installed mountain lion and restored from time machine and mail rules were not there. There's only news from apple.
I tried to restore the rules myself (MessageRules.plist and MessageRules.plist.backup) but when opening mail rules were not there yet. Nevertheless, i can add rules manually, so if there was a way of looking at the past rules I could just copy them (though it's not the best way).

My rules are still there, so perhaps Apple support speak with resource forked tongue.
Comparing an old (pre ML) rules file from 20th June with the ML one, the differences are:
The file name was: MessageRules.plist, the ML one is SynchedRules.plist. Both are in my V2 folder, but the old Rules have been copied (by Mail, not me) into the new SynchedRules file.
In the old file, for each item (Rule) the first line was Active (Key) String (Type) 1 (Value). In the ML file, this line is no longer there, so the first line is AllCriteriaMustBeSatisfied.
You can see these differnces in the "preview" part of Finder Show Info, if you have the two files to compare.
Thus, just copying and renaming the old Rules file probably won't work, because of this difference. Mail probably just makes a new file because the copied file isn't as expected. It should be possible to edit the old plist file to remove the "Active" line, and rename it to SynchedRules.plist (but see below). The top is slightly different, just below <dict>, as this relates to the Active line. There are a couple of lines at the bottom that aren't in the new file.
The "Active" line that has gone is now in a file called RulesActiveState.plist. This file is just a list of RuleIds from the SynchedRules.plist (like this:
AC6F6611-FF61-4AA6-9682-BA100EFAC233)
Doing this does sound rather tedious, but might be quicker than manually re-entering blocked email addresses etc. to replicate old rules. As plist files are in xml format, it should be possible to use a text editor to delete the unwanted "Active" line from the message rules list by Find & Replace All (with nothing). All this could then be copied to the "SynchedRules.plist. You would need to copy the RuleIds into the RulesActiveState.plist as well.
Make a copy of the files first just in case...

When are Mail rules applied?

OS X Mavericks 10.9.3, Mail 7.3
I have created several Mail rules, including one the delete unsolicited mesages either from certain senders or to certain addresses. The rule reads like:
If 'any' of the following conditions are met:
'From' 'is equal to' 'Online Casino'
'To' 'contains' 'fax@<mydomain>'
<several more similar>
Perform the following actions:
'Delete Message'
Unfortunately the rule does not appear to be applied: these messages are moved to my Junk folder, from where I delete them using 'Erase Junk Mail'.
I am confused
Andrew
PS I have not read or downloaded these messages from this IMAP server on another device

Mail rules only apply automatically to the Inbox when email arrives. If your email provider is marking them as spam, it may be moving them to the Spam (Junk) folder on their server. Rules won't fire on those.
You can apply rules manually, but you have to select all the messages you want to check, then choose Apply rules from the Message menu.
Also, there is a setting in Mail's Junk preference to trust junk mail headers. In that case, if someone marks the message as spam, Mail will move it to Junk, but not mark it as junk. I'm not certain, but I don't think rules will fire on those, either.
And, I forgot about the Filter setting as Csound1 has pointed out.

Applescript: creating mail rules

Hi Community,
I can't find the syntax for creating a mail rule in applescript anywhere on the web. If someone could just post all the different options in one snippet (Move Message, Play Sound, Set Color, Delete Message, and run applescript) that would be awesome. Thanks!

I agree with twtwtw. Most of the rules I use simply organize the inbox into separate mailboxes. So with a list of 150 or so students each semester, it would be great to have this script work..it creates the rules, one for each student number, but then the rule won't move the incoming messages. Hmm...
So if anyone figues out why, it would be great to let us know!
tell application "Microsoft Excel"
          set hpath to "Macintosh-HD:Users:bg:20f11:Hmwk:graded:"
          set theGrades to open workbook workbook file name "Macintosh-HD:Users:bg:20f11:20f11_grades.xlsx" update links do not update links
          set email_list to value of every cell of range "e_mail"
          set theMailbox to "20f11"
activate
          set sn to value of every cell of range "sn" --sn is student number
end tell
tell application "Mail"
          repeat with j from 1 to length of sn
                    set newRule to make new rule at end of rules with properties {name:item j of sn), enabled:false}
                    tell newRule
make new rule condition at end of rule conditions with properties {rule type:from header, expression:item j of email_list), qualifier:does contain value, move message:mailbox theMailbox}
            end tell
          end repeat
end tell

Invisible or buggy Mail Rule

Oh boy, how to describe this? Let me try...
I've been creating mail rules to shunt spam to the junk box. They work as expected. I don't like to click on a spam email, because if the images load, then the spammers get confirmation of a "live" email address. So I was creating a rule with my room mate's email selected instead, since it was next door to the spam. Of course, the rule was "born" populated with my room mate's email address in the "From Contains" field. So I deleted his address and put in the spam title. Now the rule works on the spam, but also all my room mate's emails keep getting sent to the junk box! Yet I completely eliminated his address from the rule. Just to make sure, I deleted and recreated the rule, to eliminate the possibility of contamination. My room mate's emails are still getting junked, and I can find no rule or reason for this in my mail account. This is truly annoying! It's like there is an invisible rule, or a corruption in my mail rules. Every time my rom mate sends me an email now, it shows up in my junk mail box. How to identify the problem & fix this? I have used the exact same method many times before to create mail rules without any problems!

Nothing you will ever do or no amount of rules will catch all spam. I try to use basic thought on this.
First off, you should have a good address book with trusted contacts and all their emails listed.
Here's the 3 rules I use for spam: You might also add another for .gif attatchments.
Depending on the spam you get, you might think of different ones to include. Any contact I have would be excluded from these rules. Any other ligitiment company or person wanting to contact me personally would not be send me anything under these conditions and would be spam to me. It won't stop the clever spamers sending messages specifically to me, but most will send to multiple addresses at one time and get picked up by these rules.

Should have said "I need Mail Rule help" .. sorry

I know this has probably been solved many times and is old hat to a lot of you. I am trying to create an applescript that forwards only the body of an e-mail to my cell phone triggered from a Mail rule. It runs fine in the editor but not as a Mail rule. I may even want to restrict it to the first 200 characters. I've read that maybe I have to set up a sub routine but I don't know how to do that. I've spent way too much time trying to figure out why it won't work. I'm old and don't like wasting my precious time (lol) Any help would be appreciated. Here's the script. It's been put together with some I saw on the net. Thanking in advance.
using terms from application "Mail"
on perform mail action with messages theMsges
tell application "Mail"
repeat with AMessage in theMsges
set theSelection to selection
set theMessage to item 1 of theSelection
set msgText to content of theMessage
set newMsg to make new outgoing message with properties {subject:"test", content:msgText}
tell newMsg
make new to recipient at end of to recipients with properties {address:"my cell phome email address"}
end tell
end repeat
send newMsg
end tell
end perform mail action with messages
end using terms from
using terms from application "Mail"
on run
tell application "Mail" to set sel to selection
tell me to perform mail action with messages (sel)
end run
end using terms from

bigredlions wrote:
It runs fine in the editor but not as a Mail rule.
I've seen posts on the Web that this ability was 'broken' with Leopard.
You could just set up a Mail Rule to Forward incoming messages (however, the complete message will bb fwd, no way to limit to 200 characters.

Can Applescript fix this problem with no Reply-To field in mail rules.

Hi I'm trying to sent up an automatic response email in mail rules, the problem is when I filter the email I want to respond to, I don't get the option to send a response to the "Reply-To" field, I can only reply to the "From" field which is no good to me. The mails I receive are booking inquiries generated by an online form so the "From" field is always the same email address not the guest address which is in the "Reply-To" field.
Can any applescript genius out there help me out, it would save me so much time !!
Thanks
Jon

Give this a shot. Change the text in the quotes in the property line to whatever you want for the body.
property theBody : "This is the autoreply message"
property theQuote : "You wrote:"
using terms from application "Mail"
on perform mail action with messages theMessages for rule theRule
tell application "Mail"
repeat with aMessage in theMessages
set theSubject to "Re: " & the subject of aMessage
set theReplyTo to reply to of aMessage
if theQuote is not "" then
set theBody to theBody & return & return & theQuote & return & return & the content of aMessage
end if
set theReply to make new outgoing message with properties {subject:theSubject, content:theBody}
tell theReply
make new to recipient with properties {address:theReplyTo}
end tell
send theReply
end repeat
end tell
end perform mail action with messages
end using terms from
If you set theQuote to "", then it won't quote the original. The quote is plain text, so not a great solution.
There is an option in Applescript to reply to a message, but it does the same as the rule. I tried to edit that message, but it didn't let me. So, I went with the above method.
You might try [the Applescript forum|http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=724].

Mail app won't open

Mail app won't open from icon -- any ideas

Hello,
Not certain, but this can fix myriad Mail problems...
Safe Boot from the HD, (holding Shift key down at bootup), it will try to repair your Disk Directory while the spinning radian is happening, so let it go, run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, then move this folder & file to the Desktop.
Move this Folder to the Desktop...
/Users/YourUserName/Library/Caches/Mail/
Move this file to the Desktop...
/Users/YourUserName/Library/Mail/Envelope Index
Reboot.
If that doesn't do it and you can afford to redo all your Rules, try these & reboot...
/Users/YourUserName/Library/Mail/MessageRules.plist
/Users/YourUserName/Library/Mail/MessageRules.plist.backup
Note, in 10.5 & up /Users/YourUserName/Library/Caches/Mail/ may or may not exist.

Transfer Mail Rules from Leopard to Mountain Lion

I have succesfully moved my mail, mailboxes and folders from my old Power PC to my new iMac by moving my Library>Mail folder from one to the other.
The only thing that didn't carry over were my Mail Rules.
Is there some other file I'm missing?
Thanks,
- Peter

Mail rules are stored in your user Library/Mail/V2/Mail Data/SyncedRules.plist or at least they are on my computer.
To make your user library visible:
Hold down the option key while using the Finder "Go To Folder" command. Enter ~/Library. If you prefer to make your user library permanently visible, use the Terminal command found below. It does work with Mountain Lion.
http://osxdaily.com/2011/07/22/access-user-library-folder-in-os-x-lion/
You might want to bookmark the command. I had to use it again after I installed 10.8.2. I have also been informed that if you drag the user library to Finder it will remain visible.

Transfering mail rules from Lion to Yosemite.

Help please, how do you transfer mail rules from Apple Mail 5.3 in Lion to 8.0 in Yosemite. Thanks

The file in question that you are looking for is SyncedRules.plist in the MailData folder. I tried re-naming a MessageRules.plist file and it didn't work. It would be an arduous task, but the best suggestion that I have, other than to re-create your rules, is to use a texteditor like SubEthaEdit to make the format of MessageRules comply with the format of SyncedRules.plist. I haven't tried it myself, but it might work. Best of luck!!!

How to import Mail rules from Lion to Mavericks?

I tried importing my several dozen rules from OS X 10.7.5 to Mavericks 10.9.4. I tried the method described by SECollins7 here:
Import Lion Mail rules into Mavericks Mail?
It did not work. Nor does manually copying the text from «MessageRules.plist» to «SyncedRules.plist». They just do not appear in the rules settings in Mail in Mavericks.
Is there a way to import rules anyway?
Thanks for any hints!

This issue is caused by a combination of two things:
The file used in previous versions of OS X to store local (not iCloud-based) Mail rules is not used in Mavericks.
The migration process doesn't transfer the rules from the old file to the new one, which has a different format.
You may be able to recover the Mail rules by taking the steps below.
Warning: Do not use this procedure if you synchronize Mail rules with other devices via iCloud.
Quit Mail if it's running.
Back up all data.
Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:
cd Library/Mail/V2/MailData; /usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -x -c 'Print :rules' MessageRules.plist > SyncedRules.plist
Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.
Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.
Paste into the Terminal window by pressing the key combination command-V. I've tested these instructions only with the Safari web browser. If you use another browser, you may have to press the return key after pasting.
Wait for a new line ending in a dollar sign (“$”) to appear. You can then quit Terminal. Test.

Mail rules -- apply only to inbox or all mailboxes?

I've done a major revamp of my Mail application. I used to have a dozen or so mailboxes, and some had rules that would move newly arrived messages from my inbox to a designated mailbox.
I've now opted instead to use a dozen or so 'smart mailboxes.' I've moved all my messages back to my inbox and deleted the dozen or so mailboxes. The smart mailboxes nicely filter the messages as I've constructed the smart mailbox rules. However, I still have two mailboxes whose content isn't easily filtered via smart mailboxes.
Now, back to my inbox .... It's got a few thousand messages. My goal is to create a mail rule in preferences that would move anything older than 30 days into secondary mailbox. If I write this rule and run it, does it apply ONLY to my inbox? Or to the inbox and any other mailboxes?

I played around with it and found out that my rule to move older docs to a separate folder only runs on my inbox, as I had hoped.

Mail Rules not applying to Sent folder

I have rules set up to color code my e-mails. They work fine in all my mailboxes (Inbox, Trash, personal folders), but do not work properly when applied to my 'Sent' folder (the messages all turn orange). What's the problem?
I have Gmail being forwarded to the Apple Mail program using IMAP settings.

there is no problem. Mail rules work on incoming mail only. if you want Mail rules to apply to sent messages you need a 3rd party plugin. MailActOn
http://www.indev.ca/MailActOn.html
can do it.

Problem with Mail Rule

I am trying to set up a mail rule that triggers an Applescript. The Applescript will open all attachments with Preview in this case. I know the rule is being triggered because I have two actions for the rule, run the Applescript and Make a sound, and I hear the sound.
Here is the script:
using terms from application "Mail"
on perform mail action with messages theMessages
tell application "Finder" to set pathToAttachments to (path to desktop folder as string)
tell application "Mail"
repeat with theMessage in theMessages
set theText to content of theMessage
if theMessage's mail attachments is not {} then
repeat with theAttachment in theMessage's mail attachments
set theFileName to pathToAttachments & (theMessage's id as string) & space & theAttachment's name
try
save theAttachment in theFileName
on error errnum
end try
tell application "Preview" to open theFileName
tell application "Finder" to delete theFileName
end repeat
end if
end repeat
end tell
end perform mail action with messages
end using terms from
(* tell application "Mail"
set myMessages to selection
tell me to perform mail action with messages myMessages
end tell
If I comment out the stub at the bottom, and run the script, it runs perfectly all the time.
If I select the e-mail in question and trigger using *Apply Rules*, the script runs some of the time.
I have yet to get the script to trigger on newly arriving e-mails.
The rule is checked and I haven't found a +Apply Rules to Incoming Emails+ check box. I thought that happen automatically. Anyone have any ideas on what is going wrong or further ways I could debug it?

Testing your script, I found that, in the few cases where it didn't work well, I could have it work properly with the following modification:
*tell application "Preview" to open theFileName*
*delay 1*
*tell application "Finder" to delete theFileName*
It should also be possible to replace *delay 1* with something better, like *repeat while … end repeat*.
Hope it can help.

Mail Rule Won't Deactivate

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