Out of the office? Reply to messages with Outlook

Matt Shelton contributed today's post about how to use Out of Office and Automatic Replies to send email responses when you're away from the office. Matt, a senior writer, focuses on creating Office content for teachers and students.

If you can't reply to e-mails during the work day (or if you're away from your computer), you know how emails can pile up. And it can be frustrating when you email someone with a question and you get no response. For days. Only to find out later that they were on vacation.

Enter the Out of Office Assistant and Automatic Replies. You can send an automatic email response to anyone who emails you during the time you're away from your desk. If you're on vacation, in an extra-long meeting, or just taking a lunch break, use Out of Office to tell the sender where you are, when you'll be back, and who to contact in your absence.

• Outlook 2010 customers If you have an Exchange server account, you can use Automatic Replies to alert people that you're away (and when you'll be back).
• Outlook 2007 customers If you have an Exchange server account, you can use the Out of Office Assistant to automatically respond to email messages. If you don't have an Exchange account, you can still use rules and an email template to tell people when you're away. If you find yourself getting stuck when crafting your automated response, try using a formal or informal template. And, if you want to ensure that the time you'll be away is extra visible to coworkers and friends, learn how to display vacation time on your coworker's Outlook calendars.
• Outlook 2003 customers If you have an Exchange server account, follow these instructions to send an automatic response to emails, or check out a short video: Automatically reply to messages while out of the office.

What's your best Out of Office story?

--Matt Shelton