The FFY 2021 Management Evaluation has identified imaging as the #1 finding for Earned Income. Due to the pandemic, we know our staff are receiving verification via email more than ever before, and it can be difficult to keep track of which items have been imaged or still need to be imaged. Outlook has a few features that might make organizing and keeping track of attachments more streamlined, and we’ve come up with an example to illustrate a potential way to use Outlook Rules to track attachments that need to be imaged. This specific example may not work for every situation, as verification processes vary statewide. However, you may find another use or a different customization of Outlook Rules that works for you.

1. Start by selecting an email that will be included in the rule you will be creating. Then click the Rules Dropdown Menu (located in the “Move” Section of the Outlook Ribbon) and select “Create Rule”.Note: Email selected is from an external email address. Emails from outside the agency are always labelled [EXTERNAL] in the subject line.
   
2. The Create Rule Dialogue box will appear, with information from your selected message populated to help create your rule. You can change the information in this box and/or use the “Advanced Options” feature to customize your rule using the Rules Wizard.
   
3. Use the Rules Wizard to specify conditions. You’re telling Outlook how to identify the specific emails you want to organize. Scroll through the list in Step 1 to select each condition to apply, and then click any underlined values in Step 2 to customize. For this rule, 2 conditions are selected: with [EXTERNAL] in the subject or body and which has an attachment. Outlook will only apply my rule if an email meets BOTH of these conditions.
   

Determining which conditions to use:

Ideally Outlook would identify messages that include client verification, but unfortunately Outlook does not know which emails come from clients or which emails contain verification. However we can still set some rules to help Outlook identify the emails that might contain client verification.

• Client emails from various email addresses, and there’s really no way to Outlook to know that an email you receive is from a client specifically. And they don’t all write “verification” in the subject or body. However, we know that all emails from outside of the agency are tagged with [External] in the subject line. So we can use this to identify emails that might be from clients.
• When another DHS employee forwards verification to you, the [External] is no longer in the subject line, however it is still included in the body of the email in the forwarding information (as long as the employee does not delete this information before sending for some reason).
• For this example, Outlook will flag all emails that include [EXTERNAL] in the subject or body and include an attachment.Note: This rule is applied even when an attachment is embedded into the body of the email.
  

4. The next screen in the Rules Wizard allows you to specify the action. You’re telling Outlook what to do with the emails that meet the criteria you just specified. In the example, Outlook is set up to flag messages for follow up. Click the underlined value in the bottom box (Step 2) to specify a time frame as “this week.”
   In the example, Outlook is set up to flag messages for follow up, and I clicked the underlined value in the bottom box (Step 2) to specify a time frame as “this week.” After specifying your Action/s, click NEXT to indicate any exceptions.
   

Determining which Actions to Select:

You should choose the action that makes the most sense for how you like to stay organized. You can use folders or categories in your email if that works with your organizational processes. Flags are useful in Outlook as a To-Do List that can be easily organized and checked off.

• Carve out a regular time (daily, a few times per week, etc.) to go through the To-Do list and check off the flags once it is imaged. Any other items that are not client verifications can be checked off as well.
• The flag appears on the messages in the inbox and can be clicked on to remove the flag once verification is imaged.
• The task icon at the bottom of my Folder Pane can be clicked to view the To-Do list. It collects all of the flagged emails in one place. This is helpful, especially if folders are used to sort the emails to check them off.

NOTE: If you delete an email, it deletes the flag from your To-Do List – so the flag option may not be appropriate for those who are in the habit of deleting emails.

5. The next screen in the Rules Wizard allows you to specify any exceptions to your rule.

Determining which Exceptions to Set:

If you have emails that you receive regularly that meet the criteria you specified, but you don’t want them flagged, you can specify that here. For example, HealthChoice often emails and includes attachments. Without creating an exception, those emails will be flagged for me to review. I can just manually check off the flag for those emails as they occur, or I could specify that emails that are from HealthChoice are excluded from this rule. The rule can always be edited to add exceptions at a later time.

After specifying your exceptions, click NEXT to finalize your rule.

6. The final step is to Name your rule, review the details, and click Finish. You can also select the option to run the rule on messages already in your inbox.

NOTE: Depending on the rules you select, you may receive a message that the rules are only applied when you are in the desktop version of Outlook. This just means that you have to open the Desktop App for the rules to be applied. For example, if a phone is used to check emails, the flags that have been previously checked can be viewed; but any new messages cannot be flagged using the phone.

Once your rule is set up, any new messages you receive will be flagged if they meet the criteria.

Working with flags in outlook

Once your rule is set up, any new messages you receive will be flagged if they meet the criteria. For the sample rule I set up, these two messages were automatically flagged because they met the criteria:

• [EXTERNAL] included in either the subject or body
• Has attachment (even an embedded attachment)
  

From your inbox, you can simply click on the flag to mark it as “complete.”

Flagging and Unflagging

• Since Outlook doesn’t know what it is or isn’t client verification, some items may be flagged that do not require imaging. If you receive an email that meets the criteria to be flagged, but you determine it’s not a client verification, you can click the flag to mark it as complete, or right click and select the option to completely clear the flag.
• If you receive an email that DOES need to be imaged but didn’t meet the criteria to be automatically flagged, you can simply hover the message in your inbox and click the flag to manually add a flag to the item and place it on your to-do list.
• You can also use these scenarios to change your rule to be more inclusive, or to exclude specific emails to make your rule more accurate over time.

Customize Your Process

• Outlook compiles your flagged emails in a convenient To-Do List. Use the Tasks Icon at the bottom of the folders pane to access the list, which includes all flagged emails in one place.
  
• With Outlook automatically flagging the emails for you and adding them to your To-Do list, you can schedule a regular time to review all of your flagged emails and take care of imaging at once (example: Reviewing To-Do List and taking care of email imaging every Monday and Wednesday afternoon.)
• If your process is to image document as you get them, having the automatic flag that you can check off as you go can help keep track and prevent them from being overlooked.
• You also have the option to create folders within your tasks, and set your rule up so that a copy of flagged emails is sent to your task folder. If you use flags to organize multiple processes, this feature might be useful.