How to Set up an Autoresponder in Apple Mac OS X Mail GA S REGULAR Menu Lifewire Tech for Humans Newsletter! Search Close GO Email, Messaging, & Video Calls > Email 39 39 people found this article helpful

How to Set up an Autoresponder in Mac OS X Mail

Reply to incoming mail automatically

By Heinz Tschabitscher Heinz Tschabitscher Writer University of Vienna A former freelance contributor who has reviewed hundreds of email programs and services since 1997. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on March 5, 2021 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Email Yahoo! Mail Gmail

What to Know

Mail > Preferences > Rules > Add Rule > add Description > set up conditions > Reply to Message > Reply message text > add text > OK.To disable, Mail > Preferences > Rules > uncheck rule in Active column. This article explains how to automatically reply to messages in macOS X Mail. Instructions apply to Mail running on macOS (up to and including Catalina, version 10.15) and OS X. Select Mail > Preferences from the menu along the top of the screen. Select Rules. Click Add Rule. Give your autoresponder a descriptive name under Description. Enter the conditions under which you want your autoresponder message to be sent. For example: To have Mail reply only to emails you received at a specific address, set the criterion to To contains me@example.com. To auto-respond only to senders in your Contacts, to people you have emailed before or VIPs, make the criterion read Sender is in my contacts, Sender is in my previous recipients or Sender is VIP respectively. To have the auto-reply sent to all incoming emails, make the criterion Every Message. Select Reply to Message under Perform the following actions. Click Reply message text. Type the text to be used for the auto-responder. For a vacation or out-of-office auto-reply, tell the recipient when you expect to return. If you don't plan to go through your old mail when you return, let recipients know when to re-send their messages if they're still relevant. Click OK. If prompted Do you want to apply your rules to messages in selected mailboxes?, click Don't Apply.​ If you click Apply, Mail will send the auto-reply to existing messages, generating possibly thousands of messages and multiple identical responses to the same recipient. Close the Rules dialog. Replies generated using this auto-responder method will include not only the original message text but also original file attachments. You can use an AppleScript auto-responder to avoid this.

Disable Any Auto-Responder

To turn off any auto-responding rule you have set up in Mail and stop automatic replies from going out: Select Mail > Preferences > Rules. Make sure the rule corresponding to the auto-responder you would like to disable is not checked in the Active column. Close the Rules preferences window. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Whitelist a Domain in Mac OS X Mail App How to Set Up New Email Alerts in Apple Mail How to Set Up an Incoming Mail Filter in Windows Live Hotmail Learn Where Mac OS X Mail Stores Your Emails Set Up an Out-of-Office Vacation Response in Gmail How to Set Up and Use Focus Mode on iPhone and Apple Watch Add a Sender on OS X Mail Contacts How to Insert a Link in an Email With Mac OS X Mail Out of Office Auto-Reply in Outlook for Mac How to Send a Message From a Different Account in OS X Mail How to Group Messages by Thread in Mac Mail Program How to Change the Mail Sorting Order in Mac OS X Mail How to Block Email Addresses in macOS Mail Setting Up a Vacation Reply in Windows Live Hotmail How to Forward an Email as an Attachment in Outlook How to Save All Attachments From Multiple Emails Fast in OS X Mail Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies