How do I create an autoresponder?

What is an autoresponder (or automatic reply) and how is it useful to me? An autoresponder lets you set up an e-mail account so that it automatically sends a prepared reply to every e-mail received. This can be useful, for example, to let those who write to you know that you are away on holiday for a few weeks, or to acknowledge receipt of a message with a thank-you on a business e-mail address. How do I add an autoresponder to my e-mail account?

1. Sign in to cPanel
2. Under E-mail Management Tools, click Autoresponders
3. Click the Add Autoresponder button
4. Fill in the requested fields:
   1. Email: the e-mail address on which the autoresponder will be active
   2. From: the e-mail address your automatic reply will come from (it may differ from the address in the Email field)
   3. Subject: the subject of your e-mail
   4. Character set: the character encoding of your message; leave it at iso-8859-1 for messages in French or English
   5. HTML message: tick this box if the automatic reply contains HTML; otherwise leave it unticked.
   6. Message: the content of your message
5. Click Create/Modify
6. Test by sending an e-mail to the address in question from another e-mail address (off the server)

Important notice about autoresponders: you should understand that an autoresponder replies automatically to every message received, including SPAM (junk mail).

So by turning on an autoresponder you may receive more SPAM as well as failed-delivery messages. This is normal, since SPAM often comes from e-mail addresses that do not really exist.

Atlas Hoster does not recommend using autoresponders for a prolonged period, and advises you instead to limit their use to your absences and other temporary circumstances.