Exchange Out of Office Assistant
Information Systems · How-To Guides
Using the "Out of Office Assistant" in Outlook Exchange

Microsoft Outlook Exchange provides an "Out of Office Assistant" which can be set up to respond to any emails you receive while you are not able to check/respond to your email for designated periods of time. "Out of Office Assistant" is an auto-reply feature which allows you to customize your responses to any emails you receive while you are away.


A few items of note about "Out of Office Assistant:"

  • "Out of Office Assistant" will auto-reply to any message you receive, including any junk mail or messages from spammers. For this reason, it is advisable not to give too many details in your auto-reply message.

    For example, you may not wish to give specifics such as that you will be out of town, on vacation, or at a conference. Instead you could use generic terminology such as:
    "I will be out of the office until xxx, and will not be checking email. If you need immediate assistance, please send a message to xxx, or call xxx." or " I will not be checking my email until xxx. If you need immediate assistance contact xxx."
  • While you can set "Out of Office Assistant" to automatically forward your messages to an associate while you are gone;  you can not have it forward your mail to any e-mail account which is not part of the HSC Exchange system. This means that mail can not be forward to an AOL, Hotmail, Yahoo or any other e-mail account with a domain other than hsc.usf.edu. (Note: Due to HIPAA requirements, automatically forwarding e-mail off of the HSC Exchange e-mail system is not allowed anyhow.)

    For example, if you are project lead on a specific project and you are expecting e-mails which require immediate response, you might designate someone in the office to handle all inquires or communication regarding the project. In this case, the "Out of Office Assistant" is a excellent tool to use.

  • If your account has subscriptions to any listservs or mailing lists, it is advisable to suspend any mail you will be receiving from those lists during those periods where you are going to use the "Out of Office Assistant". By doing this, you avoid the risk of autoreplying to any mailing lists. Usually listservs have features which allow you to suspend receiving e-mail for a time. If your listserv has a web site, try accessing that web site or else you could send an e-mail to the administrator of the list.
  • When someone sends you a message and you have the "Out of Office Assistant" turned on, they will receive the reply you have specified only once, no matter how many times they send you a message during the period of time you have specified. Remember: When you return make sure you turn off the "Out of Office Assistant." You will not be reminded by Outlook to turn it off.

 

Turning on the "Out of Office Assistant" using Outlook

1. From the Main window, select an e-mail folder and then pull down the "Tools" menu to select "Out of Office Assistant."

Out of Office Menu Select
Figure 1.

 

2. Place a dot in the circle for
"I am currently Out of the Office."


3. In the box under the text, "AutoReply only once to each sender with the following text," type the message you wish to auto-send.

Image of Out of Office Example
Figure 2.

 


Using Rules to Specify Special Responses.


You can create Rules, or custom responses to emails you receive, using the "Out of Office Assistant." This is particularly useful if you wish to have important e-mails you receive forwarded to a colleague who can deal with immediate issues.


1. To create a rule, select the "Add Rule" button shown in Figure 2 above. You should now see options such as those in Figure 3.

2. To filter only the specific e-mails you wish to, you can configure these settings. You can specify from whom, or to whom the e-mails were sent, or specify words expected in those e-mails. The example in Figure 3 will choose e-mails which were sent to either hscstaff@hsc.usf.edu or directly to your account and it will then forward those e-mails to siam@hsc.usf.edu.

3. To finish setting up this rule, select the "Okay" Button at the top.

Edit Rule Image
Figure 3.

 

4. Once completed, you should see the rule listed as shown in Figure 4.

5. You can edit, delete or add an additional rule using the buttons along the bottom.

6. To complete setting up the "Out of Office Assistant," click the "OK" button.

Image of Out of Office Assitant with Rule
Figure 4.

Turning on the "Out of Office Assistant" with Outlook Web Access

1. In the Outlook Web Access Client, select the "Options" tab along the lower left hand corner. (Note: the Outlook Web Access Client can only be accessed while outside our firewall or via a kiosk.)

Image of Outlook Web Access Menu
Figure 5.

 

2. Select the "I'm currently out of the office" option and type in your auto-reply message in the "AutoReply only once to each sender" field.

3. Click the "Save and Close" option along the top.
Image of OWA Out of Office Assistant
Figure 6.

Conclusion

Once you have activated the "Out of Office Assistant," any email (unless specified by setting up specific rules) will receive a reply that resembles Figure 7.
Image of Out of Office Reply
Figure 7.

Important: Remember to turn off the "Out of Office Assistant" when you return. Outlook will not remind you to turn it off.
   
  Helpful Information on the "Out of Office Assistant":
Microsoft Out of Office Assistant Online Tips.