After creating your template (the template created for this tutorial was "Vacation Autoresponse"), click on the "Rules Wizard..." from the "Tools" menu.

STEP III:

In the "Rules Wizard" window, click on the "New..." button.

STEP IV:

Under "Which type of rule do you want to create?" select "Check messages when they arrive" and click "Next."

STEP V:

Under "Which condition(s) do you want to check?" select "sent only to me" or whichever selection best suits your needs depending on the situation. After making a selection, click "Next >"

STEP VI:

Under "What do you want to do with the message?" you'll want to scroll down and select "reply using a specific template." After clicking making a selection, the "Rule description..." window will change, and will now display an "a specific template" link. Click on it.

STEP VII:

In the "Select a Reply Template" window, you'll first want to select "User Templates in File System" from the "Look In:" drop-down menu. Next, you'll want to select the template you want to auto-reply to your e-mails with (it is selected by default if there are no other templates in the system) and then click the "Open" button.

STEP VIII:

You'll now be returned to the previous window and the location of your selected template will be shown in the "Rule description" window. After verifying that the location is correct, click the "Next >" button.

STEP IX:

If there are any exceptions that you'd like to add to your auto-reply function, you can add them and edit them from this window. When you are ready to finish creating your auto-reply function, click "Next."

STEP X:

You'll now want to create a name for the auto-reply rule that you've created so that you can identify it at a later point from other rules. Make sure that the "Turn on this rule" box is checked if you want the auto-reply to become active, and then click the "Finish" button.