If you have more than one email account and only want your automatic reply to be sent to emails received at certain accounts, you can add additional conditions to your Mail Rules. Once active, everyone who sends an email to your account will receive your automatic reply until you deactivate the rule upon your return. You can deactivate it by unchecking its box in Mail > Preferences > Rules. Once your rule is created, it will be active by default. This will ensure that only new messages receive the automatic response choosing “Apply” instead will send the automatic reply in response to every existing email in your account, no doubt creating a point of tension between you and your soon-to-be-former friends and coworkers as their inboxes fill up with untold copies of your out of office message. Okay, ready? Mail will now ask you if you’d like to apply the rule to existing messages.
Read them twice, three times for extra points, and make sure you're familiar with what you need to do before you proceed. STOP and READ the directions for the next step before you proceed. Making the wrong choice will be detrimental to your mental, and possibly physical health. The text you enter here will comprise the message sent in reply to those who email you while you’re gone.įinally, click OK to finish creating the rule. Next, click “Reply message text…” to bring up the action’s text input window. To get started, first launch Mail and go to Preferences > Rules.Ĭlick “Add Rule” and give it a pertinent description, such as “Out of Office Auto Reply.” Then set your condition to apply to “Every Message” using the drop-down menu and choose to perform the “Reply to Message” action from the second drop-down selection. For users without that luxury, it’s also possible to configure a local email auto reply using the Rules functionality of Apple’s Mail app. In the Autoreply Settings box select the account on the left you want to set up the out of office reply, check the Send automatic replies for account 'X' box (where 'X' is the account youd like to send out of office replies from). Often in corporate environments a company’s email provider will offer this feature as a server setting. There is additional warning text below, but please read all steps first before doing anything so that you understand the process and can avoid making a incredibly frustrating mistake. Sorry for the additional blue square, had to block out my work email.WARNING: Before we discuss this topic further, please note that the steps described here, if performed incorrectly, can result in a disaster in which your "out of the office" email will be sent to everyone who has sent emails to your inbox. Make sure there is a check in the box “Turn on This Rule. I had none so I skipped this by clicking next.ġ1. You will then be asked if there are any exceptions. Make sure the information is how you want it, then click next.ġ0. This will take you back to the prior window. Fill in the subject line and the body of the email. Click on the words “ a specific message” in the step 2 box. Now select “have server reply using a specific message”Ĩ. Otherwise, I will respond to your email when I return. If you need immediate assistance, please contact our advertising representative, Jules Carter, at or 30, ext. It will take you back to the previous screen, just click next.ħ. I am out of the office until May 25 and will have limited email access while I am away. NOTE: This will automatically turn the Out of Office message on and off based on the dates selected. Select the Checkbox to send only during a time period including the D ates between. Enter your Out of Office/Auto Reply Text. Set for an out of office reply on Tuesdays, the abbreviation for the days of the week are the first 3 letters, Tuesday = Tue click add, then click ok.Ħ. Select the Checkbox to send automatic replies.
In this box, type the abbreviation for the day of the week you want this to apply to. Click on the blue underlined words “ specific words” a new box will pop up. Put a check in the box – with specific words in the message header.ĥ. Select the Option “Apply rule on messages I receive” Under the category “Start from a blank rule” click next.Ĥ. Go to Rules – Then select Manage Rules and Alertsģ. I am not the most tech savvy, so someone else maybe able to give you a better work around.ġ. This will only work as a weekly re-occurrence. Below are step by step instructions for the rule I created for an out of office reply to be sent on Tuesdays. I have been trying to figure this out myself all day, searching forums, and messing around with my outlook.įinally, I figure out a work around using the rules in Outlook.