So many people have the problem of not being able to set up Microsoft Outlook 2007 to send “out of office” auto replies when they need them.  I have discovered how to emulate the Out Of Office feature when you do not have an MS Exchange server and I found the secret to working around the bug that is in there.

1. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Mail Message.
   Keyboard shortcut  To create a new e-mail message, press Ctrl+Shift+M.
2. In the Menu Bar, click the dropdown box for the Message Format and choose PLAIN TEXT.  If you miss this step, you will receive an error message when you run the rule.  There is a bug that has not been addressed.
3. In the message body, enter the content you want.
4. In the message window, click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click Save As.
5. In the Save As dialog box, in the Save as type list, click Outlook Template.
6. In the File name box, type a name for your template, and then click Save.

Now that you have the message that will be sent out when you apply the rule, now it’s time to create the rule!

1. In the Navigation Pane, click Mail.
2. On the Tools menu, click Rules and Alerts.
3. If you have more than one e-mail account, in the Apply changes to this folder list, click the Inbox you want.
4. Click New Rule.
5. Click Start from a blank rule, and then click Next.
6. Put a check mark in the box next to Where my name is in the To box or CC box.  Click next.
7. Put a check mark in the box next to Reply using a Specific Template.
8. Click on the blue underlined phrase Specific Template in the lower pane and navigate to the email template that you created above.
9. Follow the rest of the instructions in the Rules Wizard. Do not select Run this rule now on messages already in “folder“ check box on the last page of the Rules Wizard because everyone that has sent you an email will receive your Out Of Office message.
10. To have this rule apply to all your e-mail accounts and Inboxes, select the Create this rule on all accounts check box on the last page of the Rules Wizard.
11. Hit the Run Now button and go on vacation or to your meeting and don’t worry about your emails!

Outlook is pretty smart when it sends these messages.  If one person sends you numerous emails while you are away and your rule is in place, the sender will only receive one Out Of Office reply.

Tags: auto responder, auto-reply, autoreply, Microsoft, out of office, Outlook 2007

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at 4:29 pm and is filed under Internet Tools & Tricks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.