Gmail and Outlook, the most widely used email service providers today, involve significantly different procedures for setting out-of-the-office messages. For Gmail, follow these steps: Click on the gear symbol near the top right-hand corner of the interface. In the sidebar that opens, select "See all settings." Scroll to the bottom of the Settings screen to locate the "Vacation responder" section. Select the "Vacation responder on" button. Remaining in the "Vacation responder" section, specify the dates you plan to be out of the office and write your subject heading and message. If you want to limit the message viewability to people you know, select "Only send a response to people in my Contacts" below the message field. Click "Save Changes." For the latest version of Outlook, the process is as follows: Click "File" on the ribbon, located in the top left-hand corner of the interface. On the subsequent screen, select "Automatic Replies (Out of Office)." On the Automatic Replies screen, select the "Send automatic replies" button. Optionally, you can also set your date range below the button. In the lower half of the Automatic Replies screen, make sure you've selected the "Inside My Organization" tab. Then write the message you want to display. Click "OK."