Enable Out of Office Replies on Outlook

Why do I want to use an Out of Office reply?

If you need to take vacation time or must take extended leave and you won't have access or have limited access to your email, you can create an automated reply to any message coming into your mailbox. This reply can be any message that you would like a sender to know while you're away from your email.

How To Get Started

Below are instructions for activating Out of Office replies for Windows, macOS, and Web versions of Outlook.

Windows

1. Open Outlook and click on "File" on the top right-hand corner of the application:
   


2. This will show you an Account Information screen. Just below the "Account Settings" heading, click on the "Automatic Replies" button:
   


3. A new window will appear. Select the "Send automatic replies" radial button to enable the text box to compose your out of office message. Click "OK" when done:
   

The "Automatic Replies" window gives you the option to change font type, size, color, and format of the reply. Replies can be sent to recipients with non-csustan.edu email addresses if enabled in "Outside My Organization" tab (you can compose a new message in this tab or copy the message from the previous tab). You can also set a start and end time to send out of office/automatic replies by checking the "Only send during this time range" box once you select "Send automatic replies".

macOS

1. In Outlook, go to the "Tools" tab and click on "Out of Office":
   


2. A new window will appear. Check the "Send automatic replies for account [your email address]", type your reply message, and click OK at the bottom of the window:
   

Unlike the Windows version of Outlook, you are not able to format your reply. The macOS version of Outlook does allow for sending replies to non-csustan.edu email by checking the "Send replies outside my organization" box and selecting "Send to all external senders" radial button (you can compose a new message in this text box or copy the message from the box above it). The ability to set start and end times for your replies can also be enabled by checking the "Send replies only during this time period" box.

Outlook Web

1. Log into your email account through Outlook.com with your full university email address (that includes the @csustan.edu) or through Office.com and then selecting Outlook.
2. Once logged in, go to the right-hand side of your email and click the gear button. Scroll all the way down the side panel and click on the "View all Outlook settings" link:
   


3. A new overlay window will appear. Select the "Mail" catagory, then "Automatic replies". You will need to toggle the "Automatic replies on" slider to enable the text box to compose your reply. Click on "Save" when done:
   

Like the Windows version of Outlook, you are able to change font type, size, color, and format of the reply. Replies can be sent to recipients with non-csustan.edu email addresses by checking the "Send replies outside your organization" box (you can compose a new message in this text box or copy the message from the box above it). The ability to set start and end times for your replies can also be enabled by checking the "Send replies only during a time period" box.