How To Set Up An Out Of Office Message In Outlook

Whether you’re going on vacation or attending a work retreat, you’ll want to let clients, coworkers, and anyone else with your contact info know that you’ll be “out of office.” Rather than sending out a mass email to all of your contacts when you leave, you can set up a convenient out-of-office message that will appear whenever someone tries to contact you during your absence. The process for setting up this kind of message varies from one email provider to the next, but it’s relatively simple to do in Outlook.

In today’s guide, we will go over everything you need to know to set up out-of-office messages in Outlook. Additionally, if you need help implementing these messages or troubleshooting other issues in Outlook, be sure to reach out to the experts at Geeker today!

Setting Up An Out Of Office Message

Setting up an out-of-office message is easy in Outlook, but the process varies a little based on how and where you’re using it. Let’s look at what you’ll need to do in the Outlook web app vs. the Outlook Desktop Application:

Outlook Web App

If you’re using the Microsoft Outlook web app in your browser, you can follow these steps:

In Outlook, click “Settings” (gear icon)
Select “View all Outlook settings”
Go to “Mail”
Under “Mail,” click on the “Automatic replies” tab
Toggle “Turn on automatic replies”
Specify the start and end dates for the automatic replies by checking the “Send replies only during this time period” box
Type your out-of-office reply
Click “Save” to finalize your out-of-office message

Outlook Desktop App

Alternatively, if you’re using the Outlook Desktop App, you’ll need to follow these steps:

In Outlook, click the “File” tab

Select the “Automatic Replies (Out of Office)” button
Check the “Send automatic replies” option
Specify the start and end dates for the automatic replies by checking the “Only send during this time range” box
Type your out-of-office message in the “Inside My Organization” and/or “Outside My Organization” tabs
Click “OK” to finalize your out-of-office message

Setting Up Recurring Out Of Office Messages

As of this writing, Outlook does not have a built-in feature that lets you set up recurring Out of Office messages. However, you can use one of two workarounds to create recurring out-of-office messages in certain situations. The first option is more practical, but we will still cover both.

Create a Recurring Calendar Event

The first method requires you to create a recurring calendar event and then set a reminder for yourself to manually enable and disable the Out of Office message as needed. Follow these steps to set it up:

Open Outlook and go to the Calendar view
Click on “New Appointment” or “New Event”
Enter a descriptive title for the event (Ex. “Out of Office”)
Specify the start and end dates and times of your recurring absence
Click on “Recurrence” in the toolbar
In the “Appointment Recurrence” dialog box, set the pattern for your recurring absence (daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly), as well as the interval and range of recurrence
Click “OK” to save the recurrence pattern
In the appointment details, click on the “Reminder” dropdown and select a sufficient amount of time to be reminded before the event starts (Ex. 1 hour, 1 day, 1 week, etc)
Click “Save & Close” to save the recurring event in your calendar
Once you receive the reminder for your recurring absence, follow the steps in the previous section to set up the Out of Office message in Outlook
When your absence is over, disable the out-of-office message by following the same steps but unchecking the “Send automatic replies” option (desktop app) or toggling off the “Turn on automatic replies” switch (web app)

Create a Recurring Email Template

This method will send out automatic, recurring out-of-office emails during specified days of the week, months, or dates. This means you could theoretically set up out-of-office emails that always send out in the month of December, on your birthday, or every Friday, just to name a few examples. However, it is very important to note that this method only works if the Outlook app is actively running.

In any case, to create a recurring email template, follow these steps:

Open the Outlook Desktop Application
Click on “New Email”
Compose the out-of-office message you want to send
Click “File” and “Save As”
Copy the following path displayed in the address bar: %APPDATA%\microsoft\templates
Under “Save as type,” choose “Outlook Template (.oft)”
Click “Save”
In the “Home” tab, go to Rules > Manage Rules & Alerts
Click “New Rule” and “Apply rule on messages I receive”
After clicking “Next, check the box next to “with specific words in the message header”
Click on “specific words” and add the day(s) of the week, month(s), or date(s) you will be out of the office
After clicking “Next,” check the box next to “reply using a specific template”
Under “a specific template,” click on the arrow next to “Standard Templates” and switch to “User Templates in File System”
Select your custom template and click “Open”
After clicking “Next,” check the box for any exceptions you would like to apply to the new rule
After clicking “Next,” choose a name for your rule (Ex. “Out of Office”)
Ensure that the box is checked next to “Turn on this rule”
Click on “Finish” and “Apply” to enable your recurring out-of-office message

Remember, this is a workaround that does not function as an online feature. This means you’ll have to keep the Outlook application running to continue sending out-of-office replies while you’re away.

What To Write In An Out Of Office Message

An out-of-office message should be clear, professional, and to the point. You should only provide the information that is necessary to explain the following:

That you are out of the office
Why you are out of the office
For how long you will be out of the office
(Optional) Who to contact in the event of an emergency

Some people choose not to include “why” they are out of the office, but it is good to provide people with some context. For example, you could say you are on vacation or taking medical leave. You could even say that you’re spending time with your family. Regardless of what you choose, you don’t need to be overly specific about the reasons for your absence.

However, you do need to be specific about the duration of your absence. You should provide an exact timeline or a date on which you will return. If you plan to use your email while away, let people know in your message. You might mention that you will have “limited access” to your email and that you will respond “as soon as possible.”

If you want to leave a backup contact in the event of an emergency, you should mention this at the end of your message. Be sure to include the name and email of the person that should be contacted. Here is a sample out-of-office message:

“Hello,

I am currently out of the office on medical leave and will be away from [start date] until [end date]. I will have limited access to my email during this time and will respond to your message as soon as possible upon my return.

For urgent matters, please contact [colleague’s name] at [colleague’s email address] or [colleague’s phone number].

Best regards,

[Your Name]”

How To Remove An Out Of Office Message

Removing an out-of-office message is even easier than creating one. If you’re using the Outlook web app, just follow these steps:

In Outlook, click on “Settings” (gear icon)
Click on “View all Outlook settings”
Select “Mail”
Under “Mail,” click on the “Automatic replies” tab
Toggle off the “Turn on automatic replies” switch
Click “Save”

And if you’re using the Outlook Desktop Application:

In Outlook, click on the “File” tab
In the “File” tab, click on the “Automatic Replies (Out of Office)” button
Uncheck the “Send automatic replies” option
Click “OK”

Need help from dependable Outlook experts? Reach out to Geeker today for on-demand IT and software solutions!