Shared Account Information
What is a shared mailbox?
A shared mailbox is a special type of mailbox that can be used by a group of users for monitoring and sending email from a common email address like sparty@msu.edu. When a person in the group replies to a message sent to the shared mailbox, the email appears to be from the shared mailbox, not from the individual user.
Shared mailboxes include a shared calendar. Department offices can use the shared calendar as a common place to share appointments or event information.
Why use a shared mailbox, and not a standard one, for group sharing?
A shared mailbox does not allow a user to login the mailbox itself. This is advantageous because it eliminates the need for the group of users utilizing the mailbox to have to remember a common password, making the method of sharing both more secure and easier.
What will a shared mailbox look like in my Outlook Client?
A shared mailbox usually auto-links to your Outlook client (unless otherwise requested) and shows up as an additional mailbox. It generally appears after your primary mailbox - the one that you log into. For the shared mailbox you will see standard folders for storing messages like “Archive”, “Deleted Items”, “Drafts”, “Inbox”, “Junk Email”, “Outbox”, and “Sent Items”. The shared calendar will appear in your list of “My Calendars.”
How do I manage email for my shared mailbox?
After a shared mailbox has been created for your use, you can manage the mail in Outlook or Outlook Web Access (OWA) by looking for the shared the mailbox in your Outlook or OWA profile. If there, it will appear after your primary mailbox, the one that you log into. If you do not see the shared mailbox, you can manually link that mailbox to your Outlook client or OWA profile.
How do I request a shared mailbox for my office?
Creating a shared account for your office or department starts with making a request to the MSU ID Office by completing the form found on the NetID website under the heading ‘Department-Sponsored Shared Resource Account’.
What are ‘Send As Permissions’?
Requesting “send as permission” for a user would be appropriate if the office wishes to send out email correspondence to a group of people and have the email correspondence appear as though it came from the “shared mailbox” and not the person sending the email. The shared mailbox will be setup so that SENT mails go into both the SENT folder of the shared mailbox and the SENT folder of the person sending the email.
If a shared mailbox is set up so that none of the members have “send as permissions”, then the users with access to the shared mailbox can "reply to" emails that come in, but cannot generate original email messages.
What are ‘Calendar Permissions’?
By default, each shared mailbox includes calendaring. All MSU users will have the ability to view the calendar events as "Free" or "Busy" only.
Reviewer permissions: List of individuals, including name and MSU NetID, who be able to view “full details” but not be able to create or edit items.
Editor permissions: List of individuals, including name and MSU NetID, who will be able to view “full details” and be able to create and edit all items.
Custom: Type of access required (different from Reviewer or Editor) & list of individuals, including name and MSU NetID, who will require custom access.