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Set up automatic (out of office) replies for O365 accounts

 

Use automatic replies to tell people you won't be responding straight away to their email messages or to notify them that your email address will be changing. Automatic replies are sent once to each sender.

Set up automatic (out of office) replies using Outlook on the web 

 

  1. Sign into your O365 email account via Outlook on the web https://outlook.office.com/.
  2. At the top of the page, select Settings   > View all Outlook settings > Email > Automatic replies.
  3. Select the Turn on automatic replies toggle.
  4. Select the Send replies only during a time period check box, and then enter a start and end time.

    If you don't set a time period, your automatic reply remains on until you turn it off by selecting the Automatic replies on toggle.

  5. Select the check box for any of the following options that you're interested in:
    • Block my calendar for this period
    • Automatically decline new invitations for events that occur during this period
    • Decline and cancel my meetings during this period
  6. In the box at the bottom of the window, type a message to send to people during the time you're away.
  7. If you want senders outside your organization to get automatic replies, select the check box for Send replies outside your organization. Sending automatic replies to anyone outside my organization will send your automatic reply to every email you receive, including newsletters, advertisements, and potentially, junk email. You may prefer to select ‘Send replies only to contacts’ which will ensure that automatic replies are only sent to senders in your contact list.
  8. When you have finished select Save at the top of the window.

Turn off automatic out-of-office replies 

If you didn't set a time period for automatic replies (step 4 earlier), you'll need to turn them off manually. To turn off automatic replies, sign into Outlook on the web, choose Settings   > View full settings > Email > Automatic replies and then select the Automatic replies on toggle.
 
 
 

Set up automatic (out of office) replies on the Outlook client

 
  1. In Outlook select File > Automatic Replies.
  2. In the Automatic Replies box, select Send automatic replies.
  3. To set a date range for when your automatic replies will apply, check the Only send during this time range box and complete the required dates/times. This will turn off automatic replies at the date and time you enter for the end time. Otherwise, you'll need to turn off automatic replies manually.
  4. On the Inside My Organization tab, type the response that you want to send to colleagues and contacts within your organization while you are out of the office.
  5. If you want senders outside your organization to get automatic replies, click on the Outside my organisation tab and check the ‘Auto-reply to people outside my organization’ box. Type the response that you want to send anyone outside your organization who sends you an email. Sending automatic replies to anyone outside my organization will send your automatic reply to every email you receive, including newsletters, advertisements, and potentially, junk email. You may prefer to select ‘My contacts only’ which will ensure that automatic replies are only sent to senders in your contact list. 
  6. Select OK to save your settings.

Turn off automatic out-of-office replies 

When Outlook is setup to send automatic replies, you'll see a message under the ribbon with this information. Select Turn off to disable automatic out-of-office replies. If you want to modify the dates for your automatic reply or the message sent, use the steps above to modify your settings.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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