Outlook out of office reply

[LRN]

My out of office reply will not work even though I select to use it. If I select to use it and customize the message and turn it on it appears to be fine. However, when someone sends and email message to me, it does not send the out of office reply. When I log back into Outlook it even asks me to turn it off. Anyone know why it is not generating the message?

[Big Booger]

you have a virus scanner or firewall? One or the other could stop it.

Are you running the latest version of Outlook? Try updating it if it is outdated.

Also is your company using Exchange Server? As I read on another site:
Out of Office Assistant works only with Exchange Server

Have you tried using the Inbox rules to virtually do the same thing?
On the Tools menu, point to Message Rules, and then click Mail.
Then create a rule that replies to all messages with an out of office message. That should work. Though it will require a little work on your part.

If none of the above work, try the link below:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=290846

the link above outlines the out of office useage.

Good luck and keep us posted. I am interested in how this works out.
BB

[Reverend]

Did you use the "Out Of Office" option on the tools menu,or did you set it up via "Message Rules".

If you used the Message Rules option,Outlook must be running in the background,otherwise email replies will not be sent.

[Tinker]

Welcome to Techzonez LRN. Post often as we love a challenge. Please do enjoy your stay and have fun......

I do not have an answer for your question.......:D
Just wanted to welcome you......

[LRN]

Hi BB - thanks for the response. I am on Microsoft Office 2000. My company does have a virus scanner and I do belive we are using an exchange server. Here is the deal...I am the only one out of 200 employees that has this problem...what's with that??

As far as the rules, I do have to use this option when I am out of the office. But the deal with that is, anyone who sends me a message, they receive the rule message everytime they send me a message...and of course they complain about it.

Once I have time I will look at the link you sent but those links have so much computer language I don't always understand it...thanks again!

Originally posted by Big Booger
you have a virus scanner or firewall? One or the other could stop it.

Are you running the latest version of Outlook? Try updating it if it is outdated.

Also is your company using Exchange Server? As I read on another site:
Out of Office Assistant works only with Exchange Server

Have you tried using the Inbox rules to virtually do the same thing?
On the Tools menu, point to Message Rules, and then click Mail.
Then create a rule that replies to all messages with an out of office message. That should work. Though it will require a little work on your part.

If none of the above work, try the link below:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=290846

the link above outlines the out of office useage.

Good luck and keep us posted. I am interested in how this works out.
BB :p

[Big Booger]

What OS are you on?
DO you have an administrator account, that is if you are on Windows 2K or Windows XP?

If so, try logging into another account, and doing it. It could be that your account is messed up.


Last thing.

If you can't figure it out and you dont want to use the rules only, you can emulate, or make a fake out of office assistant:

Follow the Rules Below

Defining an Automatic Reply Template

Open a new Outlook message formatted as plain text. Note: Do not use Microsoft Word as the e-mail editor.
Type whatever information you would like to appear in your reply message.
On the File menu, click Save As.
In the Save As dialog box, click to select the Outlook Template check box in the Save As Type list.
Type a name for your reply template in the File Name box, and click Save.

Defining a Rule to Send an Automatic Reply

On the Tools menu, click Rules Wizard.
In the Rules Wizard dialog box, click New.
Under Which type of rule do you want to create? click Check messages when they arrive, and then click Next.
Under Which condition(s) do you want to check?, click to select the Sent Only To Me check box, or any other criteria you want, and then click Next.
Under What do you want to do with the message?, click to select the Reply using a specific template check box.
Under Rule Description, click the underlined phrase, a specific template.
In the Select A Reply Template dialog box, click the template you saved in step 5 of the previous set of instructions, and then click Open.
Complete the Rule Wizard instructions, click Finish and then click OK.
The Rules Wizard rule to "reply using a specific template" is designed to send the reply only once to each sender, during a session. This prevents Outlook from sending repetitive replies to a sender from whom you receive multiple messages.

During a session, Outlook remembers the list of users to whom it has responded. Restarting Outlook deletes this list, resetting the rule to start again for each sender.

NOTE: Outlook must be running for the Rules Wizard to auto-reply. Also, it must be configured to periodically check for new messages and set to hang up when finished sending and receiving.


The above was take from the site below:
Emulate Out of Office Assistant (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;248830)

We will do our best to help. Got questions, just ask and we will see what can be done.

Keep at it. Computers can be a pain, but once you get them going in the right direction, they can be fun and productive!
BB