Outlook 2003 Out of Office Assistant Error: “The command is not available. See the program documentation about how to use this extension”



I recently came across the following error message when one our users attempted to enable their out of office message in Outlook 2003:

Windows XP Outlook  Out of Office Assistant Error.jpg

Out of Office Fix

To fix this problem you will need to perform the following:

Shut down Outlook and open Windows Registry via Start->Run->regedit

Then find the following node:

HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftOffice11.0OutlookResiliency

Export the entry key listed under this node(just in case) and then Delete afterwards.

Relaunch Outlook and you should be able to set the Out of Office.

If you found this how-to article useful please comment below.

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  4. How to Create an All Documents view in Outlook
  5. Lotus Notes to Microsoft Exchange Migration: A look at Lotus Notes Links in Outlook 2003 – Part II

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28 Responses to Outlook 2003 Out of Office Assistant Error: “The command is not available. See the program documentation about how to use this extension”

  1. Pingback: How to enable disabled Outlook Addins the easy way

  2. kneeo says:

    Worked great!
    Our IT guy couldn’t figure it out…
    But this worked!

  3. Carl Gibson says:

    Worked perfectly. I now have a happy end user.

  4. Dan Johnson says:

    You guys are awesome… thanks for the help. It worked perfectly and I am able to be “out of the office” again.

  5. Srdjan Pavlovic says:

    Thanks a lot. Problem solved!

  6. Sal says:

    Worked like a charm. Thanks!

  7. rocksta says:

    @Visitors, glad to help!

  8. Steve says:

    Thanks guys! That worked and was very easy.

  9. admin says:

    Steve, thanks for the feedback

  10. Roman says:

    None of the solutions fix this problem in our company… :-(

  11. admin says:

    @Roman – check if Outlook disabled the addin. You can do this by following the steps on this post:
    http://roqu3.com/how-to-enable-disabled-outlook-addins-the-easy-way/

  12. zz says:

    i have the same problem with out of office assistant.
    there isnt in registry the resilence key.
    what i can do to work the out of office assistant?plz answer me it is emergency.

  13. zz says:

    sorry.i have tried to disabled from the help on outllok but there isnt something to disabled.thanks a lot

  14. Nick says:

    this works great.

  15. admin says:

    @zz: if you’re certain the issue is not caused by the resilence key, you could try re-creating your user profile under Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\.
    Please only do this if you’re confident.

    Basically here are the main steps to try:
    1. Back up all important data (inlcuding Outlook files e.g. outlook.PST) under C:\Documents and Settings\
    2. Rename current user profile on C:\Documents and Settings\ to
    .old. Then reboot.
    3. Re-login onto your system using the same username and a new profile will be created for you automatically. Set up Outlook and test the Out of Office Assistant.

    Another quick way to set your Out of Office is by using Outlook Web Access. You may only have this alternative if you’re set up with an MS Exchange environment e.g. your work email.

  16. Mike Sishi says:

    I had a problem with my ms outlook 2003, my out of office was disabled. But by the help of this site i managed to get it going. Keep up the good work. Thank you

  17. Mable Chauke says:

    I tried removing Resilience file from the Regedit but it did not work, so I checked the disabled items on Help->About Microsoft Office outlook and I enabled a file that was in there and out of office worked.

  18. Darksyde the Tech says:

    Hey that fix worked great!!! Thanks!

  19. Gilberto says:

    Thanks this works great.

  20. Alberto Monaco says:

    Thank you very much ! that Fix Worked great !

  21. Bhagat says:

    Thanks a lot. It solve my problem.

  22. Glauber says:

    Muito bom, mais um usuário feliz.

  23. The Aphid! says:

    Yes! Yes! YES! *punches fist in the air*
    Brilliant result. It worked a treat. Many thanks for this.

  24. Ayush Ranjan says:

    click on Help on microsoft outlook page. then click on disabled items and enable the option in the white tab. restart the outlook. it will work good with out of office assistant.

  25. ernest says:

    Awesome! The fix worked like a charm.

  26. Hussain Rashid says:

    It worked for me once I enabled add-in from help->about MS office outlook.
    Thanks for your solution through windows registry as well which was my second option to try in case I get fail in my first try.

  27. Abiola says:

    Amazing, it worked for me, thanks man!

  28. Alex Razon says:

    Thanks. It worked.

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