Vacation/Auto-Replies in Exchange

In the past, you could use the EDS web site to configure a message that automatically replied to those who sent you email while you were away. On Exchange, if you want to automatically send an e-mail response to any new messages while you are away on vacation or out of the office, you MUST set that up using either Outlook, Entourage, or the OWA website.

Outlook 2007

1. On the Tools menu, click Out of Office Assistant.
   
   
   Note: The Tools menu appears on the main Outlook window. The main window is the same window that appears when you start Outlook and includes the File, Edit, View, Go, Tools, Actions, and Help menus. There is no Tools menu in windows where you create or view items such as e-mail messages, contacts, or tasks.
   
   
2. Click Send Out of Office auto-replies.
   
   
3. If you want, select the Only send during this time range check box to schedule when your out of office replies are active. If you do not specify a start and end time, auto-replies will be sent until you click Do not send Out of Office auto-replies.
   
   
4. On the Inside My Organization tab, type the response that you want to send while you are out of the office.
   
   To send auto-replies to people out of Notre Dame, continue with steps 5 and 6.
   
   
5. On the Outside My Organization tab, select the Auto-reply to people outside my organization check box, and then type the response that you want to send while you are out of the office.
   
   Note: Organization is usually defined as your company and includes people who have an Exchange Server account on your e-mail system.
   
   When the Auto-reply to people outside my organization check box is selected, the Outside My Organization tab displays (On) next to the tab name.
   
   
6. On the Outside My Organization tab, click My Contacts only or Anyone outside my organization to specify the people to whom auto-replies are to be sent. The OIT would recommend selecting My Contacts only to prevent your auto-reply from going to spammers.

Note: The contact must exist in your Exchange Server Contacts folder. If the contact exists only in a folder that is a part of a Personal Folders file (.pst), the auto-reply message will not be sent.

 

Entourage 2008

1. While in Entourage, click Mail.
2. In the folder list, click on your Notre Dame Microsoft Exchange account.
3. On the Tools menu, click Out of Office.
4. Click Send Out of Office messages.
5. In the Reply to message with box, type the text that you want to include in your automatic reply.
6. Click More Options, and then do any of the following:

To	Do This
Set start and end dates for an Out of Office mesage	Select the I am out of the office between check box, and then set your Start date and End date.
Set options for replying outside of Notre Dame	Select the Send replies outside my company to check box, and then follow the instructions on the screen.

Please note: If you have setup a delegate for your email or calendar in Exchange, they cannot turn your Out of Office Assistant on or off for you.

 

 

OWA

1. Login to owa.nd.edu with your NetID and password.
2. Click the Options link near the top right of the page, then select the Out of Office Assistant from the left menu.
3. Important:  Before you can change any of the settings on this page, you must click the Send Out of Office auto-replies option button.
4. After you change the settings on this page (described below), click Save to apply your changes and activate your auto-reply.

OWA Out of Office Assistant options:

Do not send Out of Office auto-replies  Select this option to disable the Out of Office Assistant. By default, Out of Office auto-replies are disabled.

Send Out of Office auto-replies  Select this option to enable the Out of Office Assistant. When you enable the Out of Office Assistant, an automatic reply is sent to e-mail messages that you receive. After you enable this setting, you must enter your auto-reply message in the text field labeled Send an auto-reply once to each sender inside my organization with the following message.

Send Out of Office auto-replies only during this time period  Select this option if you want to define a time period that includes the dates and the times that you want automatic replies to be sent. Use the lists next to Start time and End time to configure the dates and times for the period that you want automatic replies to be sent to senders.

Replace my current Out of Office message with the following  Select this check box to replace your existing internal Out of Office auto-reply with the new text that you enter in the text box. After you select this check box, you must enter text into the text field labeled Replace my current Out of Office message with the following.

Send Out of Office auto-replies to External Senders  Select this check box to enable the Out of Office Assistant to send auto-replies to external senders in addition to internal senders. The auto-reply that you enter for external senders is sent only to senders outside of your organization. After you enable this setting, you must enter text into the text field labeled Send an auto-reply once to each sender outside my organization with the following message.

Send Out of Office auto-replies only to senders in my Contacts list  Select this option if you want auto-reply messages to be sent only to those external senders that are in your Contacts list.

Send Out of Office auto-replies to anyone outside my organization  Select this option if you want auto-reply messages to be sent to anyone outside your organization. This includes people in your Contacts list.

Note  If you do not enter text in the text fields and the Out of Office Assistant is enabled, senders will not receive an auto-reply message.

Replace my current external Out of Office message with the following  Select this check box to replace your existing external Out of Office auto-reply with the new text that you enter in the text box. After you select this check box, you must enter text into the text field labeled Replace my current external Out of Office message with the following.