what to know
- Go to Options > Three Dots > Delay Delivery . Choose Don't deliver before and set a date and time.
- To change the delivery time, open the email from the Outbox folder and return to the Delayed Delivery window.
- To delay the delivery of all email, go to File > Manage Rules and Alerts and create a custom rule.
This article explains how to schedule email messages in Outlook so that you can compose the email immediately but send it on a specified date and time. Instructions apply to the desktop version of Outlook 2010 and later.
Microsoft Outlook supports scheduling emails to be sent at a later date and time instead of sending them immediately.
Compose your email as normal, whether it's a new email, a reply, or a forward. Then, go to the Options tab and select Delay Send (in some versions of Outlook, it's nested in the three-dot menu).
Select the box next to "Don't deliver before."
Set the date and time you want the email to be sent.
Select Close .
In the message window, select Send .
Your delayed emails are stored in a special folder. You can go there to edit or cancel your scheduled email.
Open the Outbox folder to find messages that have been scheduled but not yet sent.
To stop a scheduled email, simply delete it. To change the delivery time or date, open the email in a separate window (double-click), select Options > Delay delivery , change the delivery time, and select Close .
To send a scheduled email immediately, open the message in a separate window, return to the Delay Send screen, uncheck the box next to "Don't send before," and press Close > Send .
Outlook allows you to make an email template that automatically includes delivery delays for all messages you create and send. This can be handy if you often change the email you just sent, or if you regret sending an email in a hurry.
Go to File > Manage Rules and Alerts .
Select the new rule from the Email Rules tab.
Select Apply rule to messages I send , and then select Next.
To apply deferred delivery to all messages, clear all check boxes, and then select Next .
Select Yes to apply the rule to all sent messages.
Check the box next to Delay delivery by a few minutes .
Select a number from the box at the bottom of the wizard.
In the Delay Delivery dialog box, enter the number of minutes (up to a maximum of 120 minutes) you want to delay before sending an email message, and then select OK .
Select Next .
If needed, define any exceptions and select Next .
Enter a descriptive name in the Step 1 box.
Select the "Enable this rule" checkbox if it's not already selected.
Select Done .
Select OK on the confirmation prompt to apply the changes.
Now, when you select Send for any email, the email is stored in the Outbox or Drafts folder and waits for the specified amount of time before sending.
If Outlook is not open and running when a message reaches its scheduled delivery time, the message will not be delivered. It will be sent immediately the next time you open Outlook.
If Outlook is open but you are not connected to the Internet when you schedule a send, the email will not be sent and you will see a progress error window. The email will be sent as soon as the internet connection is restored. The same is true if offline working is enabled.
