How to Generate Outlook Inbox Rules for One Role
Inbox-rule prompts fail by inventing a filing system. They create folders you do not have, auto-delete newsletters, and forward VIP mail to an address that is not yours. You apply the rules. Mail vanishes. The job is a rule map for one role, matching folders named in Inputs, with nothing auto-deleted unless you said so.
The matching generator is the Outlook Inbox Rules for One Role prompt. Browse related cards in the PromptDig library (Browse more prompts). When a filled run survives, share the version you actually use (Share a prompt).
One role, named folders, named pains. Not a life admin OS.
Workflow is the job: PM, EA, support lead. Tools: Outlook desktop, Outlook on the web, or Microsoft 365. If the version is unnamed, write unknown and keep rule actions to the common set (move, mark, categorize, notify).
Fields I actually have: folder names that already exist, VIP senders, distribution lists, keywords. Cadence: how often you want to empty Focused or the inbox. Pain today: FYI noise, calendar noise, a list that should skip the inbox. Do not automate: never auto-delete, never auto-forward off-tenant, never file mail from a named VIP, anything in DoNot.
Rule map, then rules you can type, with a sample that is not PII
Schema: a table of trigger, exception, action, destination folder. Destination folders must be in Fields. If a needed folder is missing, list it under Gaps as "create folder X" rather than pretending it exists.
Configurable artifact: each rule in an order (stop processing or not). Categories only if you named them. A sample: "mail from list ops-weekly goes to folder FYI." Use example.com addresses, not a colleague's real mailbox.
Do not emit Power Automate flows unless Tools said so. Do not emit registry keys. Version-lock: if you only have Outlook on the web, skip client-only actions and say so.
Maintenance: review rules when you change roles, disable not delete at first, keep a catch-all that does not hide unread VIP mail.
Exceptions are the product. Gaps are missing folders, not new senders.
Every rule needs an exception for people in Inputs who must stay in the inbox. If you named no VIP, say "no VIP exception specified" rather than inventing your CEO's address.
Gaps: missing folder list, missing client vs web, missing whether Focused Inbox is on, missing keywords, missing shared mailbox vs primary. De-identify pasted headers. This is not legal holds advice. If DoNot said never file from Legal, that exception is mandatory.
The map should be shorter than your current unread count. Ten rules you understand beat forty the model was proud of.
A worked pass: FYI list moves, Legal never does
Role: PM. Folders that exist: Inbox, FYI, Calendar noise. VIP: none named except "never file from Legal" in DoNot. Pain: a weekly ops list.
Rule 1: from that list, move to FYI, except if subject contains Legal. Rule 2: calendar-only notifications to Calendar noise, with exception for holds you named. No auto-delete. No new folder called Vendors. If Vendors would help, Gaps say "create folder Vendors" and stop.
Order: VIP and Legal exceptions before bulk moves. Client vs web: if unknown, stick to move and mark-as-read only if you asked for mark-as-read. Do not mark unread FYI as read unless you said so. Apply after the folders exist. Then watch for a week with rules disabled-able, not with mail already gone.
Fill the card, then run
Paste the folders that already exist, the lists that hurt, and what must never be filed away. Then run it and create any missing folder by hand before you click Apply.
Workflow / role: [Workflow]
Tools (Outlook client / web / version if known): [Tools]
Fields I actually have (folders, VIPs, lists): [Fields]
Cadence: [Cadence]
Pain today: [Pain]
Do not automate: [DoNot]
Rules are sharp. When a run refuses auto-delete and will not invent a Legal folder, share that filled card. That is the map you can type into Outlook without losing a thread you still owe a human.