Common Filter Examples

Mail filters let you automate what happens to incoming messages. Instead of manually sorting, forwarding, and flagging emails every morning, you set up a rule once and the server handles it from that point on -- around the clock, even while you sleep.

This article is a collection of ready-to-use recipes. Each one solves a real problem that business users run into regularly. You can set all of these up using the visual filter builder in TrekMail -- no coding required.

If you have not created a filter before, start with the Creating and Managing Filters guide first, then come back here for ideas.

How to read these recipes

Each recipe lists:

• The scenario -- the problem you are solving.
• Condition -- what the filter looks for (the "if" part). This includes the field, the operator, and the value.
• Action -- what the filter does when the condition matches (the "then" part).
• Tips -- anything useful to know.

To set these up, go to Mailboxes, select your mailbox, click the Filters tab, then click Add filter.

1. Forward invoices to your accountant

The scenario: You receive invoices from various vendors and need your accountant to see them without you forwarding each one manually.

• Condition: Subject -- contains -- invoice
• Action: Forward a copy to -- accountant@yourcompany.com
• Stop processing: Yes

Tips: Use "Forward a copy" rather than "Redirect" so you keep the original in your own inbox. Check "Stop processing" so the message is not caught by other filters further down the list. You might also want to add a second condition -- From contains billing -- to narrow it down if the word "invoice" appears in unrelated emails.

2. Sort newsletters into a folder

The scenario: You subscribe to industry newsletters and they clutter your inbox. You want to read them later, not first thing in the morning.

• Condition: From -- contains -- newsletter
• Action: Move to folder -- Newsletters

Tips: Many newsletters come from addresses like newsletter@... or noreply@.... If the word "newsletter" does not appear in the sender address, try matching on the List-Unsubscribe header instead -- any email with that header is almost certainly a mailing list. You can also create multiple filters for different senders if you want to sort them into separate folders, like Newsletters/Marketing and Newsletters/Industry.

3. Flag emails from your most important client

The scenario: You have one client whose emails should never get buried. You want them visually highlighted so they jump out in your inbox.

• Condition: From -- contains -- @bigclient.com
• Action: Mark as flagged

Tips: Flagged messages show up with a star or flag icon in most email clients, making them easy to spot. This filter does not move the message -- it stays in your inbox, just marked as important. You can combine this with a "Move to folder" action if you also want to file it.

4. Discard emails from a known spammer

The scenario: Someone keeps emailing you junk that slips past the spam filter. You never want to see their messages.

• Condition: From -- is exactly -- spam@annoyingcompany.com
• Action: Discard silently

Tips: "Discard silently" deletes the message without notifying the sender. This is different from "Reject," which sends a bounce message back. Use discard for spammers since you do not want them to know your address is active. Be careful with this action -- discarded emails are gone and cannot be recovered. Use "is exactly" rather than "contains" to avoid accidentally catching legitimate senders whose address happens to include similar text.

5. Forward all client emails to a shared team inbox

The scenario: Your agency uses personal mailboxes for client communication but needs everything copied to a shared team inbox for visibility.

• Condition: From -- contains -- @clientdomain.com
• Action: Forward a copy to -- team@youragency.com

Tips: If you have multiple clients, create one filter per client domain. This way you can turn forwarding on or off for individual clients without affecting the others. The original stays in your personal inbox, and a copy goes to the team.

6. Move large attachments to a separate folder

The scenario: Emails with large attachments slow down your inbox sync, especially on mobile. You want to deal with them when you are at your desk.

• Condition: Size -- is over -- 5000 KB
• Action: Move to folder -- Large Attachments

Tips: 5000 KB is roughly 5 MB. Adjust this number based on your needs. This is especially useful if you receive design files, video clips, or database exports via email. You can check the Large Attachments folder periodically from your desktop instead of waiting for big files to download on your phone.

7. Reject unsolicited sales pitches with a polite message

The scenario: You keep getting cold outreach emails. Instead of ignoring them, you want the sender to receive a professional "no thanks" automatically.

• Condition: Subject -- contains -- partnership opportunity
• Action: Reject with message -- Thank you for reaching out. This mailbox does not accept unsolicited proposals. Please visit our website for the appropriate contact channels.

Tips: "Reject" sends a bounce message back to the sender with your custom text. This is more professional than silently discarding and may actually reduce repeat emails since the sender knows the message was not delivered. Be cautious: only use this for patterns you are confident are unwanted. A too-broad condition could reject legitimate messages.

8. Forward emails with "urgent" in the subject to your phone

The scenario: You have a secondary email address on your phone that you check more frequently. You want truly urgent messages pushed there immediately.

• Condition: Subject -- contains -- urgent
• Action: Forward a copy to -- yourname@gmail.com

Tips: This works well as a lightweight alert system. You could also use the keyword ASAP or time-sensitive as additional triggers. If you want to catch all of those, set up the filter with the match type set to "Any condition" and add one condition per keyword. The original stays in your TrekMail inbox for proper handling later.

9. File automated notifications from services

The scenario: You get dozens of daily notifications from services like GitHub, Stripe, Trello, or monitoring tools. They are useful but noisy.

• Condition: From -- contains -- notifications@github.com
• Action: Move to folder -- Notifications/GitHub

Tips: Create one filter per service and file each into its own subfolder: Notifications/GitHub, Notifications/Stripe, Notifications/Trello, and so on. This keeps your inbox clean while preserving every notification in an organized structure. You can batch-review them once or twice a day instead of being interrupted by each one.

10. Combine multiple conditions: forward AND flag AND file

The scenario: When your biggest client sends an email about a proposal, you want to forward it to your business partner, flag it for follow-up, and file it in the client folder -- all automatically.

• Match type: All conditions (AND)
• Condition 1: From -- contains -- @bigclient.com
• Condition 2: Subject -- contains -- proposal
• Action 1: Forward a copy to -- partner@youragency.com
• Action 2: Mark as flagged
• Action 3: Move to folder -- Clients/BigClient

Tips: When you choose "All conditions," every condition must match for the actions to trigger. This lets you build very precise filters. You can add as many actions as you need to a single filter -- they all execute together. The order of actions does not matter; the server handles them all before moving to the next filter.

11. Use "Any condition" to catch emails from multiple senders

The scenario: You work with three freelancers and want all of their emails filed into the same project folder.

• Match type: Any condition (OR)
• Condition 1: From -- contains -- alice@freelancer.com
• Condition 2: From -- contains -- bob@designer.net
• Condition 3: From -- contains -- carol@writer.io
• Action: Move to folder -- Projects/Website Redesign

Tips: "Any condition" means the filter triggers if at least one of the conditions matches. This is the easiest way to group multiple senders (or multiple keywords) into a single filter instead of creating three separate ones. If the project ends, you can disable one filter instead of hunting down three.

12. Set up a "catch-all filter" as a last resort

The scenario: You want every email that was not caught by your other filters to land in a "To Review" folder so your inbox only contains messages you have actively chosen to keep there.

• Condition: From -- contains -- @ (this matches every email)
• Action: Move to folder -- To Review

Tips: This filter must be the very last one in your filter list. Filters are processed in order from top to bottom, and any email that matches a filter with "Stop processing" checked will skip the remaining filters. So put your specific filters at the top, and this catch-all at the bottom. This approach essentially turns your inbox into a space for manually moved messages only. It is a powerful workflow but takes getting used to -- try it for a week before committing.

General tips for working with filters

• Order matters. Filters run from top to bottom. Put your most important and most specific filters near the top.
• Use "Stop processing" intentionally. When checked, it prevents the email from being evaluated by any filters below the current one. This is useful for forwarding rules where you do not want the message also filed elsewhere.
• Test with a real email. After creating a filter, send yourself a test message that matches the conditions and verify it does what you expect.
• Review your filters periodically. Old filters for projects that ended or clients you no longer work with can cause confusion. Disable or delete them when they are no longer needed.
• Filters do not apply to spam. Spam is caught by the server before your filters run. If you are trying to filter spam, the better approach is to report it as spam so the server learns.