How to Automatically Forward Emails in Outlook

Quick Tips

• You can choose to forward some or all of your incoming emails in Outlook.
• You’ll need to create an inbox rule if you only want to forward selected emails.
• Make sure the receiving server for your forwarded emails doesn’t mark them as spam.

There are several reasons you may want to automatically forward emails in Outlook. From productivity to branding, archiving, or collaborating. Whatever the reason, this guide has you covered. Read on to find the best method that suits your particular needs.

Forwarding Emails in Outlook – Benefits and Risks

Forwarding emails offers several benefits, but it also poses some risks, and there are a few key considerations to keep in mind.

Computer hackers are increasingly setting up email forwarding rules after gaining access to an individual’s inbox. They are doing this to redirect sensitive data to their own accounts. It’s therefore vital for you to regularly check that the email forwarding settings and rules don’t contain any unauthorized rules you don’t recognize and didn’t set up yourself.

Another consideration is that many incoming mail servers will flag forwarded emails as spam. Therefore, it’s essential to verify that your destination email account is configured to receive forwarded emails in its inbox. Additionally, some forwarding services may not handle attachments well. This can also cause issues with spam filters blocking emails.

The steps for forwarding emails vary slightly between PCs and Macs, as well as whether you are using the desktop app or the web version of Outlook. Email forwarding can be done via a Forwarding Rule or by enabling the built-in Forwarding Settings.

Method 1: Forward All Emails in Outlook on the Web (Outlook.com)

This is the easiest and most direct way to forward all emails.

Step 1. Click the Settings icon (gear symbol) in the top-right corner.

Step 2. Click on Email and then Forwarding.

Step 3. Check the box for Enable forwarding.

Step 4. Enter the email address you want to forward messages to. You can also check the Keep a copy of forwarded messages box if you want a copy to remain in your Outlook inbox.

Step 5. Click Save.

Method 2: Forward Some Emails in Outlook Using Rules

This is the method for when you only want to forward emails that meet a specific criterion. You might want to forward emails from a certain sender or emails containing a particular keyword in the subject line.

Outlook Desktop App (PC and Mac)

Step 1. Head to Settings.

Step 2. Click on Email and then Rules.

Step 3. Click Add new rule.

Step 4. Give your rule a descriptive name, like “Forward Emails from my Boss.”

Step 5. Under Add a condition, select the criteria for the emails you want to forward. For example:

Subject includes: type the keywords you are looking for.

Step 6. Under Add an action, select Forward to or Redirect to, where :

• Forward to will show the message as being forwarded from your account.
• Redirect to will make the message look as though it came directly from the original sender.

Type in the email address you want to forward to.

Step 7. You can optionally add more actions, conditions, or exceptions if required.

Step 8. Click Save.

The latest versions of Microsoft Outlook have a streamlined look and feel. The process for setting up email forwarding is very similar across the desktop and web versions of the app. If you are using older versions of the desktop app, there may be slight variations in the process, but fundamentally, the methods are the same.