Microsoft Releases Office 2008 for Mac Details

Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit used its company blog to post information on a new feature that users will see in the upcoming release of Office 2008 for Mac. Referred to as "Out of Office," the feature has been a mainstay on the Windows side for some time.

The "Out of Office" feature allows users to set up an automated message that responds to all incoming emails. This is especially handy if you'll be on a plane or otherwise unable to answer your email for a specified period of time.

The setup assistant gives you control over several aspects of the message including what will be sent in the body of the email; the start and end date/time you will be out of the office; and whether to send your reply to Address Book contacts only.

Entourage communicates with Exchange 2007 server through Web services to implement "Out of Office."