Help Centre › Building Processes
This article describes the RPA Outlook functionality to wait for an e-mail.
For a full list of available functions, please read OUTLOOK functions.
Description
The OUTLOOK Wait for e-mail function polls the inbox (or a specified folder) until an e-mail matching the given criteria arrives, or until the timeout is reached. This is useful for automation workflows that depend on receiving a specific e-mail before proceeding.
Setting it up
To use the OUTLOOK Wait for e-mail function, follow these instructions:
{{popups:rpas/add:action=outlook-wait-for-email}}
Once on a process map:
- Navigate to the process where you would like to add the OUTLOOK Wait for e-mail function
- Click on the green button's drop-down (right side of the green button labelled "Process")
- On the menu that appears, click on the "+ Activity" item
- From here you can select the OUTLOOK Wait for e-mail option
- Click "Add" once you are done
Input parameters
| Parameter | Required | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Variable | Yes | Text | - | Variable to store the matched e-mail data |
| Folder | No | Text | Inbox | Folder to monitor |
| Timeout (seconds) | No | Text | 300 | Maximum seconds to wait |
| Poll interval (seconds) | No | Text | 10 | Seconds between each poll check |
| Subject filter | No | Text | - | Subject substring to match |
| Sender filter | No | Text | - | Sender name or e-mail to match |
| Has attachments | No | Switch | Off | Only match e-mails with attachments |
| Unread only | No | Switch | Off | Only match unread e-mails |
| AI match description | No | Text | - | Natural language description for AI semantic matching |
Output variables
| Variable | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Variable | Dictionary | The matched e-mail data including subject, sender, body, date, id, and attachments |
Errors
| Error | Description |
|---|---|
| Outlook not open | Outlook is not running |
| Timeout | No matching e-mail arrived within the timeout period |
| Folder not found | The specified folder does not exist |
Tips
- Use the AI match description for complex matching like "the approval email from finance"
- Combine subject and sender filters for precise matching
- Set a reasonable timeout to avoid blocking your process indefinitely
- Use a longer poll interval to reduce system load