1. This is a screenshot of a Gmail inbox viewed using the NEW version of Gmail. Remember that the layout might change slightly from system to system. Also, note that the colour scheme and background may be different, according to your personal settings.

On your own Gmail screen, click on the settings icon (the white cog symbol) indicated by the red arrow in the above screenshot.

2. Once you have clicked the settings cog, a drop-down menu should appear. (See screenshot below.)

Find the menu item Settings, and click it.

3. The screenshot below shows the settings screen. (Note the tabbed navigation, and ensure you have the General tab selected.) The page is quite long, so you'll need to scroll down to find this part.

To activate your out-of-office auto-response, first click the radio button labelled “Out-of-office Auto-reply on”.
(To deactivate your auto-response, come back to this settings page, click the radio button next to “Out-of-office Auto-reply off”, then click the Save Changes button below.)

4.
You can choose a start and and end date for your out-of-office auto-response. By default, the start date is set to the current day. Click on the date to open a calendar for choosing a new date. Setting an end date is optional, so if you don’t set it manually, the out-of-office auto-reponse will continue indefinitely. To specify an end date, click in the tick-box shown and access the calendar by clicking the white box to its right.

5. The next step is to give your automated email a subject line. Click in the text box next to the heading Subject and enter your chosen subject line, e.g., “Out of office”. You may wish to add “Automated reply” to make it clear no human has seen the person’s original message.

6. Now you should enter the actual message you would like to be sent. Click in the text box next to the heading Message and enter your message. An example is shown in the screenshot below. Notice that the example directs people with urgent queries to telephone. This is good practice, as directing them to an alternative email might end up frustrating them if that person is also Out Of Office!

7. Finally, you need to save your new settings. Click on the Save Changes button.