How to import and export rules in Outlook?

Author: Kelly Last Modified: 2025-04-08

Want to replicate your Outlook rules on another computer or import rules shared by others? This guide walks you through the step-by-step process of efficiently exporting your Outlook rules to an independent file and importing them back into Outlook on any device.

Export and import rules as .rwz file

Export and import rules as .xml file

Export and import rules as .rwz file

The following steps will walk you through importing and exporting the rules in Microsoft Outlook.

Step 1: Shift to the Mail view by clicking the "Mail" in the Navigation Pane.

Step 2: Open the Rules and Alerts dialog box:

Click "Rules" > "Manage Rules & Alerts" in the "Move" group on the "Home" tab.

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Step 3: Click the "Options" on the "E-mail Rules" tab. See the following screenshot:

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Step 4: Now the Options dialog box will come out, click Export Rules | Import Rules to continue exporting rules or importing rules.

Export rules from Microsoft Outlook

If you need to export rules from Microsoft Outlook, please click the "Export Rules" button in the "Options" dialog box.

Then in the Save Exported Rules dialog box, open a folder to save the exported file first; secondly enter a name for the exported file in the "File name:" box, and last click the "Save" button.

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Import rules into Microsoft Outlook

If you want to import rules into Microsoft Outlook, please click the "Import Rules" button in the Options dialog box.
And then in the Import Rules dialog box, firstly find out and select a .rwz file, and then click the "Open" button.

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Step 5: Click the "OK" buttons in each dialog box.

Export and import rules as .xml file

If you have "Kutools for Outlook" installed, its Junk feature simplifies exporting and importing rules:

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Step 1: Install Kutools for Outlook and navigate to "Kutools" > "Junk" > "Manage Junk Email Filter".

Step 2: Click the "Export" button, choose a folder to save the file, name the file, and click "Save".

Your rules are now exported as an XML file.

To import rules, repeat Step 1 and click the "Import" button in the Junk dialog. Select the saved XML file and click "Open" to import the rules seamlessly.