Setting Up an Away/Vacation Email Message

Outlook 2016 -Exchange

• Select File
• Select Info
• Select Automatic Replies (Out of Office)
• Select Send Automatic Replies
• Compose message
• Click OK

Outlook 2011/Entourage/Exchange

• Select Tools
• Select Out of Office Assistant
• Select "Send Out of Office Messages" button
• Complete the "Reply to Messages With" field
• Click OK

Outlook Web Access

Out of Office Assistant

Use the Out of Office Assistant whenever you are unable to respond to e-mail for an extended time.

When the Out of Office Assistant is turned on, it generates replies to senders based on the Out of Office messages that you create. After it is turned on, the Out of Office Assistant sends an automatic reply to a sender one time during your time away. The Out of Office Assistant does not respond to subsequent messages from the same sender until you turn off the Out of Office Assistant and then turn it on again.

In Outlook Web Access with Exchange Server 2007, you can configure a start and end date in the Out of Office Assistant in advance. If you know in advance that you will be out of the office, you can create your Out of Office message in advance and it will automatically start at the start time that you specify and turn off at the end time.

If you turn on your Out of Office message and do not set start and end times, you will be reminded that it is on every time that you log on to Outlook or Outlook Web Access. The reminder gives you the option to keep the Out of Office message on or turn it off.

Another feature introduced in the 2007 version of Outlook Web Access is the ability to set separate Out of Office messages for internal and external senders. Internal are senders from inside your organization, and external senders send from outside your organization. You can tailor specific messages for internal and external senders or send Out of Office messages only to internal senders.

Out of Office Assistant in OWA (for internal senders)

• Click on Options at the top of the screen
• Click on Out of the Office Assistant on the left hand side of the screen
• Click Send Out of Office auto-replies.
• If you want to use the scheduling option, select the Send Out of Office auto-replies only during this time period check box, and then use the Start time and End time lists to specify the time period during which you want to send auto-replies. The start and end times apply to Out of Office auto-replies sent to both internal and external senders.
• Type the message that you want the Out of Office Assistant to send to each sender inside your organization in the text box for senders inside your organization.

Out of Office Assistant in OWA (for external senders)

• Select the Send Out of Office auto-replies to External Senders check box.
  Note: This option is available only if you have created an Out of Office message for internal senders.
• Click Send Out of Office auto-replies only to senders in my Contacts list if you want to limit the external Out of Office auto-replies to senders who are in your Contacts list.
• Click Send Out of Office auto-replies to anyone outside my organization if you want to send Out of Office auto-replies to any sender outside your organization.
• Type the message that you want the Out of Office Assistant to send to each sender outside your organization in the text box for senders outside your organization.

Turn off Out of Office auto-replies

Select the Do not send Out of Office auto-replies option to disable the Out of Office Assistant. By default, Out of Office auto-replies are disabled.

Note: If you do not enter text in the text fields and the Out of Office Assistant is enabled, senders will not receive an auto-reply message.