How to Set Outlook for Mac Out of Office Auto Reply? – Easy and Quick Way
Setting up an Out of Office auto-reply in Outlook for Mac is a useful feature when you’re going on vacation, attending meetings, or simply unable to respond to emails. It allows you to inform colleagues, clients, and other senders that you are unavailable and when they can expect a response.
In this article, we’ll walk you through the steps to set up an Out of Office auto-reply in Outlook for Mac, along with some simple tips and tricks to make the process even easier.
Scenario: Setting an Out of Office Auto-Reply in Outlook for Mac
Mr Lee, a project manager at a software development firm, has an upcoming business trip scheduled for next week. He knows that during this time, he will be attending meetings and traveling, making it difficult to respond to emails. He wants to set up an Out of Office (OOO) auto-reply in Outlook for Mac to let his team, clients, and partners know about his absence and provide them with alternative contact information for urgent matters.
Henry Oliver, a senior marketing manager at a multinational corporation, has a two-week vacation planned for the summer. She’ll be out of the office, traveling internationally, and won’t be able to respond to emails regularly. Emma needs to set up an Out of Office (OOO) auto-reply in Outlook for Mac to ensure that both internal and external contacts are aware of her absence. Additionally, she wants to provide relevant information like the dates of her absence, alternative contacts for urgent matters, and a polite note thanking people for their patience.
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Why Use Out of Office Auto Replies in Outlook for Mac?
When you’re away, an Out of Office (OOO) auto-reply ensures that anyone who sends you an email receives an immediate response, letting them know that you’re not available. Here’s why it’s important:
- Professional Courtesy: Your contacts are informed right away that you’re not available, saving them from wondering if you’ve missed their email.
- Set Expectations: You can specify when you’ll be back and when the sender can expect a response.
- Organize Your Absence: It helps reduce follow-up emails from people unsure of your availability.
How to Set Up Out of Office on a New Outlook Mac
When you are not available, Outlook Mac’s Out of Office functionality creates an auto-reply rule to let people know. Follow these procedures to activate the option.
Launch Mac Outlook. Click Mail at the bottom of the left navigation pane.
Go to Tools, then choose Automatic Replies.
Pick the “(your account)” selection to allow automatic replies for your account.
Go to the “Reply once to senders outside my organization” option now and choose the necessary automated response you want to send.
To set the start and finish dates, choose the “Send replies during this time period” checkbox and enter the necessary start and end times.
Note: The out-of-office responses will automatically stop when the end data and time are reached if you check this box and set the start and finish dates and times.
Click the “Send replies outside my organization” checkbox, select “Send only to my contacts” or “Send to all external senders,” and then select “Reply once to senders outside my organization” to set the options to respond to those who work outside the organization (if enabled with Exchange administrator).
Click the OK button.
How to Turn Off Out of Office on a New Mac Outlook
Launch Outlook on your Mac. Click Mail in the bottom left navigation box.
Go to Tools, then select Automatic Replies.
Uncheck the “(your account)” checkbox next to the option to send automated responses for your account.
Guide to Configure Out of Office in Old Outlook Mac
Launch Outlook on your Mac. To choose Mail, navigate to the bottom left navigation window.
Select the Out of Office option by clicking Tools.
Choose the necessary account from the list on the left side of the Autoreply Settings screen. Take the “(your account)” checkbox to permit automatic replies for your account.
To enter automatic reply, scroll until you see Reply once to each sender.
You can choose start and finish dates and hours by checking the box labeled “Only send replies during this time period.“
The out-of-office responses will automatically stop when the end data and time are reached if you check this box and set the start and finish dates and times.
If the Exchange administrator has enabled it, select “Also send replies to senders outside my organization” to configure the response for non-company personnel. Select Send to external senders, and for each external send, select Automatic Reply once.
Click the OK button.
How to Disable Auto-Reply on an Old Outlook for Mac
Open Outlook and choose Mail from the bottom left navigation window.
Go to Tools and select the “Out of Office” option.
Un-tick Automatically respond to the “(your account)” option.
Conclusion
We covered how to set up and activate out-of-office replies in Outlook Mac in the article. For users of both the old and new versions of Outlook for Mac, we have included instructions. Get in touch with MacArmy Support if you run into any issues while following the instructions.
