Auto reply using rules? (Outlook 2000)

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I already did a search on the forum but don’t find this:

Is there a way to set up an Outlook rule to auto reply to certain messages only? Like: On messages from XX, auto send reply using XX preformated message?

I would think it would work somewhat like Out of Office assistant, but only want the auto-reply to apply to certain messages, and use a pre-set reply message.

Thanks, Tracy

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Yes there is. Step one is to create the message and save it as an .oft file. Step two is to create the rule in Tools|Rules Wizard… using either the “from people or distribution list” syntax, in which case the address must be an exact match with the say you have it in your address book, or the “with specific words in the sender’s address” syntax which is more flexible, but could generate an “oops” if you choose a word that is too common.

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Thanks Jeff! That worked absolutely great — exactly as you said it would. I didn’t realize fully all the possible features of rules because I had never tried on that complex before. Now I’m anxious to see what else it can do!

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I am finding very difficult to create an .oft file (without going in and renaming an existing one to suit my specifications). How can I do this in Outlook 2002?
Thanks,
rdaron

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For a non-fancy .OFT, you create a new message, choose File|Save As…, and change the format to Outlook Template (.OFT). However, if you are doing something complicated, it might work differently.

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Thanks for your reply. I tried that but unfortunately when I do File/Save As a *.oft is not one of my choices. I tried to get around this but was restricted in saving as one of several variations of .doc or .rtf or .rtf
??
rdaron

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Oh, are you using Word as your mail editor? I have no idea how you would do it in that case. Perhaps switch back temporarily to using Outlook as your editor, create your OFT and then switch back. (Or better yet, don’t switch back, for security reasons.)

This dialog is from Outlook 2000:

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