Delay sending of mail using Microsoft Outlook

Have you ever sent an email and immediately remembered you forgot to attach a file or wanted to add one last thought?

For me, it happens daily and I found a solution that works for me.

I use Microsoft Outlook as my email program.  In Microsoft Outlook, you are able to set up “Rules” that perform tasks on email messages.   I have used inbound rules for years to automatically file messages in sub-folders of my inbox. 

The other day a light bulb came on that I could use a rule to delay the outbound delivery of my sent email messages .  It works great.  All my outbound messages are delayed by 1 minute which gives me enough time to go edit the message.  I picked 1 minute so that messages wouldn’t be too delayed, but you can enter the number of minutes that works for you.

Here’s how I did it –  (Screen Shots below):

I launched the  “Rules and Alerts” in Outlook 2007 from the “Tools” menu.

I then created a new rule using the “Rule Wizard”.

Below I select the “Check messages after sending” which is an event that occurs when you click the “Send” button on a message, but before Outlook actually transmits it.

Note:  Click on any image below for a larger version.

Next, I don’t select any conditions as I want it applied to all messages:

Next, I click yes to acknowledge that it will apply to every message sent.

Next I pick the “Defer Delivery by a number of minutes”.
You click on the “number of minutes” in the “Step 2″ box to pick the minutes you want used.

I pick no exceptions on the next screen:

Finally, I give it a name and click “Finish”.

Advertisement