HOW to Fix Out Of Office is not working or revert old message
Let’s look at an issue with Outlook user facing that Out of office is not working or revert old message.
Issue Description:
Out Of Office is not working or revert old message than the new one
1st Troubleshooting that can solve the issue:
- Try to check the current Out of office message configuration from Outlook web app “OWA”.
- Try to disable Out of office message and re-enable it.
Resolution:
The issue will be resolved by providing and instructing the customer to perform the steps outlined below
1st step to backup normal rules
- Launch Microsoft Outlook application.
- Go to”File” > “Info” > “Manage Rules and Alerts”.
- Select “Options” then “Export Rules”.
- Verify the location that you will export the old Rules file in, and click Save
After the 1st step you are now backed-up all current rules before can clear it to remove the hidden rules including the old Out of office message.
2nd step to clear all rules (normal and hidden) from the mailbox itself
- Close Outlook.
- Press WinKey+R to bring up the Run dialog box.
- Input “C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOffice12OUTLOOK.EXE” followed by a space and then the switch /cleanrules as below:
“C:Program FilesMicrosoft OfficeOffice12OUTLOOK.EXE /cleanrules ”
After the 2nd step you are now removed all current rules including the normal rules and the hidden including the old Out of office message. Configuration.
3rd step to restore normal rules again to the mailbox
- Launch Microsoft Outlook application.
- Go to”File” > “Info” > “Manage Rules & Alerts”.
- Select “Options” then “Import Rules” then browse to the exported Rules file location from the first step.
After the 3rd step the user has all normal outlook rules without the old out of office message and he/she should set Out Of Office message normally without any problems.
Also for more information about other switches that can be used for Outlook.exe you can check the below:
/cleanfinders – to remove Search Folders from the Microsoft Exchange mailbox.
/cleanfreebusy – to clear and recreate free/busy information.
/cleanprofile – to remove invalid profile keys and regenerate default registry keys.
/cleanreminders – to clear and recreate reminders.
/cleanrules – to delete rules on the client and server.
/cleanserverrules – to delete rules on the server only.
/cleansharing – to remove all subscriptions from Account Settings. (This will not remove any downloaded content)
/cleanviews – to restore default views, custom views are removed.
Ratish Nair
Microsoft MVP | Office Servers and Services
Team @MSExchangeGuru
