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With absentify’s out-of-office reply feature, HR admins can centrally manage and configure automated out-of-office messages for users. This feature ensures clear, consistent communication for all scheduled absences by applying templates directly in users’ Outlook settings.
Note: This feature is only available in the Plus plan, allowing administrators to set and manage templates for all users. In other plans, users configure their out-of-office replies individually. See the employee guide here.

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Benefits of centralized management

  • Consistency: Ensures uniform communication for all users.
  • Control: Admins can restrict users from editing templates to maintain a professional tone.
  • Automation: Templates are applied automatically during scheduled absences and disabled when the absence ends.
  • Customization: Use placeholders to personalize replies for users while maintaining a standard format.
Important: If someone changes the reply in Outlook, absentify does not read that change back; the next sync may overwrite it with the absentify template.

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Prerequisites

  1. Plus plan: This feature is only available in the Plus plan.
  2. Microsoft Tenant Admin Rights: To activate this feature, refer to the Outlook out-of-office permissions guide.
  3. Mailbox permission turned on: Outlook out of office reply must be on in absentify Settings > Microsoft. If it is not, an overlay tells you to enable it first.
absentify uses the Microsoft Graph API with the MailboxSettings.ReadWrite permission. This permission is solely used to configure out-of-office replies; no other mailbox data is accessed or stored.

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User eligibility for bulk operations

When selecting multiple users for bulk out-of-office template editing, absentify automatically checks each user’s eligibility. A user is eligible only if:
  • Their Microsoft account is linked to absentify.
  • The MailboxSettings.ReadWrite permission is available for their Microsoft tenant.
Ineligible users are automatically filtered out and a warning banner lists the excluded users along with the specific reason (for example No Microsoft account linked or Mailbox permission missing for user’s tenant). If all selected users are ineligible, the bulk edit dialog will explain why the operation cannot proceed.
In multi-tenant environments, admin consent must be granted for each tenant individually. If some users belong to a tenant where the permission has not been granted, those users will be excluded from the bulk operation.

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Configuring automatic out-of-office replies

1

Access user management

  • Log into absentify and navigate to Settings > Users.
  • Select the users for whom you want to manage out-of-office templates.
  • Select Bulk edit, then select Manage out of office replies.
2

Select leave types

  • Select the leave type or multiple leave types you want to associate with an out-of-office template. All selected users will share the same template for the chosen leave type(s).
  • Continue to template configuration.
3

Manage Outlook synchronization or delete templates

Use Outlook synchronization active to pause or resume synchronization for the selected users and leave types. Pausing prevents absentify from pushing automatic replies to Outlook while preserving the stored messages; if a reply is active for a current absence, absentify removes it from Outlook.While synchronization is paused for all selected leave types, the editor is dimmed and Send test email and Save are unavailable. If the selection contains both active and paused leave types, absentify shows a partial-pause hint; changes you save still apply to all selected leave types.To remove the stored messages permanently instead, select Delete templates and confirm the deletion. This cannot be undone. If a reply is already active in Outlook for those leave types, absentify also turns it off.
4

Edit the message using the template editor

Use the rich text editor to format the message (font, size, bold, lists, and links). Insert values by selecting the variables below the editor. absentify fills them from each absence when the reply is active.User and leave information:
  • First name, Last name, Full name
  • Leave type name
  • Start date, Start time
  • End date, End time
  • Date of return, Time of return
Approver variables:
  • Approver name and Approver email insert the first approver.
Representative variables:These placeholders appear only when every selected leave type requires a representative or makes one optional. You can find more information in the representative requirement guide.
  • Representative Name and Representative Email insert the first representative.
When Outlook sends the reply, it names the representatives on that user’s leave request who are still pending or already approved, in the same order as on the request. If a representative is replaced, the replacement appears in that person’s place. Archived users are left out. If none remain, the reply uses the representatives from the user’s profile, in the order set there. Approvers follow the order on that request. Bulk-configured templates follow the same rules as per-user templates.
5

Use conditional templates

Open Conditional Templates to insert a block that only appears when the data exists.
  • If Representative: Shows the block only when at least one representative is named.
  • If Approver: Shows the block only when at least one approver is named.
  • Multiple Representatives: Lists every representative, in the same order as the live reply.
  • Multiple Approvers: Lists every approver, in the same order as the live reply.
6

Preview and test the message

Select Preview in the editor to review the layout. Select Send test email to send the current draft to your inbox. The test uses the profile representatives and approvers of one selected user. If you selected several users, choose that user under Preview for:. Archived users are left out. The live Outlook reply still uses the representatives and approvers on each leave request.
7

Configure external replies

  • Enable replies for external contacts by selecting Send replies outside your organisation.
  • Limit replies to contacts only by selecting Send replies only to contacts.
8

Allow or restrict user customization

  • Decide if users can customize their out-of-office messages:
    • Check the box if users are allowed to make adjustments. Send them this guide for more information on the setup.
    • Restrict customization to enforce the admin-defined template.
The Allow customization of the out-of-office message by employees setting only controls whether the message can be edited in absentify. It does not stop the user from changing the message directly in Outlook.
9

Save your changes

Select Save to apply the updated out-of-office message templates.
Do you want to edit an individual user’s out-of-office message or view the currently set template?
Check out our guide on editing individual out-of-office messages.

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How out-of-office replies work

absentify writes a scheduled reply into Outlook from the selected leave type and template. Outlook then sends the reply. absentify does not send the messages itself. If you save a template while an absence is already running, absentify updates the Outlook reply to match.
absentify does not send out-of-office messages itself.
All replies are triggered and handled by Microsoft Outlook and Azure after absentify applies the settings.

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Common issues and how to troubleshoot them

  • “Microsoft mailbox permissions are not activated. Please enable them in Microsoft Integration Settings.” This error appears when the mailbox permission is not turned on in absentify. Go to Settings > Microsoft and turn on Outlook out of office reply. See the permissions guide for details.
  • “We couldn’t verify the Outlook out-of-office permission yet. Wait a moment and reload this page to try again. If this continues, make sure a Microsoft 365 administrator granted the permission.” You see this when you turn on Outlook out of office reply and Microsoft consent is not ready yet. Wait, reload Settings > Microsoft, and try again.
  • “We couldn’t finish activating Outlook out-of-office replies. Wait a moment and reload this page to try again.” You see this when absentify cannot finish turning the mailbox permission on. Wait, reload the page, and try again.
  • “Outlook out-of-office replies are not available for [user names] because the Microsoft account is not linked or the required Outlook mailbox permission is not available for the user’s Microsoft tenant.” One or more selected users are not eligible. This happens when:
    • The user’s account is not linked to a Microsoft 365 / Entra ID account, or
    • The required MailboxSettings.ReadWrite permission has not been granted for the user’s Microsoft tenant.
    The bulk dialog also shows Some users were filtered out automatically with a reason such as No Microsoft account linked or Mailbox permission missing for user’s tenant. Ensure all affected users have their Microsoft accounts linked in absentify and that the tenant admin has granted the necessary permissions.
  • Manual changes in Outlook If someone changes the reply in Outlook, absentify does not read that change back; the next sync may overwrite it with the absentify template.
  • Unable to apply automatic reply If absentify cannot apply the automatic reply, the affected user will receive an email with instructions to set it manually. Admins are also notified of the failed attempt via email.
  • Out-of-office message not being sent
    If no out-of-office replies are being sent from a user’s mailbox, but the sync log shows a successful configuration, the issue lies with Microsoft Outlook, not absentify.     Follow these steps to investigate:
    1. Go to Settings > Microsoft > View Sync Logs, or open the Microsoft sync logs directly.
    2. Locate the log for the user and the relevant date of the approved leave request.
    3. If the log shows Success, this confirms absentify has correctly applied the out-of-office configuration in Outlook.
    In this case, you can:
    • Check mail flow rules, mailbox permissions, or conditional settings in Outlook.
    • Escalate the issue internally to your Microsoft 365 administrator or to Microsoft/Azure support, as this is beyond absentify’s control.