# Out of Office Replies

Source: https://support.kapsulehost.com/en-nz/email-autoresponder

An out of office reply answers incoming mail for you while you are away. You can switch it on now, or give it a start and an end so it begins and stops on its own.

## Where the Setting Lives

1. Sign in to [KPanel](https://kpanel.kapsulehost.com) and click **Email** in the left sidebar.
2. Click the mailbox you want to set a reply for.
3. Open **Autoresponder**.

The reply is stored on the mailbox itself, so the mailbox needs its own password before you can set one. If it has none yet, the card asks you to set the password first.

## Turning It On

1. Write a **Subject** and a **Message**. You can write them before you switch the reply on.
2. Switch the toggle at the top of the card on.
3. Click **Save Changes**.

With no dates, every incoming message gets your reply from the moment you save until you switch it off. Each sender gets your reply at most once a week, so a busy thread does not fill up with copies of it.

## Scheduling a Start and an End

**Start Date** and **End Date** are both optional, and each takes a date and a time.

- **Start Date** is when replies begin. Leave it empty to start as soon as you save.
- **End Date** is when replies stop. Leave it empty to keep replying until you switch it off.

The dates and times are in the time zone set on your profile, and the card names that zone under the fields. To use a different zone, change it in your profile settings first.

The mail server checks the dates for every message it receives, so the reply starts and stops on time even when nobody is signed in. Your subject and message stay saved after the end, ready for next time.

KPanel checks the dates when you save:

- the end must be after the start;
- a new start cannot be in the past (leave it empty to start now);
- the end cannot already have passed.

## What the Status Means

The status next to the toggle tells you what the reply is doing:

| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Off | The toggle is off. Nothing is sent. |
| Scheduled | The toggle is on and the start is still ahead. Nothing is sent before it. |
| On | Replies are being sent now. |
| Ended | The end has passed. Nothing is sent until you change or clear the dates. |

The line above the form repeats the dates in full, with your time zone, for example "Scheduled: replies start ... and stop ...".

## Asking Kora

You can also ask Kora, for example "turn on an out of office reply for sam@example.com from Monday 9am until Friday". When you give a start or an end, Kora shows a card with both dates in your time zone, and nothing changes until you click its button. Without dates, Kora switches the reply on straight away and tells you exactly what it changed.

A date without a time starts at midnight, and an end date without a time keeps replying until the end of that day.

## Turning It Off

Switch the toggle off and click **Save Changes**. Replies stop at once.