Out of Office Auto-reply

This page will show you how to configure Apple’s Mail program
to automatically respond to incoming email for when you are on vacation or otherwise out of the district.
  • Open up Mail then in the top menu bar go to Mail and click Preferences.
  • In the preference window select “Rules” at the top and click the “Add Rule” button.
  • In the “Description” text field, name your new rule.
  • In the Drop-down menus under “If any of the following conditions are met:”, choose “Account” and then the email account to which you would like the rule to apply.
  • In the Drop-down menu under “Perform the following actions:”, choose “Reply to Message” then click the Reply message text...” button to insert your message.
  • Insert your message into the “Reply Message” text box.
  • Click “OK” when finished.
Note: For the new rule to work correctly you must leave your computer on with the Mail application open during your absence.
Once you return you may simply turn off the auto-reply feature by unchecking the box under the “Active” list next to the rule.