How to Set up Out of Office in Outlook?

If you are going out from a vacation, then one thing that you may want to consider is to configure your Outlook mail account to send automatic out of office mail message replies. The Outlook out of office replies will help you to automatically send important information or message when you are out on a vacation or when you won’t be using a computer for a few days. Automatic replies are not a complicated thing to set up and configure. Moreover, there are a number of ways to set up this Outlook feature. But, the options available may be different depending on the type of the application version that you’re trying to use.

This “Out of Office Assistant” in the Microsoft Outlook mail account helps you to set up an automatic reply option. This automatic reply option is sent to people who email you when you are unavailable or out of the office work. However, this Out of Office feature is only available for the Microsoft Exchange account users. But in some cases, home users having a non-Exchange account can also create an out of office template. Additionally, they can create a rule to have Outlook send the reply automatically.

Therefore, stick to this article, in order to get through the process of setting up the “out of office” in the Outlook mail account. Hence, proceed with this article in order to learn the methods of the setup process.

Methods on How to Set up Out of Office in Outlook Mail Account

Now, follow this section of the article, to gain some knowledge about the setup process of the “out of office” feature in the Outlook mail account. We want to suggest that you have to follow all the steps in order to get the best results of the setup process. Therefore, you can follow the methods that are given down below:

Method 1: Activate the “Out of Office” feature on Outlook mail account app

In the first method, you have to follow the process on your Outlook mail app in order to enable the “out of office” feature. If you are in search of the steps, then you can follow the section given below:

  • In the first step, open the Outlook app. After that, you have to login into your Outlook mail account by entering the login details.
  • Now, when the Outlook mail app account opens, click on the File tab on the top menu.
  • After that, you have to click on the Info tab. Now, under the Account Information section, select the email address that you want to configure.
  • In the next step, click on the Automatic Replies button. After that, select the Send Automatic Replies option.
  • Now, you have to select the “Only send during this time range” option.
  • Next, you have to use the Start Time Picker in order to select the day that you are planning to take a leave from work.
  • Also, you have to select the End Time Picker in order to select the day that you are planning to return back to work.
  • Next, use the Automatic Replies box so that to create a custom “out of office” message. This message will be sent to users who are trying to contact you.
  • Finally, you have to click on the OK button to save the settings.
  • Now, you will get two options. The two options are “Inside My Organization” and “Outside My Organization”.
  • In your case, you have to click on the “Inside My Organization” tab. Finally, you have to again click on the OK button to save all the new settings.

So, this is how you can set up the “out of office” feature. However, if you want more methods, then you can follow the next section.

Method 2: Enable the “Out of Office” feature on Outlook web mail account

You can also activate the Outlook out of office feature on the web page of the Outlook mail account. If you are looking for the steps, then put your search to an end. Follow the steps that are given down below:

  • First of all, you have to open the Outlook web page account on any of web browsers. Open the web browser, and then type ‘Outlook.com’ in the address bar. Hit the Enter key from the keyboard. Now you have to wait for the Outlook web page to load.
  • When the Outlook web page loads, you have to login into your Outlook mail account by entering the login details.
  • In the next step, you have to click on the Gear button. From the popup list of options, you have to select the Automatic Replies option.
  • In the next step, you have to select the Send Automatic Replies option. Then, check the “Send replies only during this time period” box.
  • Now, you have to set the Start Time and End Time Picker to select the start and stop time of the “out of office” feature.
  • After that, type the custom out of office message, and then select the ones that you want to send the message.
  • Finally, you have to select the OK button to save all the changes.

After completeing these above steps, you will be able to use the “out of office” feature for your Outlook mail account. Now, check if the feature is working or not. If you want to know other methods of the setup process, then you can have a look at the next section.

Method 3: Setup the “Outlook Out of Office” feature on the Windows Mail app

If you are using the Outlook mail account on the Windows Mail app, then you can follow this method. Here, you will get the steps to set up the “out of office” feature of the Outlook mail account on the Windows Mail app. Therefore, you can follow the next section below:

  • Boot the Windows system, and then you have to open the Windows Mail app. Now, you have to click on the Settings (gear) button.
  • Now, you have to click on the Automatic Replies option form the list of options.
  • In the next step, you have to turn On the Send Automatic Replies toggle switch.
  • After that, you have to create a custom message for the “out of office” feature. After creating the custom message, you have to select the people to whom you want to send.
  • Now, after that, you are ready to use the “out of office” feature on the Windows Mail app.
  • In the Windows Mail app, you will not get the option to set the time range. Therefore, you have to manually turn Off the feature on your return by clicking on the Turn Off button which is available at the top right corner of the screen.

So, this is how you can use the Windows Mail app in order to set up the out of office feature on your Outlook mail account. We hope that now you are able to set up the “out of office” feature easily on your own. If this method does not suit you, then you can follow the next method that is given down below.

Method 4: Enable the “Out of Office” Assistant in the Outlook 2003 application software

If you are using the Outlook 2003 application, then you can follow this method. Therefore, you can follow the steps that are given down below:

  • In the first step, you have to open the Outlook 2003 application. Now, you have to click on the Tools section, and then you have to select the “Out of office” Assistant option from the list of options.
  • Now, this action will open the “Out of Office” dialog box on the system’s screen.
  • In the next step, you have to place a checkmark on the box which is next to the “I am currently out of the office” option.
  • Now, inside the AutoReply only once to each sender with the following text box, you have to type the message that you want to send.
  • Finally, you have to click on the OK button to save all the changes.

Therefore, this is how you can apply the “out of office” assistant on the Outlook 2003 application. Now, we hope that you are able to set the “out of office” feature on the Outlook mail account. However, if you are using the non-exchange accounts, then you can proceed to the next method of the article.

Method 5: Try to set up the “Out of Office” feature on the Non-Exchange Accounts

If in case, you are using the non-exchange accounts of the Outlook mail account, then you can follow this method in order to set up the “out of office” feature. Therefore, in order to get the steps of the setup process, you can follow the next section below:

  • At first, launch the Microsoft Outlook application on your system. After that, click on the Home tab, and then you have to select the New Email option.
  • Now, inside the body of the email message, you have to type the reply message that you want to send.
  • In the next step, you have to click on the File tab, and then you have to select the Save As option from the list of options. Now, this will open up the Save As dialog box.
  • After that, you have to select the Outlook Template option from the Save As Type drop-down menu.
  • Next, type a name for the message template, and then click on the Save option.
  • In the next step, click on the Home tab and then after that, select the Rules option from the list of options.
  • Next, you have to select the Manage Rules and Alerts option.
  • Now, inside the new window, select the New Rule option, and then y select the Apply rules on messages I receive option. This option is available under the Start from a blank rule section.
  • Next, click on the Next button, and then again click on the Next button to proceed in creating the rule.
  • After that, place a checkmark on the box beside the “a specific template” option. This option is available under the Edit the rule description section.
  • Click on the User Templates in File System option form the Look In drop-down menu.
  • Next, you have to select the templates that have created earlier and click on the Open button to open it.
  • Next, click on the Next button to continue. Now, again click on the Next button and type a name for the auto-reply rule that you have created.
  • Finally, you have to click on the Finish button to apply and set up the “out of office” assistant on your Outlook mail account.

This is how you can set up the “out of office” assistant on the non-exchange accounts. Now, we hope that you were able to easily set up the “out of office” feature on your Outlook mail account on your own.

Lastly….

Ending this article, we just want to say that these were all the methods of setting up the Outlook out of office feature. Also, these methods are the most valid setup process providing the best results. We hope that you will not face any issue while performing the steps. However, if in case you are facing any problems, then you can take the help of the comments section which is available at the end of this article. Additionally, you can provide some ideas in the comments section below.

Maria Colombo
Maria Colombo
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