How to Set Out of Office in Outlook

By Kevin Stratvert

Categories: Tools, AI, Product

Summary

Learn how to set up a fully customizable out-of-office reply in Outlook in under a minute. Automatically decline meetings, block your calendar, and send tailored messages to internal and external contacts while you're away.

Key Takeaways

  1. Toggle on automatic replies and set a start and end time to have Outlook turn the out-of-office on and off automatically.
  2. Customize your out-of-office message with formatting, and choose whether to send it to internal or external contacts.
  3. Decline new meeting invites and existing meetings while you're away to block your calendar.
  4. Reuse the same out-of-office message or write a shorter version for external contacts.
  5. The entire out-of-office setup process takes less than a minute in Outlook.
  6. Outlook's out-of-office feature allows you to maintain productivity and manage expectations while you're away.

Related topics

Transcript Excerpt

Going on vacation or just stepping away  for a little bit? Here's how to set an   out of office reply in Outlook. Click the  settings gear in the top right-hand corner.   Then make sure you're in the accounts tab  and then click automatic replies. Choose the   account you want and then toggle on automatic  replies. You can set a start and end time,   so Outlook turns it on and off automatically.  You could even block your calendar, decline   new invites or decline existing meetings while  you're away. Type your message right down below.   You can format it however you like. Then decide  whether to send it only inside your organization   or also to people outside your company. You can  reuse the same message or write a shorter one for   external contacts. Once you're done, click save  and t…

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