Setting up Automatic Replies and Auto-forwarding in Outlook

Automatic Replies and Auto-forwarding in Outlook

Taking some hard earned time off this Christmas? Then why not set up Automatic Replies in Outlook, to avoid having to check your emails from home. Automatic replies are a great way to let people know that you are out of the office and pointing them in the right direction of where they can get the assistance they need. Your automatic replies can be tailored to internal and external contacts to ensure everyone gets the information that is relevant to them.

Here’s how to set up Automatic Replies…

• Firstly you  need to locate the Automatic Replies button, you can find it by clicking the file tab.

• Clicking the Automatic Replies button will open a dialog box which allows you to set a time period for the replies to be sent out. (this is optional as they can be turned on and off manually)
• The next step allows you to create two replies, one for people inside your organisation and another for people outside your organisation. This gives you the option to tailor your replies for customers and colleagues.                                                                                                                

• You also have the option to restrict your replies to either outside or inside contacts only. Once you have typed your reply in the relevant box click ok and you are finished.

Auto-forwarding is another useful tool for when you are out of office. If you are lucky enough to have someone handling your emails while you are out of the office, this is a handy rule to set up, as it will forward all your mail to a specific person or group of people. To set up Auto-forwarding follow the steps below:

• Firstly click the file tab and select the Manage Rules & Alerts option.
• This will open the Rules Wizard window, where you need to click the new rule option.                      
  
• In this dialog box you need to select Apply Rule on messages I receive option, found under the Start from a blank rule section.
• The next dialog box allows you to set specific conditions, check the necessary boxes to add the required conditions.
• To specify rule descriptions click on the underlined links underneath the list of conditions. This will open another dialog box where you can enter values for the conditions.                                 
  
• Select the forward to people or public groups option and click the underlined link. This will allow you to enter the email address that you would like to forward to.
• In the next step you can create exceptions to the rule.
• Finally name your rule and click finish.

 Outlook has a number of useful tools to help you get the most from your emails, we hope you find these two to be useful.