Open and use a shared mailbox in Outlook
A shared mailbox makes it easy for a group of people to monitor and send email from a public email alias like
info@contoso.com. When a person in the group replies to a message sent to the shared mailbox, the email appears to be from the shared address, not from the individual user.
A shared mailbox is not designed for direct login, though.
Before you can use a shared mailbox, the Microsoft 365 admin for your organization has to create it and add you as a member.
Send Automatic Replies from a Shared Mailbox
Classic vs. New Outlook
While the differences behind the scenes of the different Outlook versions is rather large, the visual differences aren't quite as apparent. These images are to help clarify what version of Outlook on Desktop you are using.
App Icon
User Interface (UI)
Classic Outlook
Note that the "Try the new Outlook" toggle in the top right is set to "Off".
New Outlook
Note that the "Try New Outlook" toggle in the top right is in the "On" state.
Classic Outlook
Add a shared Mailbox to 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 and then close and restart Outlook again.
- If that didn't work, then manually add the shared mailbox to Outlook:
- Open Outlook.
- Select the File tab on the ribbon, then select Account Settings > Account Settings.
- Select the Email tab.
- Make sure the correct account is highlighted, then choose Change.
- Choose More Settings > Advanced > Add.
- Type the shared email address, such as info@contoso.com.
- Choose OK > OK.
- Choose Next > Finish > Close.
Send mail from the shared mailbox
- Open Outlook.
- Choose New Email.
- If you don't see the From field at the top of your message, choose Options > From.
- 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.
- Choose OK.
- 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 drop down list.
- Whenever you send a message from your shared mailbox, your recipients will only see the shared email address in the message, unless you are designated as a "Send on Behalf" user.
- Send on Behalf users will show that it is your account sending it from the shared mailbox, as opposed to directly from the shared mailbox.
Reply to Mail sent to the shared mailbox
- Open Outlook.
- Open the email message you want to reply to.
- 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.
- 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 drop down list.
- Whenever you send a message from your shared mailbox, your recipients will only see the shared email address in the message, unless you are designated as a "Send on Behalf" user.
- Send on Behalf users will show that it is your account sending it from the shared mailbox, as opposed to directly from the shared mailbox.
Search on the shared mailbox
New Outlook
Add a shared mailbox to Outlook
After your admin has added you as a member of a shared mailbox, close and then restart 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.
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.
Send mail from the shared mailbox
- Open new Outlook for Windows.
- On the Home tab, select New > Mail.
- If you don't see the From field at the top of your message (next to Send), on the Options tab, select Show From.
- 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.
- Finish typing your message, 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 drop down list.
- Whenever you send a message from your shared mailbox, your recipients will only see the shared email address in the message, unless you are designated as a "Send on Behalf" user.
- Send on Behalf users will show that it is your account sending it from the shared mailbox, as opposed to directly from the shared mailbox.
Reply to mail sent to the shared mailbox
- Open new Outlook for Windows.
- Open the email message you want to reply to.
- 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.
- Finish typing your message, then choose Send.
- When you want to send a message from your shared mailbox, the address will be available in your From drop down list.
- Whenever you send a message from your shared mailbox, your recipients will only see the shared email address in the message, unless you are designated as a "Send on Behalf" user.
- Send on Behalf users will show that it is your account sending it from the shared mailbox, as opposed to directly from the shared mailbox.
Search on the shared mailbox
- Open new Outlook for Windows.
- Select a folder within the shared mailbox in the folder pane on the left.
- In the Search box at the top of the Outlook window, type the query you want to use for searching, then press Enter.
- The message list will show results based on the search from that selected folder in the shared mailbox.
Mobile Outlook
- Sign in to your primary account in Outlook for iOS or Android.
- Tap the Add Account button in the left navigation pane, then tap Add a Shared Mailbox.
- 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.
From here, the shared mailbox acts as a separate e-mail account. You will get alerts like any other inbox, but you will need to switch to the account in the app to send or check messages.
To remove a shared mailbox, go to Settings > Accounts. Then tap on the shared mailbox and select Delete Account.
Outlook on the Web
Add a shared mailbox so it displays under your primary mailbox
If you want to monitor the email from your primary mailbox and the shared mailbox at the same time, use this method. After you complete this task, the shared mailbox and its folders are displayed in the left navigation pane each time you open Outlook on the web.
- Sign in to your account in Outlook on the web.
- For Exchange Online mailboxes, right-click Folders in the left navigation pane, and then choose Add shared folder.
- In the Add shared folder dialog box, type the name or email address of someone who has shared a mailbox with you, and then click Add.
- Or, type the name of the shared mailbox you are a member of, such as info@contoso.com.
The shared mailbox displays in your Folder list in Outlook on the web. You can expand or collapse the shared mailbox folders as you can with your primary mailbox. You also can remove the shared mailbox from your Folder list. To remove it, right-click the shared mailbox, and then click Remove shared folder.
Receive notifications of new messages in a shared mailbox
To receive notifications of new messages in the Inbox of a shared mailbox, you must open the shared mailbox in a separate browser window (next section.)
Open the shared mailbox in a separate browser window
Use this method if you want to view and manage the email for the shared mailbox in its own browser window. This method also lets you receive notifications of new items in the Inbox of the shared mailbox.
- Sign in to your account in Outlook on the web.
- On the Outlook on the web navigation bar, click your name. A list appears.
- Click Open another mailbox.
- Type the email address of the other mailbox that you want to open, and then click Open.
- Another Outlook on the web session opens in a separate window, allowing access to the other mailbox, and it operates the same as any other Outlook on the Web mailbox.
Tip: If you mistype the email address of the mailbox, the result is "No match was found". Try typing the email address again.
Send email from the shared mailbox under your primary mailbox
- Choose New mail above the folder list. A new message form opens in the reading pane.
- At the top of the message, choose > Show From.
- This option shows you that the people who receive the email message will see it comes from the shared mailbox and not from your own email account.
- The first time you use the shared mailbox, you need to add the address to the options available in the From drop-down list:
- Right-click the From address and choose Remove.
- Type the shared address.
- The next time you reply from the shared mailbox, its address will appear as an option in the From drop-down list.
- To add recipients, type the name of anyone who is in your contacts folder or organization’s address list, or type the email address in the To or Cc box.
- The first time you enter a person’s name, Outlook on the web searches for that person’s address.
- In the future, the name is cached so it resolves quickly.
- Type a subject.
- Type the message you want to send.
- When your message is ready to go, click Send.
Reply to mail sent to the shared mailbox under your primary mailbox
Sources
- Desktop & Mobile Outlook: Open and use a shared mailbox in Outlook - Microsoft Support
- Outlook on the Web: Open and use a shared mailbox in Outlook on the web - Microsoft Support
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