5 Easy Steps to Setting Up Automatic Responses in Outlook Email

• March 18, 2023
• Written by:
• James
• Reading Time: 10 minutes

As an avid user of Outlook email, you might have come across times when you wished there was a way to automate repetitive tasks such as responding to the same type of emails. Well, good news is that with just a few simple steps, you can easily set up automatic responses in your Outlook email and save yourself time and effort! In this post, we’ll guide you through 5 easy steps on how to do just that. So sit back, relax and let’s get started!

What is Outlook Automatic Response?

If you’ve ever been out of the office for an extended period of time, you know how difficult it can be to keep up with email. Responding to each message individually is both time-consuming and impractical, which is why many people rely on Outlook’s automatic response feature.

With automatic responses, you can set up an away message that will be sent automatically to anyone who emails you. This way, they’ll know that you’re out of the office and when they can expect a response.

Automatic responses are easy to set up in Outlook, and only take a few minutes to configure. In this article, we’ll show you how to do it.

Step 1: Choose the Outlook Out of Office Assistant

Out of Office Assistant is a handy tool in Outlook that can automatically send response messages to incoming email while you’re away. Here’s how to set it up:

1. Click the File tab, then click Automatic Replies.
2. Select the Send automatic replies checkbox.
3. If you want your replies to go to people outside of your organization, select the Send replies only during this time period checkbox, and then enter the dates and times when you want your out-of-office message to be sent.
4. In the Message box, type the response that you want to send, and then click OK.

Step 2: Set up your Automatic Reply Message

Assuming you’ve followed the first step and enabled your Out of Office Assistant, it’s now time to craft your automatic reply message. Keep in mind that this is the message recipients will receive whenever they email you, so make it something you’re comfortable with sending repeatedly.

To set up your automatic reply message:

1. Click File > Info.
2. Click the Automatic Replies button. The Automatic Replies dialog box appears.
3. Select the Send automatic replies check box.
4. In the Inside My Organization tab, type the response that you want to send to colleagues and other contacts who are in your organization.
5. If you want people outside of your organization to know that you’re away and how long you’ll be gone for, select the Send replies only during this time period check box, and then select a start time and end time from the drop-down lists. If you don’t want to specify a time period, leave this setting turned off.
6. In the Outside My Organization tab, type the response that you want strangers or people outside of your company to receive when they email you.
7. If desired, select the Automatically forward messages sent to me check box, and then type an email address where messages should be forwarded in the Forward To text box below it.
8. After crafting your perfect away message(s), click OK at the bottom of the dialog box.

Step 3: Select the Period When You Want to Receive Replies

When you are ready to set up your automatic responses in Outlook, the first thing you need to do is select the period when you want to receive replies. To do this, click on the “Tools” menu and then select “Options.” In the Options dialog box, click on the “Preferences” tab and then click on the “E-mail Options” button. In the E-mail Options dialog box, select the “Automatic Replies” checkbox. You will then be able to specify the time period during which you want to receive automatic replies.

Step 4: Provide Contact Information in Your Message

Assuming you’ve completed the previous steps, there are only a couple more things you need to do in order to set up automatic responses in Outlook email. First, provide your contact information in the message. This includes your name, title, email address, and phone number. You can also include a link to your website or blog. Second, make sure to proofread your message before sending it. This will help ensure that your message is clear and free of errors.

Step 5: Activate and Deactivate Automatic Replies

Assuming you have already followed the steps in setting up an automatic response in Outlook, here are the steps to activating and deactivating that response.

To activate an automatic response, simply open Outlook and click “File.” From there, select “Automatic Replies.” A pop-up window will appear giving you the option to send automatic replies “On” or “Off.” Select “On” and then click “OK.”

To deactivate an automatic response, open Outlook and click “File” once again. Select “Automatic Replies” and this time choose “Off.” Click “OK” to confirm and close the pop-up window.

Also See: How to Open Outlook in Safe Mode

Conclusion

In conclusion, setting up automatic responses in Outlook email is a great way to save time and streamline your inbox management. With just a few simple steps, you can easily set up your automatic responses and provide your contacts with the information they need while you’re away from the office. By following the five steps outlined in this article, you’ll be able to configure your automatic responses, craft your perfect message, and activate and deactivate the feature as needed. With these tools in hand, you can enjoy a more organized and efficient email experience, whether you’re out of the office for a day, a week, or longer.

Written By

James

My name is David Wayne, and I work as a technical support specialist for the online industry. In the last 7 years, I have fixed a variety of email issues, such as Outlook server errors, Outlook send receive errors, Outlook working offline problems and etc. So if you are facing these types of problems, please do not hesitate to contact us without any hesitation.