Nowadays, most organizations use shared calendars in Outlook to synchronize daily appointments, events, meetings, and other schedules with the help of Outlook Add-ins. You can set an out-of-office (OOO) message in the Outlook calendar when you are unavailable, which will be reflected in all your shared calendars.
With Outlook’s out-of-office calendar, you notify others that you are on vacation for a particular period, so do not disturb them during that time.
Setting Up Out of Office in Outlook Calendar — Quick Guide
We will discuss how you can set up Outlook’s out-of-office calendar for Windows, web, and Mac in detail.
How to add an out-of-office in Outlook Calendar in Windows
Refer to the steps below to use the Outlook out-of-office calendar feature.
Step 1→ Open the Outlook app.
Step 2→ Click on the Calendar icon on the bottom left.
Step 3→ Check/Select the Calendar in which you want to mark out of office.
Step 4→ Double-click on the first day in the calendar when you plan to be out of the office.
Now, the Event window will appear
Step 5→ In the Title field, write down why you are out. Then, in the location Field, write where you’re going.
Choose the start date when you will be out and the return date. Don’t forget to tick on All Day.
Step 6→ Select the Show As option as the Out of Office.
Please write down the Brief message in the body part of an email that you want to pass to others when they find you’re gone or not available. You can also provide an alternate contact number on your behalf.
Step 7→ Click on save and close.
Now you can check that the time you have set gets blocked (Highlighted on the calendar) on the selected calendar.
How to mark out of office in Outlook Calendar in Outlook on the web
With the simple steps, we will teach you how to set out-of-office notes on the Outlook browser.
Please follow the steps below to learn how to use Outlook’s out-of-office calendar in a web browser.
Step 1→ Open Outlook on the web browser and sign in if you are not already signed in
Step 2→ Click on the calendar from the left side panel.
Step 3→ Check/Select the Calendar in which you want to mark out of office
Step 4→ Double-click on the first day in the calendar when you plan to be out of the office, or you can click on New Event.
Step 5→ Add the title and in the Location Field, write where you’re going.
Choose the start date when you will be out and the return date. Don’t forget to tick on All Day.
Write a brief message body part that you want to convey to a co-worker.
Step 6→ Select the Show As option as Away.
Step 7→ Click on save and close.
Now you can verify that the time you have set is blocked (visually highlighted on the calendar) on the selected calendar.
How to put out of office in Outlook Calendar on Mac
You can follow the steps below to learn how to set up an out-of-office message in Outlook Calendar on a Mac device.
Step 1→ Open the Outlook app on Mac.
Step 2→ Click on the Calendar icon on the bottom left.
Step 3→ Check/Select the Calendar in which you want to mark out of office.
Step 4→ Double-click on the first day in the calendar when you plan to be out of the office.
Now, the Event window will appear,
Step 5→ Mention Title and location under the Title Field and the location field, respectively.
Choose the start date when you will be out and the return date. Don’t forget to tick mark on All Day.
Step 6→ Select the “Out of Office” option from the drop-down menu at the top left of the event pop-up box.
Please write down the brief message in an mail that you want to convey to others when they find you’re gone or not available. You can also provide an alternate contact number on your behalf.
Step 7→ Click on save and close.
Now you can check that the time you have set gets blocked (Highlighted on the calendar) on the selected calendar.
FAQs
1. How do I set up an out-of-office in Outlook calendar?
or
How do I set up an out-of-office message?
or
How do I show an out-of-office message in the calendar?
You can set up/show an out-of-office Outlook calendar hassle-free with the easy process we have already stated in the above article. Please review the above article to gain a clear understanding of how to set up an Outlook calendar for out-of-office notifications.
2. How do I set up an out-of-office in Outlook 2025?
Generally, people are using Office 365 in 2025. So, by default, we consider that you have Outlook in office 365.
Here are brief steps on how to set up an out-of-office in Outlook 2025.
Open outlook app > click on the calendar icon > select calendar > Double clicks on a specific date > Mention Title, Start and end time(out of office time), Check All Day, location > write the brief message you want to convey when you are out of office > Select “Out of office “from the drop-down list in Show As option present on the toolbar > Click save For detailed steps, you can refer above article.
3. Where is the Out of Office feature in Outlook 365?
You can find the out-of-office option in Outlook 365 with these steps,
Open Outlook app > click on the calendar icon (bottom left) > select calendar > Double click on a specific date in the calendar to open the Event window> on the toolbar in the “Show as” option, select “out of office” (last option) from the drop-down list.> Click Save
4. How do I set up an automatic reply in Outlook Calendar?
Automatic replies will notify others that you are unavailable or on vacation, and will not respond to email messages.
Therefore, you need to create only a customized message that will automatically reach each sender; that will eventually save you time and allow you to enjoy your leisure time in do-not-disturb mode.
You can easily set up Outlook’s Automatic Reply with these simple steps.
Step 1→ Open the Outlook app on Windows.
Step 2→ Go to File.
Step 3→ Info > Select Automatic Replies
Now, the automatic replies pop-up box will generate
Step 4→Select Option “Send automatic replies”
Step 5→ Mark a tick on the option “Only send during this time range” to specify the start and end date/time when you are “out of office”.
Step 6→ Write a brief out-of-office message
that you want to convey automatically to all senders.
Step 7→ Click Ok.
Step 8→ You can also specify rules for automatic replies.
For that, click on the bottom left “Rules” button. You can add rules, edit rules, or delete rules.
Once your out-of-office time mentioned during automatic replies is over, it will prompt you to discontinue automatic replies.
Once the Outlook automatic replies are set, they will automatically send a specific message and notify the sender once.
5. How do I send an out-of-office (OOO) invitation in Outlook without blocking my calendar?
Ensure that the Show As option is set to Free, which means your coworker’s time won’t be affected or blocked during your vacation.
With the following steps, you can send out of the office in Outlook Calendar without blocking your calendar.
Open outlook app > click on the calendar icon > select calendar > Double clicks on a specific date > Mention Title, Start and end time (out of office time), Check All Day, location > write the brief message you want to convey when you are out of office > Select “Free “from the drop-down list in Show As option present on the toolbar > Click save
6. How do you set an out-of-office on a team calendar?
There are two different procedures by which you can set out of Office in Microsoft Teams.
Method 1: From Profile Picture
Step 1→ Go to your Profile picture at the top right, click on the Set Status message.
Step 2→ Select Out of Office at the bottom.
Step 3→ Turn on the toggle button next to turn on automatic replies.
Step 4→Write a brief message you want to convey when you are out of the office or unavailable.
Out of office status is in sync with your Outlook calendar.
Step 5→For automatic replies, mark tick in the box next to “send replies outside my organization”
Step 6→ Mark the tick in the box next to “send replies only during a time period.” Write the start and end date for the period when you are not available.
Step 7→ Click the save button.
Method 2: From Settings
Step 1→ Select Settings gear next to the profile picture.
Step 2→ click on general, scroll down to the Out of office option and click schedule.
Step 3→ Now repeat step 3 to step 7 of method one already mentioned above.
As Outlook calendar and Microsoft Teams are in sync, whatever changes you make regarding out of office in one app will be reflected in both apps.
