How to set up a Vacation Responder (Out of Office) in Gmail

Video Transcript:

Headed out on a trip, or just need some time away from your inbox?

Setting up an automatic “Out of Office” reply in Gmail is the best way to let people know you aren’t ignoring them—you’re just recharging.

Here is exactly how to do it.

First, log into your Gmail account. Look up at the top right-hand corner of the screen and click the gear icon to open your “Quick settings.” At the very top of that menu, click the button that says “See all settings.”

You should now be looking at the main settings page. Make sure you are on the “General” tab—it’s usually the default one selected.

Now, scroll down. Keep going past the text styles and the stars… all the way to the very bottom of the page. The last section you will see is titled “Vacation responder.”

By default, this is likely set to “Vacation responder off.” Go ahead and click the circle next to “Vacation responder on.”

Once that’s active, you can set your dates. The “First day” defaults to today. If you know when you’ll be back, click the box next to “Last day” and select the date from the calendar. If you leave this unchecked, the auto-reply will keep running until you manually turn it off.

Next, type in your Subject Line. Something simple like “Out of Office” or “Vacation Alert” usually works best.

In the Message box below, type the note you want people to receive. It’s always helpful to include when you’ll be returning and who they can contact in an emergency while you’re gone.

Below the message box, you have a checkbox option to “Only send a response to people in my Contacts.” Check this if you don’t want strangers or newsletters getting your vacation details.

Finally—and this is the most important step—click the “Save Changes” button at the very bottom of the menu.

You’ll know it worked because you’ll see a yellow banner across the top of your inbox displaying your subject line. When you get back from your break, just click “End now” on that banner to turn it off.

And that’s it! Enjoy your time away.