Out of Office Assistant

[Mama working from home]

I work from home and need access to the Out of Office Assistant, but Office
help says:
"The Out of Office Assistant command does not appear unless you are using an
Exchange Server e-mail account and you are in the Mail view."

Is there a way for me to get an auto reply for my email without being on an
exchange server? I often am out of town and need an auto reply.

Thanks!

 

[JoAnn Paules]

Call your ISP and ask how to set it up. I did it last year with my former
ISP and had to set it up on their website.

--

JoAnn Paules
Microsoft MVP - Publisher

How to ask a question
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

 

[Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]]

Use rules but be aware:

You must leave your computer and Outlook on with an active Internet connection the entire time.
You will probably have your auto-responder answer spam emails as well, confirming that the spammer has a "live one."

A better solution is to see if your ISP has a "vacation message" option and use that instead.

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. All
unsolicited mail sent to my personal account will be deleted without
reading.

After furious head scratching, Mama working from home asked:

| I work from home and need access to the Out of Office Assistant, but
| Office help says:
| "The Out of Office Assistant command does not appear unless you are
| using an Exchange Server e-mail account and you are in the Mail view."
|
| Is there a way for me to get an auto reply for my email without being
| on an exchange server? I often am out of town and need an auto reply.
|
| Thanks!

 

[Val]

Before you go to a lot of trouble, consider this:

"Most Rude E-Mail Dept.: What's with people who send an automated e-mail
telling you they are out of the office? So what? Since when is e-mail
tethered to the office? Most of these people have laptops or BlackBerry
devices anyway. Sorry, but the idiotic robot-generated mail has annoyed me
for years. At least change it to "Out of Office Auto-Reply. I'm sorry, I'm
too stupid to use my laptop e-mail and/or I'm in Borneo and can't get a
connection. As far as I'm concerned, you deserve an auto-reply." Thanks."

John Dvorak, posted at http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,8633,00.asp


Val

 

[JoAnn Paules]

Not everyone checks their email when on vacation or has access to a computer
or has access to their work email away from the office.

--

JoAnn Paules
Microsoft MVP - Publisher

How to ask a question
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

 

[Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]]

Oh, and did you know that John Dvorak is an idiot?

For people who work out of their homes and depend on contacts from customers, telling them when they will return is their bread and butter.

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. All
unsolicited mail sent to my personal account will be deleted without
reading.

After furious head scratching, Val asked:

| Before you go to a lot of trouble, consider this:
|
| "Most Rude E-Mail Dept.: What's with people who send an automated
| e-mail telling you they are out of the office? So what? Since when is
| e-mail tethered to the office? Most of these people have laptops or
| BlackBerry devices anyway. Sorry, but the idiotic robot-generated
| mail has annoyed me for years. At least change it to "Out of Office
| Auto-Reply. I'm sorry, I'm too stupid to use my laptop e-mail and/or
| I'm in Borneo and can't get a connection. As far as I'm concerned,
| you deserve an auto-reply." Thanks."
|
| John Dvorak, posted at
| http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,8633,00.asp
|
|
| Val
|
| "Mama working from home" <Mama working from
| (e-mail address removed)> wrote in message
|
|| I work from home and need access to the Out of Office Assistant, but
|| Office help says:
|| "The Out of Office Assistant command does not appear unless you are
|| using an
|| Exchange Server e-mail account and you are in the Mail view."
||
|| Is there a way for me to get an auto reply for my email without
|| being on an
|| exchange server? I often am out of town and need an auto reply.
||
|| Thanks!

 

[Tim]

I remember reading this column in PC Magazine and remembering how odd it
was. Usually, I can find at least a bit of something to agree with in what
he writes. But not this time. I view out-of-office replies as being polite
and providing good customer service. It tells people that I am not
intentionally ignorning their message and gives them a timeframe when they
can expect a response (assuming you have adaquately worded the text in the
auto-reply). Of course, the down-side is letting spammers know of a live
address...but if you have decent screening, most wouldn't make it far enough
to receive an auto-reply.

Just because Dvorak says it, doesn't make it something we should all live
by. I don't remember reading anything like this from other IT pundits
(granted, I haven't read them all).

Tim