power automate for moving inbox mails to specified folders in office365.com

(0) Share

Report

Posted on by Christian-Kl

I need to create mail rules, in order to organize my inbox in office365.com.

Since I can not find in office365.com any of the rules that are in the Outlook app,

I was recommended to purchase Power Automate.

My questions are:

1) I have tried, and failed to set up such a rule. Is there any rule wizard, or easy way to do it?

2) It seems like overkill, to purchase the Power Automate subscription, just for the purpose of organizing the mail inbox.

Are there any alternative solutions?

Thank you for your time

Chris

Categories:

Governance & administering

All responses (6)

Answers (1)

Sort by

Verified answer

BCBuizer 22,899 Super User 2026 Season 2 on at

Like
a
(1)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

Agreed it's total overkill to get power automate just for this purpose.

Outlook online provides the options to set up rules: Rightclick on the mail, select "Advanced Actions" and then "Create Rules":
joe_hannes_col 1,843 Super User 2024 Season 1 on at

Like
a
(0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

I agree with @BCBuizer that using rules is probably best in your situation.

However, if you have an Office 365 subscription, @Christian-Kl, you very likely already have the license to use Power Apps and Power Automate in the context of Office 365. Meaning: A flow that would move emails from your inbox to another folder would not require an extra Power Automate license. If you want to learn how to use Power Automate to organize your inbox, feel free to share the problems you've run into.
Christian-Kl 6 on at

Like
a
(0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

Hi BC and Joe!

You guys are a lifesaver! The answer was there all along.
That same rule feature in the Outlook app, also exists in O365 as well. (I had a feeling it did)

For the past 3 days, various agents from Microsoft, (in both sales and technical side), did not tell me
it existed, and so I got pushed over to power automation.

By the way, if my subscription gives me access to power apps, then it looks like something I would be interested in learning more about. However, I am completely new to this game. Risking the embarrassment of asking a no-brainer, could you tell me if I understand it correctly? Put crudely, would power apps be kind of like highly sophisticated Macros across all the online O365 products, that automate a series of repetitious tasks?

Christian Kl
joe_hannes_col 1,843 Super User 2024 Season 1 on at

Like
a
(1)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

Hello @Christian-Kl,

Great to hear your issue is resolved. Could you please mark @BCBuizer's reply as the solution?
There are multiple tools in the Microsoft Power Platform. Power Apps is used to create user interface that can span 300+ software products and services. You can put logic into your user interfaces, very much like macros in VBA.
The technology to use for background processes is Power Automate. Using Power Automate, you can create flows that will automatically run repetitive tasks - on demand or triggered automatically, e.g. when a file or an entry in a database is created.
If you're interested, there's great things you can do! I'd suggest trying one of the sample apps or walking through one of the countless tutorials, e.g. by Microsoft: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powerapps/maker/
Happy app and flow making!
BCBuizer 22,899 Super User 2026 Season 2 on at

Like
a
(0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

As per the MS licensing information (Licensing overview for Microsoft Power Platform - Power Platform | Microsoft Docs)

I'd say Power Automate indeed does what you describe about automating repetitive tasks across all connected platforms/services (ie. connectors).
Christian-Kl 6 on at

Like
a
(0)

Report
Copy link

Link copied!

Hi guys

Okay, I marked it as the solution.
(Thanks again! My nose will be in the flow tutorials from now!)

Christian