How do I set a Mail rule to search for an exact phrase?

Question

How do I set a Mail rule to search for an exact phrase?

Hello Community

I'm a newbie and need some help making a Mail rule that allows me to search for an exact portion of a subject line.

I want to make a rule that sends all emails containing the phrase "shared your post" to a folder Shared Posts.

This would include Abbey shared your post, Belinda shared your post, Carmine shared your post, etc.

I tried adding quotes around the phrase but this doesn't seem to make any difference.

I've scoured the internet for scripts that might do this but came up empty-handed.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Peter

PS Why isn't there a Mail community?

I hope I've posted in the right place!

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015), OS X El Capitan (10.11.3)

Posted on Feb 10, 2016 1:00 PM

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Answer 1

Duane

Level 10

124,267 points

Feb 10, 2016 2:44 PM in response to Peter Black 2

Are you trying something like the following (except set to a valid mailbox):

If that is have you configured, what isn't working?

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Answer 2

Feb 10, 2016 4:03 PM in response to Duane

Thanks for the reply, Duane.

I have the rule set as you suggested, however, I get many more results than I should - I can tell by looking at the emails in the destination folder.

It appears that Mail returns emails with each word in it, much like Google does of you don't use quotes.

I don't want emails that have shared or your or post. I want emails that have "shared your post" as a phrase.

I've tried adding quotes within the box "shared your post" but this doesn't change the results.

P

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Answer 3

Duane

Level 10

124,267 points

Feb 10, 2016 4:09 PM in response to Peter Black 2

Have you tried using the "all" setting and putting each word in a separate line?

For example:

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Answer 4

Duane

Level 10

124,267 points

Feb 10, 2016 4:12 PM in response to Peter Black 2

It looks like you can also use AppleScript -> https://support.apple.com/kb/PH19119?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

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Answer 5

Feb 11, 2016 9:59 AM in response to Duane

Hi Duane,

I tried your suggestion of adding 3 parameters to the rule but it didn't make a difference. I'm still getting results in the destination folder that don't belong there. I also tried using the boolean operator AND - that is, shared AND your AND post, but this didn't make a difference either. I saw your post below about applescript (I've never tried it and have no experience writing code) so I will have a look at it. As it stands I still need a solution. Thanks for your help! P

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