Auto Reply Help in Outlook

For this configuration to properly work you must:

1. Have Outlook running in order to send an Automatic Reply. (see below)
2. Have Outlook setup to periodically retrieve email. (see below)

Create Your Auto Reply Message

1. Open a new Outlook Mail Message formatted as text only.
2. Type the information you would like to appear in your reply message.
3. In the File menu choose Save As.
4. In the Save As box in the Save As Type list select Outlook Template.
5. Give your reply a File Name and click Save.

Make a Rule to Send Your Auto Reply

1. On the Tools menu choose Rules Wizard.
2. In the Rules Wizard dialog box, choose New.
3. Under Which type of rule do you want to create? choose Check messages when they arrive.
4. Under which conditons do you want to check? checkmark Sent only to me, or any other criteria you want, then choose Next.
5. Under What do you want to do with the message? checkmark Reply using a specific template.
6. Under Rule Description choose the underlined phrase "A specific template."
7. In the Select a Reply Template dialog box choose the template you saved in Step 5, then choose Open.
8. Complete the Rules Wizard Instructions by choosing Finish and then choose OK.

Additional Notes

The Rule Wizard selection Reply using a specific template is designed to send the reply message only once to each sender, during each session of receiving messages. This feature prevents Outlook from sending multiple replies for those who send mulitple messages. Outlook must be running for the Rules Wizard to use Auto Reply. It must be configured to periodically check for new messages and set to hang up after "Sending and Receiving." Follow the settings below to use these options.

How to Check Periodically for Messages:

• Click on Tools, then Options, then go to the Internet Mail tab. Enter an appropriate time frame in the field for Check for New Messages every (?) minutes. Choose Apply, then OK.

How to Set the Hang Up Configuration:

• Click on Tools, then Services. Next, select your mail acocunt, then choose Properties. Choose the Connections tab, and checkmark disconnect when finished sending/receiving. Choose Apply, then OK, and now you can close your services window by clicking on OK.