Microsoft Outlook users can easily set an Out of Office message to automatically reply to received messages if you’re going to be away on vacation for a few days. We’ll show you how it’s done from Outlook client software or the Outlook Web Access (OWA) with this tutorial.
Enabling Out of Office Replies from Outlook Client
- In Outlook, select the “File” > “Info” > “Automatic Replies (Out of Office)“. If this option is grayed out, you may not be connected to a server that cannot use this feature.
- Select the “Send automatic replies” option. You can also check “Only send during this time range:” and select a time frame to send the replies.
- Select the “Inside My Organization” tab and type the reply you would like sent to your co-workers who are on the same mail system.
- Select the “Outside My Organization” tab and type the reply you would like sent to people outside of your organization.
- Select “OK“, and you’re done!
Disabling Out of Office from Outlook Client
- Select “File” > “Info” > “Automatic Replies“.
- Select the “Do not send automatic replies” option, then select “OK“.
Enabling Out of Office Reply from Outlook Web Access (OWA)
- Login to OWA for your organization.
- Select the gear icon located at the upper-right corner, then choose “Set automatic replies“.
- Select the “Send automatic replies” option. You can also check “Only send during this time range:” and select a time frame to send the replies.
- In the “Inside My Organization” area, type the reply you would like sent to your co-workers who are on the same mail system.
- In the “Outside My Organization” area, type the reply you would like sent to people outside of your organization.
- Select “Save” and you’re done.
Disabling Out of Office Reply from Outlook Web Access (OWA)
- Login to OWA for your organization.
- Select the gear icon located at the upper-right corner, then choose “Set automatic replies“.
- Select the “Don’t send automatic replies” option.
- Select “Save“.
Note: If you are using Outlook in a corporate or school environment, you may have to contact your system administrator to enable or disable the automatic out of office reply feature.
Outside My Organization