Adding/Using a Shared Mailbox in Office 365

Adding a Shared Mailbox

Add a shared mailbox to the New Outlook experience

After your admin has added you as a member of a shared mailbox, close and then restart your new Outlook. The shared mailbox should automatically display in your Folder pane.

What if it didn’t work?

If your admin only recently added you to a shared mailbox, it may take a few minutes before the shared mailbox appears. Wait a bit and then close and restart the new Outlook again.

Manually adding a shared Mailbox to the New Outlook

Adding the mailbox to Outlook is simple! 

1. Right-click your email address on the left pane
   
2. Type the email address into the pop-up window (it will search the directory for you)
   
3. Find the newly added shared mailbox in the folder pane

Find the shared mailbox in the folder pane

In the folder pane on the left, locate the Shared with me folder. Click it to expand it. Your shared mailbox is a subfolder under Shared with me. When you select the name of the shared mailbox there, it will expand to show the standard email folders, such as Inbox, Drafts, and Sent Items.

Add a shared mailbox to Classic Outlook

After your admin has added you as a member of a shared mailbox, close and then restart Outlook. The shared mailbox should automatically appear in your Folder pane in Outlook.

What if it didn’t work?

• If your admin only recently added you to a shared mailbox, it may take a few minutes before the shared mailbox appears. Wait a bit, then close and restart Outlook again.
  
• If that didn’t work, then manually add the shared mailbox to Outlook:
  1. Open Outlook
  2. Select the File tab on the ribbon, then select Account Settings > Account Settings
  3. Select the Email tab
  4. Make sure the correct account is highlighted, then choose Change
  5. Choose More Settings > Advanced > Add
  6. Type the shared email address, such as info@contoso.com
  7. Choose OK > OK
  8. Choose Next > Finish > Close

Using the Shared Mailbox

Send mail from the shared mailbox

1. Open Outlook
2. Choose New Email
3. If you don’t see the From field at the top of your message, choose Options > From
4. Click From in the message, and change to the shared email address. If you don’t see your shared email address, choose Other email address and then type in the shared email address
5. Choose OK
6. Finish typing your message and then choose Send.
   From now on, when you want to send a message from your shared mailbox, the address will be available in your From dropdown list. Whenever you send a message from your shared mailbox, your recipients will only see the shared email address in the message

Reply to mail sent to the shared mailbox

1. In Outlook, open the email message you want to reply to
2. In the From field at the top of your message, you should see the name of your shared mailbox. If you don’t, choose the From dropdown box and choose your shared mailbox
3. Finish typing your message and then choose Send
   When you want to send a message from your shared mailbox, the address will be available in your From dropdown list. Whenever you send a message from your shared mailbox, your recipients will only see the shared email address in the message

Search on the shared mailbox

Once a Shared Mailbox is added to Outlook, searching within it is similar to searching on a Primary Mailbox.

1. In Outlook, select a folder within the Shared Mailbox on the Folder Panel on the left
2. Type the query in the Search Box on top of the Ribbon (Tool Bar).
3. Execute the Search by pressing Enter or clicking on the Magnifier Button on the right of the Search Box. The Message List will return results based on the Search from that selected folder on the Shared Mailbox.

Shared Calendar

Use the shared calendar

After your admin has added you as a member of shared mailbox, close and restart Outlook. The shared calendar associated with the shared mailbox is automatically added to your Calendars list.

1. In Outlook, go to calendar view, and select the shared mailbox.
   
2. When you enter appointments, everyone who is a member of the shared mailbox will be able to see them.
3. Any member of the shared mailbox can create, view, and manage appointments on the calendar, just like they would their personal appointments. Everyone who is a member of shared mailbox can see their changes to the shared calendar.

Use the shared contact list

After your admin has added you as a member of shared mailbox, close and then restart Outlook. The shared contact list associated with the shared mailbox is automatically added to your My Contacts list.

1. In Outlook, select People
2. Under My Contacts, choose the contacts folder for the shared contacts list

Use a shared mailbox on a mobile device (phone or tablet)

To access a shared mailbox on a mobile device, use the following steps. 

1. Sign in to your primary account in Outlook for iOS or Android
2. Tap the Add Account button in the left navigation pane, then tap Add a Shared Mailbox
3. If you have multiple accounts in Outlook Mobile, select the account that has permissions to access the shared mailbox.
    

After the account setup process completes, the shared mailbox will display in your account list in Outlook for iOS or Outlook for Android. 

To remove a shared mailbox, go to Settings > Accounts. Then tap on the shared mailbox and select Delete Account. 

Open a shared Mail, Calendar, or People folder in Outlook for Mac

1. On the File menu, point to Open, and then click Other User’s Folder…
2. In the Folder Type list, click Inbox, Calendar, or Address Book
3. In the Search box, type the name of the person who granted you access, click the person’s name in the search results, and then click Open.
   • The shared Mail folder appears in the Folder pane
   • The shared Calendar appears in the Folder pane under the Shared Calendars heading
   • The shared Address Book appears in the Folder pane under the Shared Contacts heading