When you click Send on an email, it is typically sent immediately. But what if you want to send it at a later time? Outlook allows you delay the sending of a single message or all email messages.
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For example, maybe you’re sending someone an email message late at night and they are in a time zone that’s 3 hours ahead of you. You don’t want to wake them up in the middle of the night with an email notification on their phone. Instead, schedule the email to be sent the next day at a time when you know they will be ready to receive the email.
Outlook also allows you to delay all emails by a certain amount of time before sending them. We’ll show you how to delay sending a single message and how to create a rule to delay the delivery of all messages.
How to Delay the Delivery of a Single Email Message
To delay sending a single email message, create a new message, enter the email address of the recipient(s), but don’t click “Send”. Instead, click the “Options” tab on the Message window.
In the More Options section, click “Delay Delivery”.
In the Delivery options section on the Properties dialog box, click the “Do not deliver before” check box so there is a check mark in the box. Then, click the down arrow on the date box and select a date from the popup calendar.
Click the down arrow on the time box and select a time from the drop-down list.
Then, click “Close”. Your email message will be sent on the date and at the time you chose.
NOTE: If you are using a POP3 or IMAP account, you must leave Outlook open until the message is sent. To determine the type of account you are using, see the last section in this article.
How to Delay Sending All Email Messages Using a Rule
You can delay sending all email messages by a certain number of minutes (up to 120) using a rule. To create this rule, click the “File” tab on the main Outlook window (not the Message window). You can save your message as a draft and either close the Message window or leave it open and click on the main window to activate it.
On the backstage screen, click “Manage Rules & Alerts”.
The Rules and Alerts dialog box displays. Make sure the E-mail Rules tab is active and click “New Rule”.
The Rules Wizard dialog box displays. In the Step 1: Select a template section, under Start from a blank rule, select “Apply rule on messages I send”. The rule displays under Step 2. Click “Next”.
If there are any conditions you want to apply, select them in the Step 1: Select conditions list box. If you want to apply this rule to all email messages, click “Next” without selecting any conditions.
If you clicked “Next” without selecting any conditions, a confirmation dialog box displays asking if you want to apply the rule to every message you send. Click “Yes”.
In the Step 1: Select actions list, select the “defer delivery by a number of minutes” check box. The action is added to the Step 2 box. To define how many minutes to delay sending all email messages, click the “a number of” link under Step 2.
![Sending Sending](/uploads/1/2/5/8/125870656/959290708.png)
On the Deferred Delivery dialog box, enter the number of minutes to delay delivery of email messages in the edit box, or use the up and down arrow buttons to select an amount. Click “OK”.
The “a number of” link is replaced with the number of minutes you entered. To change the number of minutes again, click the number link. When you’re satisfied with the rule settings, click “Next”.
If there are any exceptions to the rule, select them in the Step 1: Select exception(s) list box. We’re not going to apply any exceptions, so we click “Next” without selecting anything.
On the final rule setup screen, enter a name for this rule in the “Step 1: Specify a name for this rule” edit box, then click “Finish”.
The new rule is added to the list on the E-mail Rules tab. Click “OK”.
All emails you send will now stay in the Outbox for the number of minutes you specified in the rule and then will be sent automatically.
NOTE: As with delaying a single message, IMAP and POP3 messages will not be sent at the specified time unless Outlook is open.
How to Determine What Type of Email Account You Are Using
If you want to find out what type of account you are using, click the “File” tab on the main Outlook window, then click “Account Settings” and select “Account Settings” from the drop-down menu.
The E-mail tab on the Account Settings dialog box lists all the accounts you’re added to Outlook and the type of each account.
You can also use an add-in to schedule or delay email messages, such as SendLater. There is a free version and a pro version. The free version is limited, but it does provide a feature not available in the built-in methods in Outlook. The free version of SendLater will send IMAP and POP3 emails at the specified time even if Outlook is not open.
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When you want to compose emails in advance and send them at a later date, schedule a date and time to send the messages. Outlook automatically sends the messages on your schedule and moves them from the Outbox to the Sent Items folder.
Instructions in this article apply to Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, 2003, 2000; and Outlook for Office 365.
Scheduling Delayed Delivery of Emails in Outlook
Microsoft Outlook supports the scheduling of email messages to be sent at a later date and time instead of sending them immediately.
For Microsoft Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, and 2007
- Select New Email. Or choose an existing email and select Reply, Reply All, or Forward.
- In the message window, compose and address the message.
- Go to the Options tab and select Delay Delivery.
- In the Properties dialog box, go to the Delivery options section and select the Do not deliver before check box.
- Set the date and time you want the email to be sent.
- Select Close.
- In the message window, select Send.
- Go to the Outbox folder to find the email messages that are scheduled but have not yet been sent.
- To change the delivery time or date, open the email in a separate window, select Options > Delay Delivery, and reschedule a different send time.
- To send a scheduled email immediately, open the message in a separate window and select Send.
For Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2000
- In the email message window, select Options > Options.
- Under Delivery options, select the Do not deliver before check box.
- Use the dropdown lists to set the desired delivery date and time.
- Select Close.
- Select Send.
- Go to the Outbox folder to find scheduled emails that have not been sent.
If you change your mind and want to send your email immediately, follow these steps:
- Go to the Outbox folder and select the scheduled email.
- Select Options.
- In the More Options group, select Delay Delivery.
- Clear the Do not deliver before check box.
- Select Close.
- Select Send. The email is sent immediately.
Create a Send Delay for All Emails
You can create an email message template that automatically includes a send delay for all messages you create and send. This is handy if you often make a change to an email you just sent, or you've sent an email that you regretted sending hastily.
By adding a default delay to all your emails, you prevent them from being sent immediately. This gives you an opportunity to make changes or cancel them if it's within the delay you create.
To create an email template with a send delay:
- Go to the File tab.
- In the Rules and Alerts dialog box, go to the Email Rules tab and select New Rule.
- In the Rules Wizard, go to the Start from a blank rule section, select Apply rule on messages I send, then select Next.
- In the Select condition(s) list, select the check boxes for options that you want to apply to sent messages. To apply a delay send to all messages, clear all the check boxes. Then select Next.
- If you cleared all the check boxes, a confirmation box appears. Select Yes to apply the rule to all sent messages.
- In the Select action(s) list, select the defer delivery by a number of minutes check box.
- In the Edit the rule description list, select number of.
- In the Deferred Delivery dialog box, enter the number of minutes you want to delay emails before they are sent. The maximum is 120 minutes. Then select OK.
- In the Specify a name for this rule text box, type a descriptive name.
- In the Rules and Alerts dialog box, select OK to apply the changes.
- When you select Send for any email, it is stored in the Outbox or Drafts folder where it waits the specified amount of time before being sent.
What Happens If Outlook Is Not Running at the Delivery Time?
If Outlook is not open and running at the time a message reaches its scheduled delivery time, the message is not delivered. The next time you launch Outlook, the message is sent immediately.
If you use a cloud-based version of Outlook, such as Outlook.com, scheduled emails are sent at the correct time whether you have the website open or not.
What Happens If There Is No Internet Connection at the Delivery Time?
If you are not connected to the internet at the time of scheduled delivery and Outlook is open, Outlook attempts to deliver the email at the specified time, but it will fail. You will see an Outlook Send/Receive Progress error window.
Outlook also automatically attempts to send again, though, at a later time. When the connection is restored, Outlook sends the message.
Again, if you are using the cloud-based Outlook.com for email, scheduled messages are not be limited by your connectivity.
If Outlook is set to work in offline mode at the scheduled time of delivery, Outlook automatically sends as soon as the account used for the message is working online again.