Where are Outlook "Rules" stored?

[Nick]

I'm running Outlook 2016 under Windows 10.

I have a number of email accounts linked into my Outlook profile. One of them is an Outlook.com address.

I recently received a (genuine) email from MS telling me to delete and reinstall the Outlook.com address in my profile to ensure continued mail delivery after recent software updates. I duly did that. No problem.

Except that all my Outlook "Rules" disappeared! The ones that automatically allocated incoming mail to categories, folders and the like. I now have to reconstruct them, which is rather tedious..  Needless to say, there was no obvious warning that this was about to occur. It did warn me that it would delete the Outlook.com email address's .ost message file, but I wasn't bothered about that, as all my messages on that address are either still on Outlook.com, or stored in a personal folders file.

Does anyone know where the Rules are stored (the .ost file??), and if there's any way that I could have preserved them across this change?

[cjdodd]

I think it might be too late now but look here for future reference

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Import-or-export-a-set-of-rules-f54b5bd2-40e0-426e-9f25-e51fa14eeb95

[cjdodd]

They are stored in the PST/OST file but there is no easy way to import them. There is an app called PSTWalker that I think can do it, but even then it's a bit of a hack.

[Nick]

Thanks for that link. It appears from it that I could have exported the rules.

Something to bear in mind next time, I suppose.

[Ian Bowden]

If you have a back up of your system, create a new backup, restore from the pre change backup, export the files then restore to present and import settings.

[Nick]

If you have a back up of your system, create a new backup, restore from the pre change backup, export the files then restore to present and import settings.

That did cross my mind, but I didn't think it was worth the time and effort as compared with just plodding my way through re-establishing the Rules in the odd few minutes here and there. It gives me an opportunity to rethink them as I go through as well.

I just wanted to avoid falling in the same hole twice if possible!