How to Set up an Out-Of-Office Vacation Responder in Gmail

This article explains how to set up an out-of-office vacation response in Gmail on a web browser or using the app. An autoresponder automatically sends a reply to anyone who emails you, letting them know that you're gone and how frequently you'll be checking email (if at all).

Set Up an Out-of-Office Vacation Responder in Gmail

You can set up an out-of-office message to say anything you want, including who to contact in your absence. Follow these steps to create an automatic out-of-office email response in a web browser:

1. Select the Settings gear in the upper-right corner of Gmail.

2. Select See all settings.

3. Select the General tab.

4. In the Vacation responder section, select Vacation responder on.

5. Enter a subject (such as "Out of office through the 24th") and message body text.

   Your message should include when you'll be out, the date you'll be back in the office, who to contact in your absence (along with their contact information), and whether or not you'll be checking email while you're gone.

6. In the First day field, select the first date of your absence. Select Last day and specify the last date you'll be out of the office.

7. If you only want to send automatic replies to people in your address book, select Only send a response to people in my Contacts.

8. At the bottom of the screen, select Save Changes.

Exclude Messages from the Gmail Auto-Responder

You can prevent Gmail from sending automatic replies to certain messages by setting up filters that delete (and optionally forward) these messages. If you access Gmail within 30 days, you can recover these messages from the Trash folder.

Set Up an Out-of-Office Vacation Responder in Gmail Mobile

You can also create an out-of-office autoresponder with Gmail mobile:

1. Open the Gmail app. In the Search bar, tap the Menu icon (three horizontal stacked lines) and select Settings.

2. On the Settings screen, select your email address from the list.

3. In the General section, tap Vacation responder.

4. Toggle Vacation responder to On.

5. Use the First day dropdown menu to select the first day you'll be out of the office. Use the Last day dropdown menu to select the last day you'll be out of the office.

6. In the Subject field, type an appropriate subject. In the Message field, type your out-of-office message.

7. If you only want to send automatic replies to people in your address book, select Send only to my Contacts.

8. At the top of the screen, select Done.