# How Rules are Stored and Processed

By default, inbound rules are stored in the rules.ima file. Since inbound rules can be created for mail hosts, users, and mailing lists, there can be multiple rules.ima files on your IMail Server system. The location of the rules.ima file, differs depending on whether the rule is for a mail host, a user, or a list server mailing list.

- For a mail host, the rules.ima file is located in the mail host's folder.

- For a user, the rules.ima file is located in the user's folder.

- For a list server mailing list, the rules.ima file is stored in the list's folder.

Outbound processing rules are stored in the orules.ima file. Since only mail hosts can create outbound rules, the orule.ima file is located in the mail host's folder. If you have more than one mail host on your IMail Server system, you may have multiple orules.ima files, one file for each host.

IMail Server reads the rules.ima and orules.ima files during the processing process. The rule files for the virtual host are evaluated first, and then the rules for users and lists. See also Processing Order.

Any rules.ima or orules.ima file can be copied to other directories. For example, if you create processing rules for one user, you can copy the rules.ima file to the directories of other users to apply the same rules to them.

Related Topics

Overview of Processing Rules

Rule Syntax