Rules Tester

CodeTwo Exchange Rules Pro comes with a feature called the Rules Tester. It is designed to allow you to test your rules on virtual emails, so that you can check what happens when a rule is applied to a message without actually sending it. In the Rules Tester, one can modify several message parameters such as message format (HTML, RTF, Plain Text), formatting, attachments, senders, recipients, inserted images, tables, etc.

Important

You do not need to save your changes using the Submit changes button before you open the Rules tester - it always takes your current configuration into account. The only situation when you need to Submit changes is when you are changing your dictionaries used in e.g. the Remove sensitive content action, or if you need to reset the loop protection counter in the Auto respond action.

To open the Rules Tester, click the proper button on the toolbar (Fig. 1.).

Fig. 1. Opening the Rules Tester.

The Rules Tester looks and works in a similar way to Microsoft Outlook. The left pane shows a list of virtual test mailboxes and by default contains five mailboxes.

Tip

Please note that while creating a new message you may select recipients either from one of the predefined test mailboxes or pick one from your domain's Active Directory (Fig. 2.).

Fig. 2. Choosing recipients.

The central pane shows a list of messages that are present in a particular folder (Inbox, Sent Items, Drafts) of a selected mailbox. The right pane is used to preview the messages from the central pane (Fig. 3.).

Fig. 3. Preview of a chosen message.

To send a test email, choose one of the predefined mailboxes and click the New button. A new message window will appear (Fig. 4.).

Fig. 4. A window for composing test messages.

Tip

You can change the mailbox from which the message will be sent by clicking the From field.

Next, choose a recipient of the message via the To button. Additionally, you may also add recipients in the CC field.

Tip

You can define more than just one recipient for a single message. To select a recipient, click To and choose a user from the recently used recipients, from your Active Directory or provide an email address manually.

Next, in the Subject field provide the subject of your message and compose the message body. The toolbar of a new message provides several options. You can change the look of the font, set the format of the message (HTML, RTF or Plain Text) or add other elements such as images or tables (Fig. 5.). As some of your rules may be executed only in particular periods of time, you can also simulate the date when your message is sent.

Fig. 5. Options for composing a message.

Once you finish composing the message, click Send. If the senders and/or recipients included in the test message do not have mailboxes in the Mailbox list pane, these mailboxes will automatically be created.

Now select the recipient's inbox and check if the message you sent looks as intended. In addition, you can track how the message is processed by CodeTwo Exchange Rules Pro and how the rules are applied. Right-click the message in the inbox of the recipient and choose Processing Trace or use the button located on the toolbar. (Fig. 6.).

Fig. 6. Opening the Processing trace feature for a message.

The Email processing trace window (Fig. 7.) opens in a new browser tab and contains a list of the processed rules and actions executed on the message.

Fig. 7. Processing trace report opened in a browser.

To remove a mailbox or a message from the Rules tester, highlight it and click the Remove button on the ribbon.

See next

Server Monitor - this article describes how to manage the access rights of users who use the Administration Panel to control the program.