How to use the ‘Out of Office Assistant’ in Outlook 2016, 2013, 2010 and 365

When you’re on a vacation, you always want to enjoy to the fullest without any disturbance or tension. But you do get worried considering you are away from office and might not be able to respond important-mails on time.

Well, then it’s a great idea to set up an Out-of-Office Outlook auto reply to let your clients and colleagues know when will you be back, how to contact you or whom do they contact, in your absence. It is also a good idea to set up your perout of officesonal Gmail or Yahoo account so that all your kith and kin can keep a track on you and do not lose sleep over not being able to get in touch. Don’t you think using the Out of Office Assistant in Outlook is something that makes your life a lot little easier.

Also Read: How to Configure Windows Live Hotmail with Outlook

If you are a Microsoft Outlook user, you can easily set an Out of Office Reply in Outlook to automatically reply to incoming messages, if you are not accessing your email.  Microsoft Office Outlook provides you with this awesome feature — Out of Office Assistant.

out of office assistant

                               image source: makeuseof.com

Keep on reading for more such uses of Out of Office Assistant in Outlook

To set an Out of Office Reply in Outlook, you need an Exchange account which is used by many organizations. Usually, individual users do not have the Exchange account. However, such users can also enable automatic reply feature for non -Exchange account. If you are using an exchange account and you close Outlook or shut down your computer, the exchange server will send your messages anyway.

Setting up the Out of Office Assistant in Outlook

For Microsoft Office Outlook 365

  • Sign in to Outlook account.
  • Click on the Setting icon and select from top right corner.
  • Turn on Automatic replies and then click to send Automatic replies.

out of office assistant in outlook 365

                                  image source: ucl.ac.uk

out of office assistant in outlook 365-1

                                  image source: sawyoo.com

-You can configure different automatic replies for senders inside or outside the organization. (You can also choose to send Automatic Replies indefinitely, or during a specific time frame).

(Note: This step is optional.)

outlook 365

                                 image source: groovypost.com

  • Enter the automatic reply message you wish to use
  • Save the changes

For Microsoft Office Outlook 2016, 2013 and 2010-

You can follow the below steps to set an Out of Office Reply in Outlook, if you are using any of the above Outlook settings.

  • Go to File menu.

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                                   image source: zdnet.com

  • Select Automatic replies button and click on send automatic replies
  • Select the box ‘ Only send during this time range’.
  • Enter the start time and end time.

outlook 2010, 2013, 2016

                                   image source: quora.com

  • Type in an auto reply for senders inside your organization.
  • Click on the tab for senders inside your organization and also for others.

out of office in 2010, 2013, 2016, - 1

                                  image source: quora.com

  • In case you want to inform anyone outside your organization
  • click ok.

How to turn OFF automatic replies

  • Choose File option.
  • Go to Automatic Replies.
  • In the Automatic Replies box, select Do not send automatic replies.

Let us know if this was helpful and tell us of any other office hacks you would like to know!

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