How to simplify rules

[runninglate]

I have used Outlook for many years and many versions, and use rules to move incoming emails to topical folders, and copy outgoing email to the topical folders. I now have 117 rules which seems like too many. I am trying to consolidate them, but many of the were created from the outlook email pane by right clicking on the email, choosing rules, then "always move..." which works fine but winds up establishing a separate rule for every email address. As an example, I have multiple rules from emails with the from Display Name "American Airlines", but I would like all of them in a single folder. I'd like to use one rule to move all emails from various AA addresses to the proper folder. Adding a rule this way from the email pane does not add the email address to my contacts or address book, but seems to put it in Rule Addresses and when I examine the rule and click on the Display Name e.g. "American Airlines" I get a menu labeled "Email Properties" which shows the email address. To consolidate two AA rules into one I wind up creating an address with the Display name "American Airlines" and the email address, then going into rules and adding this to my existing rule. I need to be cautious because sometimes email addresses don't clue you in on the Display Name and make sure I add the Displauy As (email address) Display Name e.g. no-reply@info.email.aa.com(AA2)'

Is there a simpler way to combine existing rules? Is there a best practive limit on the number of rules to use?

 

[BraveLeo]

I have used Outlook for many years and many versions, and use rules to move incoming emails to topical folders, and copy outgoing email to the topical folders. I now have 117 rules which seems like too many. I am trying to consolidate them, but many of the were created from the outlook email pane by right clicking on the email, choosing rules, then "always move..." which works fine but winds up establishing a separate rule for every email address. As an example, I have multiple rules from emails with the from Display Name "American Airlines", but I would like all of them in a single folder. I'd like to use one rule to move all emails from various AA addresses to the proper folder. Adding a rule this way from the email pane does not add the email address to my contacts or address book, but seems to put it in Rule Addresses and when I examine the rule and click on the Display Name e.g. "American Airlines" I get a menu labeled "Email Properties" which shows the email address. To consolidate two AA rules into one I wind up creating an address with the Display name "American Airlines" and the email address, then going into rules and adding this to my existing rule. I need to be cautious because sometimes email addresses don't clue you in on the Display Name and make sure I add the Displauy As (email address) Display Name e.g. no-reply@info.email.aa.com(AA2)'

Is there a simpler way to combine existing rules? Is there a best practive limit on the number of rules to use?

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[PhilBurton]

Or better yet, is there a third-party tool (or utility) to edit Outlook rules outside of Outlook itself. Within Outlook, rules creation and editing is quite cumbersome.