The tutorial will instruct you on how to set up automated responses in Outlook during your absence. You'll discover how to configure out-of-office messages for both professional and personal email accounts, and for different versions of Outlook, including the traditional, updated, and web-based platforms.

In today's fast-paced world, everyone needs a break occasionally, even from their emails. Whether you're on vacation or traveling for business, you don't want to leave your contacts waiting. By setting up an Outlook auto reply, you can inform people that you're unavailable and when you'll be back. This message will automatically be sent to anyone who emails you while you're gone.

To set up an automatic out-of-office message in Outlook, you must first determine the type of email account you have. Different methods apply to Exchange, POP/POP3, IMAP, and SMTP accounts.

Here's how you can identify your account type and configure your auto reply accordingly.

1. Navigate to the File tab in the top left corner of the ribbon.
2. Under Account Information in the Info section, select the account you wish to use and observe the options below:
   • For a Microsoft Exchange account, you will see the Automatic Replies (Out of Office) option. Click on it and proceed with the instructions.
   • For POP3 and IMAP accounts, the Automatic Replies feature isn't available. Instead, you can create a rule to send your out-of-office notification.

Now, let's delve into how to set up an automatic reply for each of these account types.

How to set an automatic out-of-office message in Outlook

To send an auto reply in Outlook with an Exchange account, follow these easy steps:

1. In the Outlook desktop app, click on the File tab in the top left corner.
2. In the Info section, click the Automatic Replies (Out of Office) button.
3. In the dialog box that appears, select Send automatic replies. Optionally, you can set a date range to deactivate auto replies when the specified end date is reached. If no date range is set, you'll need to turn them off manually upon returning.
4. On the Inside My Organization tab, input the message you want your coworkers to receive while you're away.
5. On the Outside My Organization tab, compose the message you wish to send to external contacts. Be cautious when choosing to auto reply to Anyone outside my organization, as this will send your “away message” to every incoming email, including advertisements, newsletters, and spam. To avoid this, it's recommended to select My contacts only.
6. Click OK to save your settings.

There you go! Your Outlook out-of-office message is now configured and will automatically be sent to people who email you during your holiday or business trip.

How to set an away message for Outlook POP/IMAP accounts

Setting up out-of-office notifications for POP and IMAP/SMTP accounts in Outlook requires a slightly different approach than Exchange accounts. These account types lack the built-in feature for automatic replies, so you'll need to create an email template and set up a rule to automatically respond with that template to every message you receive. This method applies to various versions of Outlook, from 2010 to 365. Let's begin!

Step 1. Create an away message template

Before creating the rule, you need to prepare the message you want to send as an auto-reply.

1. In your Outlook, draft a new email with the subject and text you want your away message to convey. For instance, you might write something like this:

2. Click File > Save As and save the email as an Outlook Template (*.oft).

   Caution: Do not alter the default location where Outlook saves templates, which is typically: C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates

   (This note is intended for advanced users; beginners are encouraged to stick with the defaults.)

3. Close the message window without sending it.

Step 2. Set up an auto reply with template rule

With your away message template prepared, it's time to create a rule that will automatically send it when you receive new emails.

1. Click the File tab, and then select Manage Rules & Alerts.

2. In the Rules and Alerts dialog window, click on New Rule.

3. Under Start from a blank rule, select Apply rules on messages I receive, and then click Next.

4. Define the conditions for the rule. You can choose “from people or public group” or “through a specified account” to specify which emails trigger the out-of-office reply. If you're setting an auto response for all incoming messages from all your accounts, skip this step and click Next. When Outlook prompts you to apply this rule to all messages, click Yes to confirm.

5. Next, specify what you want to do with the messages. Since we want to reply using a specific template, select this option under “Step 1: Select action(s)”. Under “Step 2: Edit the rule description”, click “a specific template” link.

6. The Select a Reply Template dialog window will appear. In the Look In dropdown box, select User Templates in File System, choose the away message template you’ve created, and click Open.

7. Back in the Rules Wizard, you will see the path to your template in the lower pane and click Next.

8. Optionally, you can add exceptions to the rule. Otherwise, click Next without selecting anything.

   Tip. You can exclude returned emails containing "returned" or "undeliverable" in the subject to prevent a situation where emails bounce back and forth between servers. However, this is not mandatory, as the reply using a specific template rule will only send your away message once per session, which lasts until you restart your Outlook.

9. In the final step, name your rule and choose additional options. To activate the rule immediately, keep the Turn on this rule box checked (default setting). If you prefer to enable the rule later, uncheck this box. Once done, click Finish to save the rule.

Congratulations! You've successfully set up an automatic out-of-office message in Outlook. Now you can relax without worrying about missing any important emails.

For more information, see Outlook

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