Outlook and Exchange support setting a vacation message through the use of the Out of Office Assistant. When someone is out of the office for a period of time and unable to see or reply to email messages, they may wish to turn on this feature so that correspondents know it may be awhile before they receive a response. This can be done using Microsoft Outlook or via the Outlook Web Access. (On the other hand, some people prefer not to set up vacation messages like this to prevent responses going to Spammers or others.)

Once set, the Out of Office Assistant automatically responds when someone sends you a message, indicating that you are away from the office. The notice can display any text that you choose to send, including the dates and times you are out of the office and any additional information, such as who to contact regarding questions. Outlook does not need to be running for the response to be sent.

• From the Outlook Inbox, pull down the Tools menu and select Out of Office Assistant.
  The Out of Office Assistant dialog box is displayed.
  
  
  
• Select “I am currently Out of the Office.”
  
• In the box under “AutoReply only once to each sender with the following text,” type the message you wish to send.
  
• Click OK.

When someone sends you an email message, they will automatically receive a reply message from you containing the text entered in the Out of Office Assistant setup. This only affects the first message any one user sends you. They can continue to send you messages, but they will not continue to be notified. Your messages will be stored in your account on the Exchange server.

It is important to remember to turn the Out of Office Assistant "off" when you return to the office. When you open Outlook, you should be prompted that the Out of Office Assistant is currently on with the option to turn it off or not. If this doesn’t happen, pull down the Tools menu and select Out of Office Assistant. Select “I am currently in the Office.”

To set up the Out of Office Assistant using Outlook Web Access (OWA)

• Launch Internet Explorer and log in to your mailbox using the web email service at https://mail.cahnrs.wsu.edu.
  
• Click on the Options button in the Navigation bar in the lower left column. (If the button is not visible, click on the Shortcuts button, then click on Options).
  
  The Options page will be displayed.
  
  
  
• In the Out of Office Assistant section, click in the text box and type the information you wish to reply to people sending you messages.
  
• Turn on Out of Office by selecting the “I'm currently out of the office option.” (Out of Office Assistant can be turned off by selecting the “I'm currently in the office option.”)
  
• Click on the Save and Close button at the top of the Options page to apply the changes you have made.

Important Tips:

For your own safety Out of Office autoreplies should never mention a vacation or similar reason for being unable to answer the message promptly. "I am currently away from the office...." is preferable to "I am on vacation until...." Also, if appropriate, please provide details of an alternative address that senders can email to in your absence. “For any urgent questions please contact....”