Separate Work and School Emails in Outlook


Separate Work and School Emails in Outlook

Policy calls for individuals with multiple university relationships (e.g., student and employee) to separate emails into work and school categories. This article will explain the available methods for accomplishing this task. For more information, see policy 4-016.1 Email Provisioning, De-provisioning, and Use Policy

Preferred Option: Request for Shared Mailbox (preferred option)

Colleges and departments can request a shared mailbox for individuals to use for the express purposes of conducting university business.  This option allows the college or department to maintain business continuity while still allowing individuals to act on behalf of the department.  This method requires no separation of email within a personal email account because the incoming and outgoing mails are saved within the shared mailbox.

To request and manage a shared mailbox (e.g., add and remove users from the ability to read and send on behalf of the shared mailbox), submit the following request:

Add New or Change Existing Organizational (OID) or Shared Mailbox Request For more information on shared mailboxes, please refer to the following link. Shared Mailbox Information - UCF IT Knowledge Base

Secondary Option:

For the rare cases where shared mailboxes are not appropriate or feasible, one can keep work and school emails organized and separated within their mailbox folders.

Using Outlook Web (Outlook on the Web)

Step 1: Create a Folder for Work or School Emails

  1. Login UCF Email account https://mail.ucf.edu/
  2. In the left pane, hover over Folders
  3. Click Inbox (…) and Create New Subfolder
  4. Enter a name for your folder (Work or School) and press Enter
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  5. Sort incoming emails into the appropriate folder or create a rule to automatically accomplish this task via step two.

Step 2: To Create a Rule for Incoming Messages:

  1. Go to https://mail.ucf.edu and log in.
  2. In the top right, click the Settings (gear icon).
  3. Click "View all Outlook settings" at the bottom.
  4. Select Mail > Rules.
  5. Click + Add new rule.
  6. Give your rule a name, like “Work Emails” or “School Emails.”
  7. Under Add a condition, select criteria such as:
    • From → Enter the email address or domain (e.g., @ucf.edu for work)
    • Subject includes → For filtering specific keywords
  8. Under Add an action, choose Move to and select the folder you created for Work or School.
  9. Click Save.

    ⚠️     Note: Outlook on the Web does not support rules for sent (outgoing) messages. If you need rules for sent mail, please use the Outlook desktop app.

Using Outlook Desktop Application (Windows/Mac)

To help separate work and school email activities, Outlook desktop allows you to set up rules for both incoming and outgoing messages.

Step 1: Create a Folder for Work or School Emails

  1. Open Outlook desktop app.
  2. In the left pane, right-click on your email account or "Inbox".
  3. Select "New Folder"
  4. Name it (e.g., "Work or School")
  5. Press Enter.

Step 2: Create a Rule to Move Work or School Emails for Incoming Messages:

  1. Go to the Home tab.
  1. Click Rules > Manage Rules & Alerts.
  2. In the Email Rules tab, click New Rule.
  3. Choose "Move messages from someone to a folder" or start from a blank rule for more advanced conditions.
  4. Specify conditions (e.g., sender’s address, subject line).
  5. Select the folder you created for Work or School.
  6. Finish the rule setup and click Apply.
  7. For more detailed instructions on setting up or customizing rules in Outlook, please refer to the official Microsoft documentation. Set up rules in Outlook - Microsoft Support

Step 3: To Create a Rule for Outgoing (Sent) Messages:

  1. Create a Folder for Work or School Emails. See Step 1 above.
  2. In Outlook, go to File > Manage Rules & Alerts.
  3. Click New Rule.
  4. Under Start from a blank rule, choose "Apply rule on messages I send".
  5. Set your conditions (e.g., if the message is sent to a faculty member or has “UCF Work” in the subject).
  6. Choose the action, such as "move a copy to the specified folder".
  7. Select the Work or School folder.
  8. Click Finish, then Apply.
  9. For more detailed instructions on setting up or customizing rules in Outlook, please refer to the official Microsoft documentation. Set up rules in Outlook - Microsoft Support