Client side auto reply

[brunei2730]

I am running Office 2010 and I'd like to setup an automatic reply to every email that comes in. I can not change the setting on the Exchange Server as it is blocked by the corporate office. Right now only the first message from a sender is sent the automated message, but I would like a messge to go out no matter how many times that person sends an email. Is there some kind of script I can run that will "clear" Outlooks memory so every email get the automated reply?

 

[kjv1611]

Never tried it, but if you want to write a script, you can write something in VBA.

Also, you might can just create a rule to do it, no code necessary. So instead of using the auto-reply tool from the File button (backstage), you'll just create a new rule.

I would think it would work. Maybe this would be the process - or something close:
1. Create a Draft of the email that is to go out, saying "Thanks for your email."
2. Create a rule that fires whenever an email is received
3. Tell the rule to look at all emails (not sure if you need to enter a filter for this, or whether you can just skip it).
4. Trigger the rule to send an email to the message sender's address.

If you can't do it with a rule, you could still setup the draft email (or store the string values in code that you want included), and create a VBA procedure to handle it. The logic would be the same, except it'll be in code instead of text boxes and drop-downs. Also, if it's code, you could also add in some custom filters perhaps to not send it to spammers in case you get any SPAM email. But to do that, you probably would have to define that heavily or else rely on black and/or white lists within Outlook.

Anyway, that's just a stab at it. I'd like to take the time to test around with it, but I know I do not have time to seriously dig into it.

See what you can come up with, and post back with your progress and/or specific questions.

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57

 

[cmeagan656]

I can not change the setting on the Exchange Server as it is blocked by the corporate office.

This is likely for a very good reason. It is very easy to get into a loop that will fill up your mailbox in no time. Think about what would happen if an e-mail was sent to you, you replied with an Out of Office Reply or other automated message, and then when the original sender received your automated message they replied with an automated message of their own. It would be one continuous loop that has the potential to bring either your mailbox or the Exchange Server to a standstill.

I suggest you rethink your reasoning behind wanting to do this before you go ahead and try kjv1611's suggestion.

Hope this helps.

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[kjv1611]

Hmm... that loop would ONLY be true if BOTH machines had the continuous replies setup, which is pretty unlikely - possible, but unlikely. I guess you have to decide how possible that is.

And if you really need to do this, and want to handle for such a possibility, then you could either build a file somewhere - text file, or whatever - with the email sender and date, and then have the code check that file emails sent to the same sender it's about to send to, and if it has sent one to that sender in say the past hour, or past day, whatever seems to fit, then not to send this time.

Well, it's a thought anyway.

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 15:57