Forum Discussion
Run rule now is grayed out
My rules in Outlook are grayed out again. The part of manual execution. And this status has been remained for at least 3 days. I encountered this circumstance before like few months ago and here we go again.
My account is personal account (Outlook.com).
When I use Microsoft Outlook for Mac, Version 16.101 (25091314), to see my rules and wanna execute one of the rules, it's greyed out, a.k.a, cannot be executed.
When I open a browser, say Edge, (Version 140.0.3485.66 (Official build) (arm64)), the same status as well.
My findings so far:
- All of rules that will categorize email cannot be executed manually now.
- Rules that will delete emails can be executed manually.
- It's manual execution that won't work. Coming emails will still be categorized by the rules automatically.
Any clue how to solve this? Or somewhere is wrong internally in the system so far?
Microsoft engineers have confirmed a bug with “Run Rules Now” in New Outlook.
Updated as of November 18, 2025: For now, rules that use these actions won’t run (see the blog post Why “Run Rules Now” is Greyed Out in New Outlook TRACCreations4E for details and timelines):
- Forward To
- Forward As an Attachment To
- Redirect To
- Send Text Message To
- Display Desktop Alert
- Play a Sound
Also, the following actions were temporarily disabled during their investigation. Resolved on Friday, September 26.- Categorize
- Move To
- Copy To
If you found this helpful, please mark it as the best response to assist others.
#traccreations4e-r25 updated reponse 11/18/2025
original response 9/24/2025
20 Replies
How is this marked as resolved? It's October 7th and I still can't run rules now. Forget the fact that ALL of my rules disappeared, setting them up is pointless if I can't run them.
Same issue here!
A potential workaround could involve the desktop client downloading rules directly from the online account, enabling users to run rules locally.
Additionally, the offline client already offers an "export/import rules" option, which would be a valuable addition to the online client, allowing users to export and import rules individually.
*On a more ambitious note, a universal coding language for all major mail providers to manage rules could address common use cases, such as conditional forwarding or categorization, found across providers.
What you’re seeing is expected behavior for Outlook.com accounts: rules that categorize, flag, or move emails can often only run automatically on incoming messages. Manual execution is limited for some types of rules, especially category or flag-based ones—this is by design in Outlook.com and the web interface.
A few tips to work around it:
Check rule type
- Rules that delete, move, or forward can usually be run manually.
- Rules that categorize or flag typically cannot be executed manually in Outlook.com.
Use Outlook desktop (Windows)
- If possible, on Outlook for Windows, rules are more flexible and allow manual execution for a wider range of actions.
Alternative workaround
- Temporarily modify the rule to perform a “move” action instead of just categorizing; then you can run it manually. Once applied, you can revert the action.
In short, your rules aren’t broken—it’s just a limitation of Outlook.com/manual execution for certain rule types. Automatic processing for incoming mail will still work as intended.
Microsoft engineers have confirmed a bug with “Run Rules Now” in New Outlook.
Updated as of November 18, 2025: For now, rules that use these actions won’t run (see the blog post Why “Run Rules Now” is Greyed Out in New Outlook TRACCreations4E for details and timelines):
- Forward To
- Forward As an Attachment To
- Redirect To
- Send Text Message To
- Display Desktop Alert
- Play a Sound
Also, the following actions were temporarily disabled during their investigation. Resolved on Friday, September 26.- Categorize
- Move To
- Copy To
If you found this helpful, please mark it as the best response to assist others.
#traccreations4e-r25 updated reponse 11/18/2025
original response 9/24/2025I could run rules manually around after the date you mentioned, yet I cannot run rules again now 0.0
What we can do at the moment is waiting for the estimated recovering time point. And thanks for the information. It doesn't resolve the issue yet it gives a light regarding what's going on out there for 'Run Rules Now'.
same
following topic as we have the same issue
I'm experiencing the same issue. 😕
What you're seeing is a limitation in how rules work with Outlook.com accounts on Outlook for Mac
Exact same here
Anyone has update ??? I am seeing the same issue. Run Rule Now is grayed out.
