Setting an Out Of Office Auto-responder for Shared Mailboxes

There is often a requirement to add an auto-responder to a shared mailbox, particularly during the festive season. This guide will demonstrate how you can manage this - providing you have access to the mailbox.

1. Visit Outlook Office365 Webmail

Outlook Webmail is a web-browser based version of Outlook. You do not need to install anything, and it is accessible from anywhere. It might look slightly different, but some features are only accessible via webmail - such as those demonstrated in this guide.

Click this link to visit the sign-in page for Office 365 webmail: https://outlook.office365.com

2. Sign in with your own Email Address

Even though you may be trying to change the auto-responder for a shared mailbox, at this stage you will still need to sign in with your own credentials.

3. Switch to the Shared Mailbox

  1. Click on your initials at the top right of the screen. This will open up a small menu
  2. Click "Open another mailbox". This will open up a small box in the middle of the screen
  3. Enter the email address of the shared mailbox with the auto-responder that you wish to change
  4. Click "Open"

The shared mailbox will now open in another browser tab.

4. Manage the Out-Of-Office Auto-responder

  1. Right click on the cog icon (settings) on the top right of the page
  2. Select "View all Outlook settings". This will open up a new window in the middle of the screen
  3. Ensure "Email" is selected in the far left menu
  4. Choose "Automatic replies"
  5. Enable it by toggling the switch
  6. [Optional] Arrange for the auto-responder to turn on and off at a set time, to save yourself manually having to set it
  7. Type your message into this box. Be aware that you can set a different message for both INSIDE (top box) and OUTSIDE (bottom box) your organization. We advise making both messages identical so that internal staff can see the message that your external clients will see
  8. Click "Save" to apply the changes

NOTE: Autoresponder's will only send ONE email per recipient. Once a person receives your out-of-office message, they will not receive it again if they continue to send you emails. This is by design to prevent two auto-responders from continually responding to eachother and cannot be changed.

 

Keep this in mind when testing your auto-responder.