Outlook and Auto-Responders

You've gotten one of those messages before. Maybe you sent an email to a client or a co-worker and, low and behold, as soon as you open your inbox again there it is. You rejoice! Someone has taken the timeout of their day to give you swift feedback so you can get work done. As glee fills you, you click on the message, the file opens and your heart sinks. The message reads as follows:

From: Neverhere@xco.com
To: Officewonder@xco.com
Subj: Re: Critical Time Sensitive Info

To Whom It May Concern,

I will be out of the office from the 8th of the month to the 20th on a lavish vacation to a tropical island, I have left no one in charge of my work or access to my files.

Aloha,

Mr. Never Here

It is a cruel, cruel trick of the business world, made even more cruel by the thin veneer of politeness. Sure, it seems like the author of that message is just trying to let you know they'll be away for a few days, but really they thrive on that moment when your hope of getting the info you need dies. I know you always suspected that there was at least one sadist in your organization and away messages are a good way to spot them (just playing with you).

The odds are that at some point you will have to use one of these messages. After all, everyone does (or at least should) get a vacation from time to time, so lets go over the basics of what should go into an away message and then how to set that message up as an auto-responder while you are out of the office.

Let's begin with the elements that should compromise your auto responder message. Your message should have:

• The days that you will be gone from the office and a return date.
• Who to contact in case of an urgent situation - this should be a trusted co-worker who is up-to-date on your projects or your supervisor
• Thanks for your readers patience.

Elements you don't have to add to a message but many people do anyway (these are optional):

• Where you are going.
• If you will be checking messages during this time away.

A good example:

From: Officewonder@xco.com
To: Neverhere@xco.com
RE: My Planned Absence

To Whom it May Concern,

I will be out of the office from the 1st of July until the 10th of July. Upon my return I will be happy to assist you with your needs. If your matter requires immediate assistance, please feel free to contact Life Saver at lifesaver@xco.com. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

There are, of course, two different ways to do this based on if your computer is attached to an Exchange server or not. First we will cover what to do without the server, then what to do with the server.

How to set your auto-responder in Outlook without the Exchange server:

Open Outlook.

1. Copy the text of your email into a word pad document.
2. Click on "file" then "save as" name other file "Out of office and the file type as .oft".
3. Back in Outlook click on "tools" then "rules wizard".
4. Click on "new" leave everything unchecked and click on "next".
5. Check the box that says "Reply with a specific template".
6. Choose "user template in file system" and choose your file. Then click open.
7. Click on "finish".

Now go and enjoy your vacation.

How to set your auto-responder in Outlook with the Exchange server:

Open Outlook

1. Click on "Tools".
2. Click on the circle next to the words "Send Out of Office replies."
3. Click on the box next to "Only during this time range" and fill in the dates you want the message to appear.
4. You will see a field marked "AutoReply only once to each sender with the following message"' with a text box under it. Add your away message here.
5. If you want the message to be seen by people outside of your organization then click on the "outside my organization" tab, check the box next to the words "Auto-Reply to People Outside My Organization". Click the radio button next to "Anyone outside of my organization".

And you're done!