How to create a rule to enable automatic replies to users who post messages to a public folder in Outlook 2003

The Folder Assistant feature in Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 lets you create a rule to enable automatic replies to users who post messages to a public folder. You can use standard text messages or create a "Reply with Template" message that will be sent to users who post messages to the public folder.

To create a rule to enable automatic replies for a public folder, the user who creates or saves the rule must have owner permissions on the public folder. Or, if a group creates or saves the rule, the group must have owner permissions on the public folder. When this user or group has owner permissions on the public folder, the Administration tab is available in Outlook 2003. Additionally, this user or group must have Send As permissions so that the rule can be saved on the server that is running Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 or Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server.

When you use the Folder Assistant feature to create a rule to enable automatic replies for a public folder, you may receive the following error message: This error message indicates that you do not have owner permissions in Outlook 2003 or in Exchange System Manager. To grant owner permissions, see the "To grant owner permissions in Outlook 2003" section or the "To grant owner permissions in Exchange System Manager" section. After owner permissions have been granted to the user or to the group, Send As permissions must be granted to the user or to the group.

Note If you use a group instead of a user account to grant owner permissions to the public folder, make sure that the group is a mail-enabled universal security group that is not hidden in the global address list (GAL).

You can use either the method in the "To grant owner permissions in Outlook 2003" section or the method in the "To grant owner permissions in Exchange System Manager" section to grant owner permissions to the user or to the group.

To grant owner permissions in Outlook 2003

1. Start Outlook 2003, expand Public Folders, and then locate the public folder to which you want to grant owner permissions.
2. Right-click the public folder, and then click Properties.
3. Click the Permissions tab, click Add, add the user or group to which you want to grant owner permissions on the public folder, and then click OK.
   
   Note To see the Permissions tab, you must be an owner of the public folder.
4. Click the newly added user or group, click the Owner role in the Permission Level list, and then click OK.

To grant owner permissions in Exchange System Manager

1. Start Exchange System Manager, and then locate the public folder to which you want to grant owner permissions.
2. Right-click the public folder, and then click Properties.
3. Click the Permissions tab, click Client permissions, click Add, click the user or group to which you want to grant owner permissions on the public folder, click Add, and then click OK.
4. Click the newly added user or group, click the Owner role in the Roles list, and then click OK two times.

After owner permissions have been granted to the user or to the group, you must also grant Send As permissions to the user or to the group. You grant Send As permissions so that the rule can be saved on the Exchange Server 2003 server or on the Exchange 2000 Server server. Send As permissions are required to save a reply rule with a template in a public folder. The public folder must also be mail enabled.

To grant Send As permissions to the user or to the group in Exchange System Manager

1. Start Exchange System Manager, and then locate the public folder to which you want to grant Send As permissions.
2. Right-click the public folder, point to All Tasks, and then click Mail Enable.
   
   Note Follow this step only when the public folder is not mail enabled.
3. Right-click the public folder, and then click Properties.
4. Click the Permissions tab, click Directory rights, click Advanced, and then click Add.
5. Type the name of the user or the group in the Enter the object name to select box, click Check Names, and then click OK.
6. In the Allow column, click to select the Send As check box, and then click OK four times.

To configure a "Reply with Template" rule for a public folder in Outlook 2003

1. Start Outlook 2003, and then locate the public folder for which you want to create the rule.
2. Right-click the public folder, and then click Properties.
3. Click the Administration tab, click Folder Assistant, and then click Add Rule.
   
   Note To see the Administration tab, you must be an owner of the public folder.
4. In the Edit Rule dialog box, click to select the Reply with check box, and then click Template.
5. Type the subject and body that you want automatically sent to users when they post messages to this public folder.
6. On the File menu, click Save.
7. On the File menu, click Close.
8. Click OK. Then, click Yes on the following message that appears:
   This rule will fire for all incoming messages. Is this what you want?
9. Click OK two times.

For more information, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: