Microsoft Outlook is a popular email and personal information manager with multiple features. It is used extensively for managing emails. Outlook is a part of Microsoft Office Suite Applications and contains multiple features like email management, recall an email in Outlook, Schedule an Email in Outlook, managing calendars, tasks, contacts, notes, etc. One of the widely used MS Outlook feature is “Out of Office”, which enables users to set automatic replies or responses for emails when out of the office or unable to respond.
For instance, if you are going on a vacation or taking a few days off, you can easily set up an “Out of Office” replay for emails you receive via Outlook to let people know that you are not available to respond to the emails. This feature helps you to let people know that you are not at work. This feature of Outlook is essential to promote professionalism and aid effective communication in your absence. It ensures clients or coworkers know your availability and can appropriately modify their expectations.
Microsoft Outlook is compatible with cross-platforms such as Windows, Mac, Web, Android, and iOS. You may wonder how to set the “out of office” feature in Outlook for your system. Here is the procedure to follow for different platforms:
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How to Set Out of Office in Outlook for Windows?
If you are using MS Outlook on Windows and want to “set out office” in Outlook to let people know about your inability to respond to incoming emails, follow the below steps:
Step 1: First of all, launch the Outlook application on your Windows laptop or desktop.
Step 2: Now navigate to the top-left corner of the Outlook window and click on the “File” tab.
Step 3: Click on the “Automatic Replies” in the file tab to set the Out of Office feature.
Step 4: Check the box next to “Send automatic replies” to enable automatic replies. You can also select the start and end dates for the automatic activation and deactivation of the Out of Office feature.
Step 5: After entering the message, click “OK” or “Apply” to save the settings.
Note: Once you have successfully completed all the steps, Outlook will send your set messages as automatic replies to incoming emails in your absence.
How to Set Out of Office in Outlook for Mac?
You can set the Out of Office in Outlook to send automatic replies from Outlook to notify people that you won’t be responding to their email messages for the specified time. To set the Out of Office in Outlook for Mac, here is the process:
Step 1: First, open the Outlook app on your Mac.
Step 2: Then click on “Tools” and choose the option “Automatic Replies” present in the top menu bar.
Step 3: Check the box against “Send Automatic Replies”
Step 4: Now, enter your Out of Office message in the text box. You can enter messages to send to both inside and outside organizations.
Step 5: You can also specify the time period between when the automatic replies should be sent. Particularly useful if you are planning specific days away from office.
Step 6: If you want to send automatic replies to people outside the organization, click on the option “Send Replies outside my Organization.” Choose between the option to send only to your contacts or to all external senders.
Step 7: Click “OK” to save your settings and close the Outlook App.
How to Set Out of Office in Outlook on the Web?
Do you prefer or need to set the “Out of Office” reply through the web? Here are the straightforward steps for you.
Step 1: To log in to Outlook on the web, open a web browser such as Google Chrome or Firefox. Then, go to Outlook.com or open your organization’s Outlook Web Access page.
Step 2: After login, go to settings by clicking on the gear icon (Settings) in the upper right corner.
Step 3: Now go to the “Mail” section and then select “Automatic replies”
Step 4: To turn on the automatic replies, toggle the switch.
Step 5: If needed, select a start and end date.
Step 6: Then click on “Save” to apply the settings
Step 7: Then click on “Save” to apply the settings.
How to Set Out of Office in Outlook on Mobile Phones
Smartphones are used to handle various office and business tasks. One of the everyday actions performed on mobile phones is sending or receiving emails, which can be done conveniently from any location at any time. Let’s explore setting the out-of-office reply in the Outlook mobile app.
Set Out of Office in Outlook for Android Devices
Step 1: First of all, Launch the Outlook app on your phone.
Step 2: After opening the app, navigate to the top left corner and tap on your “profile icon” to open the “sidebar menu”.
Step 3: Scroll down in the sidebar menu and tap on the gear icon (Settings).
Step 4: In the setting menu, tap on the option called Automatic Replies.
Step 5: After selecting the email account, tap on the “Automatic Replies” toggle and enable the automatic replies.
Step 6: Select “Send during a time period” if you want to specify the date.
Step 7: Now, enter your Out of Office message in the provided text box.
Step 8: Then tap “Save” or “Done” to activate your Out of Office reply.
Once you have completed these steps, your Out of Office reply should be set up and active on your Outlook mobile app.
Conclusion
The Out of Office feature of Microsoft Outlook is a vital tool for generating automatic replies to emails when you are not available to respond. This feature is ideal to let people know that you are not at work or not in a position to respond to incoming emails.
The feature empowers a user to set specific messages for incoming emails by mentioning the reason for absence and time period to help the sender schedule things accordingly. This feature of Outlook promotes professionalism and contributes to effective communication within and outside the organization.
You can easily set the “Out of Office” message in Outlook by going through the steps mentioned above for Windows, Mac, Web, and Mobile phones.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. Can I set different out-of-office messages for internal and external senders?
Yes, MS Outlook can set different messages for internal and external senders. You can use the “Inside My Organization” tab and enter your replay in the text box for senders within the organization. Use the “Outside My Organization” tab to leave a message for outsiders.
Q2. Can I Set Automatic Deactivation for Out of Office Reply in Outlook?
Yes, you can enter a specific end date to deactivate the feature. While configuring your automatic replies in “settings,” select a specific start and end date for automatic activation and deactivation of the Out of Office reply in Outlook.
Q3. Is the Out of Office Message Feature Available in All Versions of Outlook?
The Out of Office message feature is available in most versions of Microsoft Outlook.
Q4. Do I need an Internet connection to set an out of office reply?
Yes, you need an active internet connection to set or edit your “Out of Office” reply in Outlook.
