How to Schedule an Email in Outlook [Using Delay Delivery]?

Microsoft Outlook had a great feature schedule an email to be sent later, you can create an email, attach a file, and send the email even if you are offline, your mail will be saved in the outbox as soon as you click the send button. It will be delivered automatically when you connect online.

We all know about that! what so great about that ~

What if you send a delayed email even if you are online. In this article, you will learn “how to delay an email in outlook”“.

The next question that comes to your mind is why to time delay emails.

An event or some specific occasion like Christmas, or a new year, a user like to send the emails to their clients or employee or some other group of people as a greeting.

Delay Delivery is one of the great options available in Outlook, Users easily schedule the pre-drafted email to their senders to some particular time frame. Let’s begin to understand “how to delay sending a single message” and “how to create a rule to delay the delivery of all messages“.

How to delay sending an email in Outlook?

Sending a delayed email, to begin with creating an email.

• Open Outlook >> Click New Mail >> Options Tab >> Delay delivery

• The properties dialog box appears, go to the Delivery options section and select the Do not deliver before check box.

• Outlook send email at specific time check (do not deliver before) and set your date and time, For instance, I like to deliver the email on Christmas 23:00 hours.

• Close that window, you can easily click send button now, your email will be scheduled to send on a particular time and date, that message stayed in your Outbox folder until it meets the time frame.

You can also schedule the expiration date, why this option exists in outlook?

There is a limitation in delay delivery in outlook, your system where your email is generated must be online at that specified time. In some of the corporate or some special working scenarios, the system is 24X7 online, there is no such issue with the time slot.

If you are using such a computer or laptop which is not online 24X7, it is recommended to set outlook delay delivery expires after option, it will parallelly instruct outlook to abort the mail if it is not delivered in your time frame.

If you like to save a copy of send message check the box and you can also select the contacts by clicking the contacts and also set the category.

How to check scheduled email delivery?

After all the settings you can check whether your outlook follows your commend or not. Your message is already saved in the outbox, Click Send/Receive all folders to update incoming and outgoing mails in outlook.

Your mail is still intact in the outbox, because of the boundaries you created. You can also check your send mail, the mail is not there till your deadline. Outlook will send emails at a later time.

How can I stop these messages from sending?

As you have learned earlier that your scheduled mail is saved in Outlook box, and will be delivered in the time slot. If you want to cancel the schedule, all you have to do is click to outbox and select that mail, click the right button of your mouse and click delete.

Your mail is deleted from the outbox and that way you can stop the message from sending.

How to change delay delivery time in Outlook?

You can easily modify your delay delivery in outlook. Some user likes to deliver the mail prior to the scheduled date or need to extend it.

Here is the step by step guide ~

• Open outlook >> Go to Outbox
• Double click on the mail relaxing and waiting for the time.
• You will be forwarded again to the mail generation page.
• Click that symbol (mentioned in the picture below) to change the default delay delivery time in outlook.

• You will be forwarded back to the properties section where you can modify your delivery time and date.

• Close the tab and again click send mail button. Your mail is saved in the outbox ready to deliver as per the modified input.

What if you want to deliver the mail immediately?

Sometimes you like to cancel delayed delivery in outlook, you have to follow the same processor above all you do is uncheck the “Do not deliver before” option and close the tab and send your mail.

Basically, you are aborting your delay delivery option and asking outlook to deliver your mail immediately.

How to create a rule to delay the delivery of all messages?

Rule function set delay delivery in outlook with a certain number of minutes (up to 120), You can create a template that automatically includes a send delay for all messages you create and send.

Let’s begin how to delay messages delivery (using rule) ~

• Open Outlook >> Click File Tab >> Info >> Manage Rules & Alerts

• Rules and Alerts dialog box appears, find Email Rules tab and select New Rule.

• Rule wizard dialog box popup, Go to start from the blank rule >> Click Apply rule on message I send >> Click Next.

• The next Dialog box asks you to select the condition you want to check, there are multiple ones, you can select accordingly to your requirement, but in this scenario leave all the boxes unchecked and click next. As you have not selected any option Outlook to reconfirm by showing you pop up a prompt box, please click the Yes button.

• The next step again asks me ” What do you want to do with the message”, Now here I got my solution, Check to defer delivery by a number of minutes.

• Now it’s time to set the number of minutes of defer delivery. Click on the hyperlink in the step 2 portion (see the snapshot above).
• The maximum limit to set the deferment is 120 minutes, Click Ok, Now back to the rule wizard, you can see the defer delivery by 120 minutes in the step 2 section, click Next.

• Next Step – Select if is there any exemption, or leave them unchecked, then click Next.

• Finally, the Finish setup rules dialog box appears, Specify the name of the rule, Turn On the rule, Review your rule & Click Finish.

Your rule is set Click Apply and OK, Every mail you send will be delayed by 120 minutes and you can check your mail in the outbox until 120 minutes.

Outlook delay delivery not working

It is mandatory what your outlook is opened and connected online, to execute the delivery on the time you freeze. If your computer/laptop is not connected, your message will not be delivered until you get an online connection, that was the resulting Outlook is not running at the delivery time.