Creating an automatic reply in Outlook desktop client

In Outlook desktop client, you can compose an automatic reply (out of office) message that senders will receive when you are not available. Separate messages may be set for internal and external senders. If you use Outlook Web App (OWA), please refer to the instructions on the right.

1. Open Outlook desktop client and go to the File tab
2. Select Automatic Replies (Out of Office)
3. To activate, select Send automatic replies
4. To specify a date range, check "Send during this time range:" (if range is not set, auto reply will send until deactivated)
5. Set Start and End times
6. Compose message for internal senders (Inside My Organization tab)
7. Compose message for external senders, if desired (Outside My Organization tab)
   1.     To activate messages for external senders, be sure to check "Auto-reply to people outside my organization" on the Outside My Organization tab
   2.     You may opt to send the auto-reply to anyone outside the organization or limit to your contacts only
8. When ready, click OK.

To deactivate the automatic reply

1. Go to the File tab
2. Select Turn off on the Automatic Replies button