Add Specific Period of Time to Rules

Ingram Drueding 20 Reputation points
2026-10-27T17:57:50.72+00:00

Like Automatic Replies, can you add to Rules the ability to "Send Replies Only During a Time Period" with a start and end date including time of day?

Outlook | Windows | Classic Outlook for Windows | For business

Answer accepted by question author
Marcin Policht 113K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
2026-10-27T18:12:40.02+00:00

Unfortunately, AFAIK, Outlook rules do not have built-in start and end time settings. You cannot directly configure a rule to activate automatically at a specific date or time and then deactivate at another time.

In classic Outlook for Windows, you can manually enable or disable a rule by going to File > Manage Rules & Alerts, selecting the rule, and checking or clearing its checkbox. For a temporary rule, you can enable it when needed and disable it when the specified period ends.

If you need a rule to run only during specific hours or between two dates, you can use Power Automate to implement time-based conditions and actions, depending on what the rule needs to do. Another option is to use Outlook VBA in classic Outlook, although macros require Outlook to be running and have additional security considerations.

Note that Outlook rules in new Outlook and Outlook on the web have different capabilities from classic Outlook, but neither provides a general start-and-end schedule for individual rules.


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hth

Marcin

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  1. Ingram Drueding 20 Reputation points
    2026-10-27T18:30:32.7233333+00:00

    Thanks for your repsonse. Is there such a thing as a MS suggestion box?

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