Automating dealing with junk mail and spam
 

I am using Outlook 2003.

Firstly, I regularly program VBA macros in Excel. Like many users of VBA, I
originally learned to program Excel macros, from a start point of some
familiarity with the Basic language and with VB, by recording macros and then
reading the results. It is thus a little disappointing that Outlook does not
include the facility to record macros. This is a feature that should be added
sooner rather than later.

I would like to automate dealing with junk mail and spam mail. Reading the
Outlook VBA help I can find no mention of how to access the Blocked Senders
list within Outlook VBA. It does not appear to be listed as a collection in
the language reference. I would like to be able to retrieve items from the
list, edit items and add new ones, all within a VBA macro.

My basic idea is that I can auto detect mail in the spam folder, add the
sender to the blocked senders list, edit the entry to leave just the domain
name so that all mail from that domain is blocked and then auto delete the
mail. Similarly I can auto delete mail in the junk mail folder. Finally, I
can similarly treat junk and spam that makes it into my inbox by simply right
clicking on the mail and selecting an item from the context pop-up menu.

Is any of this possible? Can anyone help?

--

Best regards

Ken

Automating dealing with junk mail and spam
 

None of this is possible. The Blocked Senders list is not exposed in the Outlook object model. That's why you find no reference to it. It is stored as a hidden item in the user's default information store, in an undocumented binary format.

The Office programs that have macro recorders are in the minority. It's been years since any new recorder was added, probably because applications are much more complex than the early versions of Excel, etc. I don't expect macro recorders ever to be added to Office programs that don't already have them.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.turtleflock.com/olconfig/index.htm
and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/jumpstart.aspx

"Silent Ken" wrote in message ...
I am using Outlook 2003.

Firstly, I regularly program VBA macros in Excel. Like many users of VBA, I
originally learned to program Excel macros, from a start point of some
familiarity with the Basic language and with VB, by recording macros and then
reading the results. It is thus a little disappointing that Outlook does not
include the facility to record macros. This is a feature that should be added
sooner rather than later.

I would like to automate dealing with junk mail and spam mail. Reading the
Outlook VBA help I can find no mention of how to access the Blocked Senders
list within Outlook VBA. It does not appear to be listed as a collection in
the language reference. I would like to be able to retrieve items from the
list, edit items and add new ones, all within a VBA macro.

My basic idea is that I can auto detect mail in the spam folder, add the
sender to the blocked senders list, edit the entry to leave just the domain
name so that all mail from that domain is blocked and then auto delete the
mail. Similarly I can auto delete mail in the junk mail folder. Finally, I
can similarly treat junk and spam that makes it into my inbox by simply right
clicking on the mail and selecting an item from the context pop-up menu.

Is any of this possible? Can anyone help?

--

Best regards

Ken

Automating dealing with junk mail and spam
 

Thankyou Sue. Needless to say, your answer is disappointing to me. But there
is no doubting that it is the full and definitive answer. At least I know not
to waste any more time trying to achieve it. I shall have to stick to the
laborious method.

A pox on all spammers and junk mail distributors!


--

Best regards

Ken


"Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]" wrote:

None of this is possible. The Blocked Senders list is not exposed in the Outlook object model. That's why you find no reference to it. It is stored as a hidden item in the user's default information store, in an undocumented binary format.

The Office programs that have macro recorders are in the minority. It's been years since any new recorder was added, probably because applications are much more complex than the early versions of Excel, etc. I don't expect macro recorders ever to be added to Office programs that don't already have them.

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.turtleflock.com/olconfig/index.htm
and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/jumpstart.aspx

"Silent Ken" wrote in message ...
I am using Outlook 2003.

Firstly, I regularly program VBA macros in Excel. Like many users of VBA, I
originally learned to program Excel macros, from a start point of some
familiarity with the Basic language and with VB, by recording macros and then
reading the results. It is thus a little disappointing that Outlook does not
include the facility to record macros. This is a feature that should be added
sooner rather than later.

I would like to automate dealing with junk mail and spam mail. Reading the
Outlook VBA help I can find no mention of how to access the Blocked Senders
list within Outlook VBA. It does not appear to be listed as a collection in
the language reference. I would like to be able to retrieve items from the
list, edit items and add new ones, all within a VBA macro.

My basic idea is that I can auto detect mail in the spam folder, add the
sender to the blocked senders list, edit the entry to leave just the domain
name so that all mail from that domain is blocked and then auto delete the
mail. Similarly I can auto delete mail in the junk mail folder. Finally, I
can similarly treat junk and spam that makes it into my inbox by simply right
clicking on the mail and selecting an item from the context pop-up menu.

Is any of this possible? Can anyone help?

--

Best regards

Ken

Automating dealing with junk mail and spam
 

I find dealing with the blocked senders list to be a total waste of time, since spammer addresses and domains change by the minute, and certainly not worth the extra effort beyond simply deleting the messages. If the Outlook junk filter isn't doing the job you want, maybe it's time to try another tool, such as SpamBayes?

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.turtleflock.com/olconfig/index.htm
and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/jumpstart.aspx

"Silent Ken" wrote in message ...

Thankyou Sue. Needless to say, your answer is disappointing to me. But there
is no doubting that it is the full and definitive answer. At least I know not
to waste any more time trying to achieve it. I shall have to stick to the
laborious method.

A pox on all spammers and junk mail distributors!

"Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]" wrote:

None of this is possible. The Blocked Senders list is not exposed in the Outlook object model. That's why you find no reference to it. It is stored as a hidden item in the user's default information store, in an undocumented binary format.

The Office programs that have macro recorders are in the minority. It's been years since any new recorder was added, probably because applications are much more complex than the early versions of Excel, etc. I don't expect macro recorders ever to be added to Office programs that don't already have them.


"Silent Ken" wrote in message ...
I am using Outlook 2003.

Firstly, I regularly program VBA macros in Excel. Like many users of VBA, I
originally learned to program Excel macros, from a start point of some
familiarity with the Basic language and with VB, by recording macros and then
reading the results. It is thus a little disappointing that Outlook does not
include the facility to record macros. This is a feature that should be added
sooner rather than later.

I would like to automate dealing with junk mail and spam mail. Reading the
Outlook VBA help I can find no mention of how to access the Blocked Senders
list within Outlook VBA. It does not appear to be listed as a collection in
the language reference. I would like to be able to retrieve items from the
list, edit items and add new ones, all within a VBA macro.

My basic idea is that I can auto detect mail in the spam folder, add the
sender to the blocked senders list, edit the entry to leave just the domain
name so that all mail from that domain is blocked and then auto delete the
mail. Similarly I can auto delete mail in the junk mail folder. Finally, I
can similarly treat junk and spam that makes it into my inbox by simply right
clicking on the mail and selecting an item from the context pop-up menu.

Is any of this possible? Can anyone help?

--

Best regards

Ken

Automating dealing with junk mail and spam
 

Thanks again Sue. I shall investigate the tool you mention, but I must say
that I find the blocked senders list more effective than you suggest. I find
that it tends to come in waves. After a period of getting e-mails in my spam
folder and making sure I add each domain name to the blocked senders list, I
then get a significant period when all junk is correctly filtered direct into
the junk mail folder from where I can delete it quickly and easily. (I'm not
sure why Outlook doesn't provide the option to set up to just automatically
delete junk e-mail - and I mean delete all together, not just move in to the
delete folder. I realise some might not want to exercise this option, but I
would. I have never yet experienced an occasion of getting a genuine e-mail
in my spam or junk mail folder.) After a period of time, I then get a new
phase of e-mails appearing in the spam folder, but my blocked senders list
grows and I soon get back to the correct filtering of junk mail. I should
point out that I maintain my blocked senders list by manually editing all
entries down to just the at symbol and the domain name, so that all e-mails
from that domain are filtered. Of course, what I was trying to achieve was
making the whole business of dealing with junk mail and spam utterly
transparent to me. It's a shame that isn't possible.


--

Best regards

Ken


"Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]" wrote:

I find dealing with the blocked senders list to be a total waste of time, since spammer addresses and domains change by the minute, and certainly not worth the extra effort beyond simply deleting the messages. If the Outlook junk filter isn't doing the job you want, maybe it's time to try another tool, such as SpamBayes?

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.turtleflock.com/olconfig/index.htm
and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/jumpstart.aspx

"Silent Ken" wrote in message ...

Thankyou Sue. Needless to say, your answer is disappointing to me. But there
is no doubting that it is the full and definitive answer. At least I know not
to waste any more time trying to achieve it. I shall have to stick to the
laborious method.

A pox on all spammers and junk mail distributors!

"Sue Mosher [MVP-Outlook]" wrote:

None of this is possible. The Blocked Senders list is not exposed in the Outlook object model. That's why you find no reference to it. It is stored as a hidden item in the user's default information store, in an undocumented binary format.

The Office programs that have macro recorders are in the minority. It's been years since any new recorder was added, probably because applications are much more complex than the early versions of Excel, etc. I don't expect macro recorders ever to be added to Office programs that don't already have them.


"Silent Ken" wrote in message ...
I am using Outlook 2003.

Firstly, I regularly program VBA macros in Excel. Like many users of VBA, I
originally learned to program Excel macros, from a start point of some
familiarity with the Basic language and with VB, by recording macros and then
reading the results. It is thus a little disappointing that Outlook does not
include the facility to record macros. This is a feature that should be added
sooner rather than later.

I would like to automate dealing with junk mail and spam mail. Reading the
Outlook VBA help I can find no mention of how to access the Blocked Senders
list within Outlook VBA. It does not appear to be listed as a collection in
the language reference. I would like to be able to retrieve items from the
list, edit items and add new ones, all within a VBA macro.

My basic idea is that I can auto detect mail in the spam folder, add the
sender to the blocked senders list, edit the entry to leave just the domain
name so that all mail from that domain is blocked and then auto delete the
mail. Similarly I can auto delete mail in the junk mail folder. Finally, I
can similarly treat junk and spam that makes it into my inbox by simply right
clicking on the mail and selecting an item from the context pop-up menu.

Is any of this possible? Can anyone help?

--

Best regards

Ken

Automating dealing with junk mail and spam
 

Dear Sue,

we have a Spam Filter that moves all incoming spam to a special
email account. A colleague should read all this - if there is
a "not spam" email and forward it to the right receipient.
We have more than 2000 spam emails each day...

So, my colleague moves spam to a subfolder "definitely spam".
I run a AutoIt makro to add the latest addresses to the
blocked senders of the Outlook 2003 Junk filter.
This reduces the SPAM in the INBOX 4 times!

But the handling with a external makro is difficult.
I'm also very interessted in a solution to handle
Junk with Outlook Macros.
Maybe you find a solution? Could you publish, if you find,
under http://www.outlookcode.com - Samples ?

Your Outlook Jumpstart book is wonderfull.

Greetings
Markus Wasse

"Silent Ken" wrote:

I am using Outlook 2003.

Firstly, I regularly program VBA macros in Excel. Like many users of VBA, I
originally learned to program Excel macros, from a start point of some
familiarity with the Basic language and with VB, by recording macros and then
reading the results. It is thus a little disappointing that Outlook does not
include the facility to record macros. This is a feature that should be added
sooner rather than later.

I would like to automate dealing with junk mail and spam mail. Reading the
Outlook VBA help I can find no mention of how to access the Blocked Senders
list within Outlook VBA. It does not appear to be listed as a collection in
the language reference. I would like to be able to retrieve items from the
list, edit items and add new ones, all within a VBA macro.

My basic idea is that I can auto detect mail in the spam folder, add the
sender to the blocked senders list, edit the entry to leave just the domain
name so that all mail from that domain is blocked and then auto delete the
mail. Similarly I can auto delete mail in the junk mail folder. Finally, I
can similarly treat junk and spam that makes it into my inbox by simply right
clicking on the mail and selecting an item from the context pop-up menu.

Is any of this possible? Can anyone help?

--

Best regards

Ken

Automating dealing with junk mail and spam
 

But the handling with a external makro is difficult.

I don't know what you mean by an external macro. Or what's difficult.

I'm also very interessted in a solution to handle
Junk with Outlook Macros.

Handle in what way?

Glad you like the book!

--
Sue Mosher, Outlook MVP
Author of Configuring Microsoft Outlook 2003
http://www.turtleflock.com/olconfig/index.htm
and Microsoft Outlook Programming - Jumpstart for
Administrators, Power Users, and Developers
http://www.outlookcode.com/jumpstart.aspx

"mawasse" wrote in message ...
Dear Sue,

we have a Spam Filter that moves all incoming spam to a special
email account. A colleague should read all this - if there is
a "not spam" email and forward it to the right receipient.
We have more than 2000 spam emails each day...

So, my colleague moves spam to a subfolder "definitely spam".
I run a AutoIt makro to add the latest addresses to the
blocked senders of the Outlook 2003 Junk filter.
This reduces the SPAM in the INBOX 4 times!

But the handling with a external makro is difficult.
I'm also very interessted in a solution to handle
Junk with Outlook Macros.
Maybe you find a solution? Could you publish, if you find,
under http://www.outlookcode.com - Samples ?

Your Outlook Jumpstart book is wonderfull.