How to set Out of Office in Outlook

There is nothing quite like the day before you’re about to head off on a well-earned break. You finish your last few tasks, tidy up your inbox, and get ready to shut down your computer. Before you leave, though, there is one important step you shouldn’t forget: setting up your Outlook Out of Office message.

An Outlook Out of Office reply lets colleagues, clients, and other contacts know that you are unavailable and may not respond to emails straight away. This means that if you’re taking annual leave, attending a conference, working offsite, or simply unavailable for a few days, an automatic reply will help manage expectations and prevents people from wondering why they haven’t heard back from you.

I recently experienced this myself when I arrived onsite to conduct training. I waited in the foyer for my contact person, but nobody arrived. When I sent them a Microsoft Teams message, I could see they were away because an Out of Office notice appeared in Teams. However, I had received no automatic email reply the day before, so I had no indication they wouldn’t be available.

The good news is that setting up an Outlook Out of Office message only takes a few minutes. Let’s take a look at how to configure your Out of Office settings in Outlook so that both people inside and outside your organisation are automatically informed when you’re away.

Configure Outlook Out of Office for Outlook Classic

Let’s look at the steps to configure your Out of Office message when using Microsoft Outlook Classic.

1. Open Microsoft Outlook Classic.
2. The Inbox will be displayed.
3. Click the File tab from the ribbon.
4. The Account Information window will appear:

5. From the options, click the Automatic Replies button.
6. The Automatic Replies window will appear:

7. Click the Send automatic replies button to turn the feature ON.
8. You can now choose the time range you want the Out of Office message to be sent for.
9. Click the Start time and choose the first date along with the time.
10. Click the End time and choose the last date along with the time.
11. The Out of Office message will only be sent out during this time period:

12. Now click in the text area and add in the message you want to send to those INSIDE your organisation:

13. Now select the Outside My Organization (Off) tab.
14. Check the option to Auto-reply to people outside my organization:

15. Click in the text area and add in the message you want to send to those OUTSIDE your organisation.
16. Once you are happy with the messaging, click OK.

Configure Outlook Out of Office for the New Outlook

Let’s look at the steps to configure your Out of Office message when using the new Outlook.

1. Open the new Outlook.
2. The Inbox will be displayed.
3. Click the File tab from the ribbon and choose Settings.
4. The Settings window will appear:

5. From the options, click Accounts, then choose Automatic replies.
6. The Automatic Replies window will appear:

7. Click the button to enable the feature.
8. To select a specific time range, enable the checkbox for Send replies only during a time period.
9. Click the date for Start and choose the start date, then set the time.
10. Click the date for End and choose the finish date, then set the time.
11. Additional options include the ability to Block my calendar, Automatically decline new invitations and Decline and cancel my meetings.
12. Now click in the text area and add in the message you want to send to those INSIDE your organisation:

13. Now select the Send replies outside my organization checkbox.
14. Click in the text area and add in the message you want to send to those OUTSIDE your organisation.
15. Once you are happy with the messaging, click the Save button then close the window.

Does Out of Office sync with Microsoft Teams?

I’m often asked if Automatic Replies (Out of Office) in Outlook will synchronise with Microsoft Teams. Thankfully they do so if you set up the Outlook Out of Office, then it will synchronise and appear to users in Microsoft Teams.

To access the Out of Office feature in Teams:

1. Open Microsoft Teams.
2. Click the ellipsis (…) button in the top right corner and choose Settings, or press Ctrl + , (ctrl + comma).
3. The Settings window will appear.
4. Scroll to the bottom of the General screen and find the Out of office setting.
5. Click View.
6. You should see the same messages you have set in Outlook in the Teams fields:

If you have set the time period for the Out of Office to appear then you should not need to do anything when you return back to work as it should automatically switch off. If you did not select a time period, then you will need to go back into the Out of Office area in Outlook or Teams and turn the feature off upon your return.

Setting up an Outlook Out of Office message is a simple step that can save a lot of confusion for colleagues, clients, and anyone trying to contact you while you’re away. It’s a simple way to communicate your availability, set expectations and ensure people know when they can expect a response. By spending a few minutes configuring your Out of Office settings before you leave, you can avoid confusion and help both internal staff and external contacts stay informed. With Outlook and Teams working together, everyone will know you’re away, leaving you free to enjoy your time out of the office.

Feel free to leave any questions below or check out some of my other Outlook posts here.