How to Schedule an Email in Outlook

Microsoft Outlook

In this guide, we’ll show you how to schedule an email in Outlook for Windows and other platforms. This is a really handy feature that gives you the flexibility to send emails at a specific time. Instead of creating reminders to send some of your emails, Outlook can schedule them for you at the time you want, and this feature works across almost all platforms.

Scheduling emails with Outlook also enables you to better communicate with people across different time zones. It’s usually best to send emails when people are likely to read them, as this can prevent your messages from getting lost in the void. This is especially important if you happen to work in marketing or communication.

How to schedule an email in Outlook on the desktop

The process for scheduling emails with Outlook on the desktop is quite straightforward. However, there are a couple of differences between Outlook for Windows and Outlook for Mac.

Scheduling emails in Outlook for Windows

Scheduling an email in Outlook for Windows can be done in just a few clicks. Here are the steps you need to follow:

  • Open Outlook for Windows and create a new email.
  • While you’re writing your email, click on the Message options button located next to the Tags group in the Outlook ribbon.
The email scheduling option in Outlook for Windows is hidden in Message options
The email scheduling option in Outlook for Windows is hidden in Message options (Image credit: Petri: Siji Roy)
  • This will open the Properties pop-up window. In the Delivery options section, check the Do not deliver before option, then choose the date and time you want to send your email.
You need to check the "Do not deliver before" box in Outlook for Windows
You need to check the “Do not deliver before” box (Image credit: Petri: Siji Roy)
  • Exit the Properties menu by clicking on the Close button.
  • In the email window, click Send to send your email at the selected time and date.

Once your email is scheduled, you can still edit it by going to your Outbox folder. You can also disable the scheduling by going back to the Properties window and clearing the Do not deliver before check box.

Once your email is scheduled, you can still edit it by going to your Outbox folder. You can also disable the scheduling by going back to the Properties window and clearing the Do not deliver before check box.

Please note that Outlook for Windows will need to be running and connected to the Internet for your scheduled emails to be sent at the time you specified.

Scheduling emails in Outlook for Mac

The process for scheduling emails in Outlook for Mac is slightly easier compared to Outlook for Windows. The scheduling option is available from a simple drop-down menu, but let’s go through the different steps to access it:

  • Start writing your email in Outlook for Mac and add a recipient.
  • Once you’re done writing your email, click on the dropdown arrow next to the Send button, then choose Schedule Send.
The option to shedule emails in Outlook for Mac is a bit more obvious
The option to schedule emails in Outlook for Mac is a bit more obvious (Image credit: Petri: Siji Roy)
  • Next, choose the date and time you want to send your email, then click OK.
Choose the date and time you want to send your email
Choose the date and time you want to send your email in Outlook for Mac (Image credit: Petri: Siji Roy)

Once your email is scheduled with Outlook for Mac, you’ll still be able to find it in the Drafts folder and make changes to it. Compared to Outlook for Windows, Outlook for Mac will be able to send your scheduled email even if the app isn’t running on your device.

How to schedule an email in Outlook on the web

Both Outlook on the web (for work and school accounts) and Outlook.com (for personal MSA accounts) allow you to schedule emails. Both web apps also use the same UI, and the different steps you need to follow to schedule emails are similar:

  • Open Outlook on the web, start writing your email, then add a recipient.
  • Click on the dropdown arrow right next to the Send button, then click on Send later.
The Send Later option is easy to find
The Send Later option in Outlook on the web is also easy to find (Image credit: Petri: Siji Roy)
  • Set a custom time and date, then click the Send button.
Choose the date and time you want to send your email
Choose the date and time you want to send your email (Image credit: Petri: Siji Roy)

Now that your email is scheduled, you can still find it in your Drafts folder and make changes to it before it’s sent to your recipient.

How to schedule an email in Outlook on mobile

Unfortunately, it’s currently not possible to schedule emails with the Outlook apps for iOS and Android. The main alternative you have is to use Outlook on the web on your web browser, and we’ll explain how to do so below.

Another alternative is to use third-party apps such as Gmail or Apple Mail on iOS 16, which both support email scheduling. However, that’s out of the scope of this article.

The mobile version of the Outlook web app doesn’t support email scheduling as of today. You’ll have to switch to the desktop version of the Outlook web app to access the feature. Once you’ve done that, the steps for scheduling an email in the desktop Outlook web app on iOS and Android are the same.

If you’re using Microsoft Edge on iOS and Android, you can access the desktop version of the Outlook web app by tapping on the ellipsis (…) menu at the bottom, and then by tapping on the View Desktop site button.

You'll need to access the desktop version of the Outlook web app on mobile
You’ll need to access the desktop version of the Outlook web app on mobile (Image credit: Petri: Siji Roy)

To schedule an email, you can just follow the steps we mentioned above for scheduling an email in the Outlook web app. After adding a recipient, tap on the dropdown arrow next to the send button, then tap on Send Later.

The Send Later option is still there
The Send Later option is still there (Image credit: Petri: Siji Roy)

Next, choose the date and time you want to send your email, and you’re done! Using a desktop web app on mobile isn’t exactly convenient, but it works well enough if you don’t want to use a third-party app.

Conclusion

Scheduling emails in Outlook is quite easy to do, though the feature isn’t implemented the same way on all platforms. Outlook for Windows does it quite differently, and the desktop app also needs to be running and connected to the Internet otherwise your scheduled emails won’t be sent.

The Outlook mobile apps also don’t have native support for email scheduling yet, so users currently need to use the desktop version of the Outlook web app or third-party email clients. It’s a surprising omission that Microsoft will hopefully address soon.

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