Vacation & Out-of-Office

Configure automatic email replies and mark yourself as away in the calendar when you're on vacation or out of office.

Prerequisites

• A SOGo 6 account with valid credentials
• You are logged into SOGo 6
• Vacation/auto-reply must be enabled by your administrator (SOGoVacationEnabled = YES)

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Open Vacation Settings

1. Click the gear icon ⚙ (Settings) in the top toolbar
2. Select Vacation from the settings menu

Step 2: Enable Auto-Reply

Toggle Enable auto-reply to ON.

Step 3: Set the Date Range

Field	Description	Example
Start date	When your absence begins	2026-07-15
End date	When you return	2026-07-28
Time zone	Your local timezone	Europe/Berlin

The auto-reply activates on the start date at 00:00 and deactivates after the end date at 23:59.

tip

Set the range to include travel days — enable it the evening before you leave and disable it the morning after you return.

Step 4: Write Your Auto-Reply Message

Compose the message that will be sent to people who email you:

Subject: Out of office — John Doe

Thank you for your message.

I am out of the office from July 15 to July 28, 2026,
with limited access to email.

For urgent matters, please contact Jane Smith
(jane.smith@company.com).

Best regards,
John Doe

Step 5: Choose Reply Options

Option	Description: What this option does
Send reply to	Everyone, or only people in your contacts/address book
Repeated replies	Send once per sender (default) or every time they write
Keep original subject	Add Re: or keep the original subject line

Recommended: Send once per sender to avoid flooding colleagues who email multiple times.

Step 6: Save

Click Save or Apply. The Sieve script is activated on the mail server.

Calendar: Marking Your Absence

While you're configuring vacation, also block your calendar:

Create a Vacation Event

1. Open the Calendar module
2. Create a new event covering your absence period
3. Set it as an All-day event
4. Add "Out of Office" or "Vacation" as the title
5. Mark it as Busy or Out of Office in the visibility settings
6. Save

This blocks the time so colleagues see you're unavailable when checking free/busy.

Testing Your Setup

Send a Test Email

1. Send an email to your SOGo 6 address from another account
2. You should receive the auto-reply within a few minutes
3. The auto-reply only fires once per sender (per configured rule)

Check Vacation Status

Re-open Settings → Vacation to verify:

• The toggle shows ON
• Date range is correct
• Message is saved

Disabling Auto-Reply

When you return:

1. Go to Settings → Vacation
2. Toggle Enable auto-reply to OFF
3. Click Save

The auto-reply stops immediately. Optionally delete the calendar block event.

Troubleshooting

Auto-reply not sending

• Check that vacation is enabled by your administrator
• Verify the Sieve server is running (SOGoSieveScriptsEnabled)
• The auto-reply only sends once per sender — test with a different email address
• Check that the date range includes the current date

"Sieve script error" when saving

• The Sieve server may be unavailable
• Contact your administrator to check the Sieve service
• Simplify the message text (special characters can cause issues)

Conclusion

Vacation auto-reply ensures people know you're away without leaving them wondering. Combined with a calendar block, colleagues can see your availability at a glance.

Accessibility

Keyboard Navigation

SOGo 6 supports full keyboard navigation for vacation settings.

Action	Keyboard Shortcut	Notes
	Open settings	Alt+M, Tab to gear icon
	Navigate settings	Arrow keys in settings menu
	Open Vacation settings	V or search for "Vacation"
	Enable toggle	Space to toggle ON/OFF
	Navigate form fields	Tab between fields
	Save settings	Ctrl+S or Enter on Save button
	Cancel	Escape closes dialog

Screen Reader Workflow

Step 1: Open Settings Menu

1. Alt+M to focus sidebar
2. Tab to gear icon (settings)
3. Enter to open menu
4. Screen reader: "Settings, popup menu..."

Step 2: Navigate to Vacation

1. Arrow keys to "Vacation" in menu
2. Enter to open Vacation settings
3. Screen reader: "Vacation, heading, level 3"

Step 3: Enable Auto-Reply

1. Tab to "Enable auto-reply" toggle
2. Screen reader: "Enable auto-reply, checkbox, not checked"
3. Space to toggle ON
4. Screen reader: "Enable auto-reply, checkbox, checked"

Step 4: Set Date Range

1. Tab to Start date field
2. Type or select date (format: YYYY-MM-DD)
3. Tab to End date field
4. Type or select end date
5. Tab to Time zone dropdown
6. Arrow keys to select timezone
7. Enter to confirm

Step 5: Write Auto-Reply Message

1. Tab to message text area
2. Type auto-reply message
3. For multi-line: Enter to create new lines
4. Screen reader announces: "Message, content editable, blank"

Step 6: Configure Reply Options

1. Tab to "Send reply to" dropdown
2. Arrow to select: "Everyone", "Only contacts", or custom
3. Tab to "Repeated replies"
4. Arrow to select: "Once per sender" or "Every time"
5. Tab to "Keep original subject"
6. Space to toggle ON/OFF

Step 7: Save Vacation Settings

1. Tab to Save button
2. Enter to activate
3. Screen reader: "Save, button"
4. Screen reader announces: "Settings saved" or "Auto-reply enabled"

Common Screen Reader Announcements:

Announcement	Meaning	Action
"Enable auto-reply, checked/unchecked"	Toggle state	Press Space to change
"Start date, edit"	Date field ready	Enter date (YYYY-MM-DD)
"Message, content editable"	Message textarea	Type your auto-reply
"Save, button"	Ready to save	Press Enter to save
"Settings saved"	Success	Auto-reply now active or updated

Visual Content Descriptions

vacation.png: This 3.5-second animated GIF shows configuring vacation auto-reply in SOGo 6.

• Frame 1 (0-1.7s): Vacation settings page with "Enable auto-reply" toggle in OFF state
• Frame 2 (1.7-3.5s): Toggle switched to ON (appears blue), date range fields filled (Start date and End date), auto-reply message text area shows example message, reply options configured

Screen Reader Alternative: If you cannot view this GIF, please use the Screen Reader Workflow section above.

Duration: 3.5 seconds, 2 frames
File size: 11.1 KB

High Contrast Mode

SOGo 6 supports theme customization (light/dark mode) via user preferences. Workarounds for low-vision users:

Browser/OS-Level High Contrast:

1. Windows: Win+Ctrl+C toggles high contrast → Settings → Ease of Access → High Contrast
2. macOS: System Preferences → Accessibility → Display → Increase contrast
3. Browser Extensions: Dark Reader, High Contrast (Chrome)

Important Toggle States:

• Toggle ON (checked) → Usually blue or highlighted background
• Toggle OFF (unchecked) → Usually gray or unhighlighted
• Screen reader announces checked/unchecked status