Setting an out-of-office reply

Send a short automatic response when you are away or your business is closed. Cedros lets an address use its own out-of-office reply, follow the business default, or stay off even when the business default is on.

You need permission to edit site settings, an available address, and working incoming and outgoing email. These controls appear when the site's mail service is ready. If they are missing or a save fails, use the troubleshooting steps below.

Out-of-office replies start when you turn them on and save. There are no start-date or end-date controls here. A return date written in your message does not schedule the responder or switch it off. Set a reminder to turn it off when you return.

Turn on a reply for your address

1. Open Email → Inbox → Settings. The page is titled Your mail.
2. Find Your sending and select Edit.
3. If the Address selector appears, choose the address whose incoming mail should receive the reply. Check the complete address, especially when you use both a personal and shared mailbox.
4. Turn on Out-of-office reply. If it is already on, read the explanation below it to see whether the address is following the business default or has its own reply.
5. Review Subject and enter the complete response in Message. Replace starter or inherited text with the wording you intend to send.
6. Check that the signature settings in the same card are still as intended, then select Save. Wait for Sending settings saved.
7. Check the card's Out-of-office summary. It should show On, the subject, and whether it comes from your address or the business default. Test the result as described below.

Changing the switch, subject, or message for an address creates its own setting. Editing an inherited message therefore stops that address from automatically following later changes to the business default.

For a shared address, use wording that represents the team. This is a setting for incoming mail to that address, not a private preference for only the person editing it. Coordinate the dates and alternative contact with the people who use the mailbox.

Changes are not saved automatically. Cancel discards unsaved sending changes. If you leave through Back to Inbox, read the unsaved-changes prompt and choose whether to save, keep editing, or discard them.

Write a useful away message

Tell the sender when to expect a response and what to do if the matter cannot wait. Use an unambiguous return date and avoid promising that someone will monitor the mailbox unless that is arranged.

For example:

Thanks for your message. I am away until 14 October and will respond after I return. For urgent questions, please contact our support team using the contact details on our website.
Thank you,
Morgan

Replace the example date, contact instructions, and name before saving. For a business closure, use “we” and give the reopening date or expected response time.

Message is the response that will be sent. Include any closing or contact details you need in that field rather than relying on your normal email signature. The responder does not provide an attachment or rich signature editor.

A clear subject such as Out of office or Office closed helps recipients recognize the response. If the saved subject is empty, Cedros uses Re: followed by the incoming message's subject.

Choose your address's reply or the business default

The address can be in three useful states:

• Following the business default: the address uses the business's current reply and on/off state. Future default changes apply to it.
• Your address, on: the address sends its own subject and message, independently of the default.
• Your address, off: the address sends no Cedros out-of-office reply, even when the business default is on.

To stop a company-wide reply for just your address, open Your sending → Edit, select the address, switch Out-of-office reply off, and Save. Check that the summary shows Off · your address.

To follow the default again, open the same editor and select Use the business default when that action is available, then Save. This removes the address's own out-of-office setting, including its custom wording. Copy any text you want to keep before doing so.

Check the switch and explanation immediately after choosing the default. If the business default is on, the address will also be on after you save. Use the business default is not a shortcut for turning replies off.

Deleting the message text is also not the way to turn replies off. Use the switch and save the intended state.

Set a business-wide closure message

An administrator can set the reply used by addresses without an out-of-office setting of their own:

1. Open Settings → Site → Mail.
2. Find Default sending and select Edit.
3. Turn on Out-of-office reply, then enter the Subject and Message for the business closure.
4. Check the default signature in the same card and select the card's Save button.
5. Wait for Default sending saved. Check the saved summary and test an address that follows the default.

An address with its own setting does not inherit this change. That includes an address explicitly set to off. If everyone should use the closure message, review the relevant addresses and return them to the business default where appropriate.

Turning the business default off later stops replies for addresses that inherit it. It does not switch off address-specific replies that are still on. Review those separately when the closure ends.

Test the reply and understand its limits

1. Save the responder for the exact address you want to test.
2. From an outside account you control, send a new, ordinary email directly to that address. Use a sender that has not already received a Cedros out-of-office reply from this site in the last 24 hours.
3. Confirm the incoming message appears in the intended mailbox's Inbox. If a rule moved it to Archive, Junk, or Trash on arrival, it is not eligible for this automatic reply.
4. Check the outside account for the response, including its Spam or Junk folder. Verify the From address, subject, message, closing, and any alternative contact information.
5. If you also use a shared address or an alias, test the address customers actually write to. Use a different outside sender for each immediate test so the reply limit does not hide the result.

Cedros normally sends no more than one out-of-office reply to the same sender within a rolling 24-hour window across the site. This is not a separate allowance for each mailbox. If someone writes to two of your addresses, the second message may not receive another reply during that window. Editing the wording or turning the responder off and on does not reset the limit.

Cedros also skips messages identified as automatic responses, mailing-list or bulk mail, delivery bounces, and common no-reply senders. These safeguards reduce reply loops. Use a normal human email for testing rather than a newsletter or an automated notification.

The responder runs when eligible incoming mail is processed. You do not need to keep your browser open. Enabling it does not send a reply to every message already stored in your Inbox, and opening or restoring an old message is not a way to trigger it.

Saving successfully confirms the setting, not delivery to the sender. Incoming mail can still arrive even if outgoing delivery is unavailable. If needed, follow Why can I receive email but not send it?.

Turn it off when you return

1. Open Email → Inbox → Settings → Your sending → Edit.
2. Select the relevant Address, if shown.
3. Turn Out-of-office reply off and select Save.
4. Confirm Off · your address in the saved summary. Repeat for any other address-specific responder you enabled.

If you manage the business default, turn it off in Settings → Site → Mail → Default sending and save there. Then check any address-specific replies that may still be on.

If you want your address to inherit future business closure messages, use Use the business default instead of leaving a permanent address-specific off setting, but first confirm that the default is currently off.

Turning replies off does not retract responses that have already been sent. It also does not disable a vacation responder configured separately in Gmail or another service. Review those settings too if customers continue to receive away messages.

If the reply is missing or incorrect

• The controls are missing. Mail isn't running yet means the editor is unavailable in the current setup state. Ask the administrator to check the site's mail setup. A Google connection alone may not expose these controls; do not change your mail hosting just to remove the notice.
• The service state is unavailable. Use Try again. A failed service read does not mean your saved reply has been erased.
• The address is missing. Check that it is active and available to your account. See Creating personal and shared email addresses.
• Saving is refused. Check site-settings permission, make sure an enabled reply has a Message, and resolve any sending-setup error shown. The sending card can validate enabled replies on your other available addresses too. Keep the editor open while you correct the issue.
• The wrong wording appears. Check the saved address, subject, and whether the summary says your address or business default. An address's own reply can remain active after the business default changes.
• The first test worked but the next did not. Check the site-wide 24-hour sender limit. Use a different outside sender or wait until the window has passed; toggling the responder is not a reset.
• No test response arrives. First confirm that the new incoming message reached Inbox, then check folder rules, the responder's saved state, and outgoing delivery. Use Finding and organizing messages or Why aren't my emails arriving? if the incoming message itself is missing.
• Customers receive two away messages. Check for another vacation responder in Gmail or your mail provider, as well as other automations. Choose which responder should be active and test again with a fresh sender.

If you still need help, contact support with the site, receiving address, approximate test time, whether the incoming message arrived, and whether the saved reply is on or off and follows the business default. Include the error text, but avoid passwords or unnecessary private message content.