How do I set an automatic away or vacation message?

This feature is often known as an out-of-office auto-reply message and allows you too set an away message that automatically replies to people who send you messages when you are out of the office for an extended period of time. This auto-reply message is sent to each recipient only once, regardless of how many messages that person sends you during the designated vacation period.

Movie guide

Movie demonstration of how to set an automatic away or vacation message using the web interface to the departmental mail system

Step-by-step guide

Notes:

• If you need to set a vacation message on a shared delegate or pseudo mailbox, you will need to use the address:
      https://www.maths.ox.ac.uk/email/access-delegated-mailboxes/
  When prompted for the name of the shared mailbox, use it's short username.
   
• If you are setting up a vacation message for your own mailbox, you should use the address:
      https://zimbra.maths.ox.ac.uk/

To create an away message:

1. Log in to the web interface using one of the addresses above.
2. Click the Preferences tab.
3. Click on Mail in the preferences panel on the left to reveal the main mail settings.
4. Scroll down to the Receiving Messages area, as shown below.

   

5. Check Send auto-reply message.
6. Enter the message to be sent in the text box, such as the message shown above.
7. Check Start Date.
8. Click the arrow to open the calendar, and select the start for the away message.
9. Check End Date.
10. Click the arrow to open the calendar, and select the end for the away message. The End Date is the last date (inclusive) that the away message is sent. (Note: Setting the Start Date and End Date are optional).
11. Click