Setting up an out-of-office assistant (holiday reply)
What you need
- Access to your webmail at webmail.mailflux.eu.
- The period you'll be away: a start and end date.
- The text of your message, and optionally a colleague or alternative address you want to mention.
Setting up the out-of-office assistant: step by step
- Log in to your webmail and open the Settings menu (usually the gear icon in the top right).
- Look for the Out of office, Holiday or Automatic reply section.
- Switch the assistant on.
- In the Subject field, enter a short title, for example "Away until 4 August".
- Write your text in the Message field. Mention when you'll be back and who people can turn to in the meantime.
- Set a start and end date. That way the automatic reply stops on its own and you don't have to think about it after your holiday.
- Save. From the start date, every sender gets your message, usually once per person.
Keep the text short and friendly. A good holiday reply mentions the date you'll be back and an alternative contact for urgent matters. That way everything keeps running while you take a break. If you want to know how features like this fit into professional email hosting, you can read up on that there at your leisure.
A sample text
Not sure how to phrase it? This template works almost every time:
> Thank you for your message. I'm away until 3 August inclusive and won't be reading my email during that period. For urgent matters you can reach a colleague at colleague@yourbusiness.be. From 4 August I'll respond as soon as possible.
Adjust the dates and the contact to your own situation. If you work in a sector where confidentiality matters, keep the text deliberately neutral: don't reveal too much about why you're away or exactly how long you'll be reachable. A short, businesslike message is enough and looks polished.
Also remember that if you work in a team, you should agree among yourselves who handles which mail. An out-of-office assistant that refers to a colleague only works if that colleague knows about it too.
Not working?
- No automatic reply is being sent. Check whether the assistant is switched on and whether the start date has already been reached.
- The message is still active after your holiday. Then no end date was set. Fill one in after all, or switch the assistant off manually.
- Senders receive the same reply several times. Most systems send once per sender. If someone gets it more often, check whether a second rule is active.
- You want to set it up in an email program. The out-of-office assistant is most conveniently set up in the webmail; it also keeps working when your computer is off. You'll find the details for your program in the IMAP server settings.
- You expected a reply to your own test email. Most systems don't send an automatic reply to your own address. So test from a different address to see whether it works.
Done, and enjoy your time off
Once you've set and saved a start and end date, your out-of-office assistant is all set and you don't have to think about anything else. Want to arrange this for a whole team or several mailboxes, or do you still need a mailbox? Request your mailbox with no obligation, we're happy to help you get going.