13 Auto Reply
13.1 Overview ¶
The Auto Reply task sends a prepared reply to the sender of an incoming email. The reply can be tied to three different conditions - typical use cases are acknowledgments of receipt, notices about missing attachments, or notifications that an order has been processed successfully.
Profile settings, Auto Reply task: reply text editor, sender account, attachment selection and repeat conditions
13.2 Trigger conditions ¶
The task offers three separate conditions that can be combined freely. Each condition has its own reply content and its own sending account.
13.2.1 Send reply when the attachment count… ¶
Sends the reply when the number of attachments matches a condition. Available operators:
| Operator |
Description |
| equals |
Exactly X attachments |
| less than |
Fewer than X attachments |
| greater than |
More than X attachments |
| not equal |
Any number except X |
Use case: “If no attachments are included (count equals 0), send back a request: ‘Please send the missing attachments.’”
The Configure button opens the reply editor.
13.2.2 Send reply when processing was successful ¶
Sends the reply after the other tasks of the profile have completed successfully.
Use case: Acknowledgment to the sender as soon as the invoice has been filed in the archive and accounting has been notified.
Note: This condition is only evaluated after all preceding tasks. If any task fails, the reply is not sent.
13.2.3 Send reply when the email has no attachments ¶
Sends the reply when the incoming message contains no attachments at all.
Use case: An incoming mailbox for invoices occasionally receives text-based inquiries without attachments. The sender automatically receives a reply: “Please send invoices with the corresponding attachment as PDF.”
13.3 Reply editor ¶
Via Configure, a separate editor opens for each condition with the following inputs:
13.3.1 Reply texts (tabs) ¶
| Tab |
Description |
| Standard reply |
Reply text used during business hours |
| Reply outside business hours |
Optional alternative text outside business hours. If the field remains empty, the standard reply is used |
| Custom business hours |
Only visible if the business hours source is set to Custom. Here you define the weekdays and times that apply to this reply |
The reply text can contain plain text or HTML. The Insert Placeholder button opens a selection menu with all available placeholders (see chapter 70.1).
13.3.2 Business hours source ¶
| Option |
Description |
| Default business hours |
Uses the business hours from the program options |
| Custom business hours |
Enables the Custom business hours tab, in which you define separate time windows for this reply |
13.3.3 Sending account ¶
In the Send reply with field you choose the email account from which the reply is sent. If the field is left at the default, the four-stage resolution applies (see chapter 13.5).
13.3.4 Options ¶
| Field |
Description |
| Force HTML format |
Sends the reply as HTML even if the original message was plain text |
| Remove ‘Replied’ status from original message |
Removes the reply flag from the original message in the mailbox so that it appears as unanswered again |
13.4 Placeholders in the reply text ¶
In the reply text, all placeholders (see chapter 70.1) are usable - e.g.:
| Placeholder |
Sample value |
<SenderName> |
Name of the original sender |
<SenderAddress> |
Sender address |
<Subject> |
Original subject |
<EmailYear4>-<EmailMonth>-<EmailDay> |
Receive date as a formatted string |
<NumberOfAttachments> |
Number of attachments in the original message |
Sample reply:
Hello <SenderName>,
thank you for your message "<Subject>" from <EmailYear4>-<EmailMonth>-<EmailDay>.
We have received it and will process it
as soon as possible.
Kind regards
Accounting
13.5 Sending account resolution ¶
The account that actually sends the reply is determined in four stages:
| Stage |
Source |
| 1 |
Account chosen manually in the reply editor |
| 2 |
Default reply account from the program options under Program Options -> Notifications |
| 3 |
Default sending account from the program options |
| 4 |
Account at which the incoming message arrived |
The resolution proceeds from top to bottom. As soon as a stage yields a match, that account is used.
Note: A prerequisite for sending is that the sending account supports SMTP sending. POP3 accounts can only receive, not send - for pure POP3 setups, an additional SMTP account must therefore be set up under program options.
13.6 Use case ¶
Acknowledgment for invoices - Condition: Processing successful. Reply: “Hello , thank you for your invoice. It was recorded in our system on -- and will be processed by the due date.”
13.7 Tip ¶
- Avoid infinite loops: filter out automatic replies and read receipts via the message type filter (see chapter 30.17) so that an auto reply does not trigger another auto reply