To: UCOP Community
From: Tara Brant, Manager, IR&C; Technology Service Desk
In Outlook you can use the Out of Office Assistant to send an automatic e-mail to everyone who writes to you while you are away from the office. The auto reply message can let people know you are out, when to expect you back, and who to contact in your absence.
There are two ways to activate the "Out of Office Assistant," either from your desktop at work or through Outlook Web Access (OWA). Note that Mac users must always use OWA to activate the Out of Office Assistant.
Option 1: From the Desktop
To activate the Out of Office assistant,
The auto reply will be issued even though your computer is turned off. Your auto reply is sent only once to each sender, even if you receive multiple messages from that person.
Turning Off the Out of Office Assistant
When you return to work and launch Outlook, you will see an alert box reminding
you that the Out of Office Assistant is on and giving you the option to turn
it off. You may click Yes in the alert box, as shown below,
or return to the Tools menu, select Out of Office Assistant, and check the button, "I am currently In the Office."
Option 2: Through Outlook Web Access
You also can activate the Out of Office Assistant through Outlook Web Access
(OWA). This is a great tool if you must take an unplanned absence from the
office. If you use a Mac, you must always use OWA, since Entourage for the
Mac does not offer an auto reply function.
Log onto OWA at https://owa.ucop.edu via any Web browser. Internet Explorer is preferred. More information about using OWA is available on the IR&C; Web site: http://www.ucop.edu/irc/services/outlook/owa.html.
On the left-hand side of the navigation pane, near the bottom, select Options.
To activate the Out of Office assistant,
If you have questions about this tip or any other Outlook feature, please contact the IR&C; TechDesk at 987-0457 or techdesk@ucop.edu.
