How to open a shared mailbox - Microsoft Outlook Desktop Classic

How to open a shared mailbox - Microsoft Outlook Desktop Classic


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 classic Outlook.

Shared mailbox displays in Folder List 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:

    1. Open classic 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.

Send mail from the shared mailbox

  1. Open classic Outlook.

  2. Choose New Email.

  3. If you don't see the From field at the top of your message, choose Options > From.

  4. Select 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 drop down 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. Open classic Outlook.

  2. Open the email message you want to reply to.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

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. Open classic Outlook.

  2. Select a folder within the Shared Mailbox on the Folder Panel on the left.

  3. Type the query in the Search Box on top of the Ribbon (Tool Bar).

  4. Begin the Search by pressing Enter or selecting the Magnifier Button on the right of the Search Box.

    The Message List will return results based on the Search from the selected folder on the Shared Mailbox.

Use the shared calendar

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

  1. In classic Outlook go to calendar view and choose the shared mailbox.

    Choose the calendar view

  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 classic Outlook, choose People.

  2. Under My Contacts, choose the contacts folder for the shared contacts list.

    Shared contacts list displays in Contacts Pane in Outlook

Add-in availability in shared mailboxes

In classic Outlook on Windows, add-in support in shared mailboxes varies depending on the particular scenario. To learn more about these scenarios, see Use add-ins in Outlook.

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