re :some e-mails that i would like to automatically forward

Auto filters work only on new incoming mail received to Inbox. They perform the filtering at the time of being downloaded before you get to read the emails. What is the common thing about those emails you want to auto forward because that will be the condition the filter needs to know.

If you want to read the emails first and then decide you want to forward several emails to your wife. You could use a filter which when invoked manually will forward specific 'Tagged' emails to another email address. So you would need to create a TAG for this. Then apply the TAG to emails. Then use the filter to forward all of those TAGGED emails.

In order to advise you further, I would need to know whether you want emails auto fowarded at time of download, before you read them. In which case what is the common identifier about those emails?

If you need to read them first and select specific emails to forward using a filter you manually invoke please let me know.

Perhaps my problem is that I am trying to use wildcards as the part of the e-mail address before the @ i.e. *@xyz.com. Is this not possible or is there another way?

wildcards are not allowed... use "contains" instead of "is" and only enter the fixed part.

Thanks Matt!