Did you know that almost every email program allows for auto-responder/vacation messages?

There are several ways you can use this feature in your email.  Some are straight-forward, but a couple are “outside the box.”

Send automatic responses to notify senders of:

  • When you’ll respond to their email
    • A time of day or ‘within 24 hours’
  • How long you’re out of the office
    • Either for a meeting or for a vacation
  • An email address change if you’re trying to shut down an old email account

You will only be able to do one of these at a time, but it’s a huge help when you want to communicate the same message to everyone who emails you.

Note:  Be sure to look at the built-in settings for your “out of office/vacation” messages – the program may not send the auto-response every time someone emails you.  Often it will only send a response to a sender once every 3-4 days.

If you’re not sure how to set your “out of office/vacation” messages, here are some resources: