Learn how to efficiently organize your emails by automatically color-coding them using the built-in rules feature in the Apple Mail app on Mac.
By setting up rules in the Mail app on Mac, you can organize your inbox quite easily. You can automatically move emails to certain folders, delete unwanted messages, and play a sound for specific contacts. Additionally, if you’d like to use color to organize your emails, then you can set up a rule in the Mail app, allowing you to quickly identify important messages at a glance.
Set up a color-code rule in the Mail app on Mac
1) Open Mac’s Mail app and click Mail > Settings or Preferences from the top menu bar.
2) Go to the Rules tab and click the Add Rule button.
3) Give your rule a cool name (i.e., description).
4) Select the condition type for the rule in the If section beginning with the “any” or “all” drop-down box. This selection is for if you are setting up more than one condition and either want any condition to apply or all of them.
5) Choose your conditions. There are many options to choose from, such as if the subject contains specific text, if the sender is a certain person, or if the message is marked as a priority. Pick your condition in the first drop-down and then complete the subsequent boxes to the right for that condition.
If you’d like to set up more than one condition, click the plus sign (+) and then add the details for the second one. If not, move on to the next step.
6) Next, you’ll pick your action. Select Set Color of Message from the drop-down box. Then, you can decide if you want the background or text colored, and you can choose the color.
7) When you finish, click OK. You’ll then be asked if you want to apply your new rule to the messages in your inbox currently; select either Don’t Apply or Apply, per your preference.
Once you set up your rule, emails coming into Mail should have the color-coded rule apply, as shown in the screenshots below, which display the background color and text color (I have two different email rules set up).
If your rule doesn’t appear to work, note Apple’s statement on rules as it may apply to you:
Mail stops applying rules to a message when it encounters the Stop Evaluating Rules action, or when a message is transferred to another mailbox by rules used on a mail server or computer or device synced to your computer.
Also, keep in mind that rules will apply to emails in the order in which you have them. So, if you have several rules set up, each message that arrives will use the top rule in your list first, the one below it second, and so on. You can reorder your rules by selecting and dragging them to different positions in the list.
Do you find color-coding a good way to organize your inbox and spot emails you need quickly? If so, are you planning to automatically color-code emails in Mail? Let us know!
Do more with email rules: