Reference number: CH000596

How to create an out of office reply in Microsoft Outlook.

Question:

How to create an out of office reply in Microsoft Outlook

Answer:

Microsoft Outlook has a feature known as Out of Office Assistant. This feature enables a user to have e-mail automatically responded to when out of the office regardless if your computer is off or on. You can find this feature under the Tools menu in Microsoft Outlook.

Unfortunately, this feature requires that your e-mail server be running on Microsoft Exchange to work. Therefore, if your server is not running Microsoft Exchange, this option will be missing from the Tools Menu.

However, users who do not have Exchange servers can also setup a rule to automatically reply to their messages during a specific date, to do this follow the below steps.

Before following the below steps, you will want to create a Microsoft Outlook template which contains your out of office message telling users when you will be away and when you will return. Information about how to create a template can be found on document CH000595.

1. Click the Tools menu and then Rules Wizard.
2. Click New.
3. Select Check messages when they arrive and click Next.
4. Check received in a specified date span, click the date span link in the rule description box and specify the date and click ok and then Next.
5. Check reply using a specific template and in the rule description click the template link and point to the template you created earlier. You may need to change the Look In to User Templates in File System. Once the file has been selected, Click Open.
6. Click Finish.

Of course, for this to successfully work you will need to have your computer open and Outlook open as well while you are gone.

Additional information:

• See document CH000803 for additional information about how to receive your e-mail when away from your home or office.