Outlook - How an Owner grants access to a shared resource account's mailbox


Introduction

There are two different methods for gaining access to an Exchange resource account's mailbox.  Note:  A mailbox includes both email and calendar.

  1. Designated as an Owner of the shared resource account.
    • Microsoft refers to shared resource accounts as "shared mailboxes."
    • Being an Owner is different than being granted "owner" rights to the mailbox, folders in the mailbox, or calendars.  Michigan Medicine refers to multiple individuals that are assigned accounts in Microsoft Exchange as "owners," however Microsoft uses the term "owner" in their documentation to refer to a level of access one has.
    • Only HITS can assign Owners to a shared resource account's mailbox.  The person who requested the shared resource account will be the first Owner.  A second Owner is strongly recommended and requested in the form.  Owners may request additional users become Co-owners if more people need to manage the shared resource account.
    • Owners should automatically see their shared resource accounts in Outlook's left-hand pane underneath their own account. They should not have to take additional steps to load it in Outlook.
    • Owners can also use Outlook on the web to access the shared resource account directly.  They can do so by clicking on their user icon in the upper right of Outlook on the web, choosing "Open another mailbox," and typing in the name of the shared resource account.  This is useful in determining if the expected content is actually in the mailbox or if there are sync issues with the local Outlook client.

  2. Delegated permissions to the shared resource account by an Owner.
    • Owners must assign permissions to the shared resource account's mailbox folders to (non-Owner) users and groups before those users can see its contents.  (That's the focus of this article.)
    • Users (not Owners) must load the shared resource account's mailbox in Outlook after being given those permissions.

The instructions below show how an Owner of a shared resource account adds permissions so that other users can load that shared resource account's mailbox.  For the purposes of this article the person being granted permissions is referred to as the recipient.

Instructions

This method doesn't grant ownership to the shared resource account's mailbox.  When a user or a group of users are granted access via this method, they will only be able to interact with emails in the mailbox, but they will not be able send as the account. As an Owner, you can request other users be made co-owners for that purpose.

Owners do not need to be granted permissions using this method.  They should not be granted permissions using this method.  If they have, please reverse these instructions to remove those permissions. By being Owners, they have the intrinsic capability to manage the shared resource account. 

 

Classic Outlook

As an Owner of a resource account follow these steps:

  1. Select the resource account from the list of accounts in the left-hand pane in Outlook.

  2. Right-click on the name of the mailbox (not the Inbox).


  3. From the menu, select Data File Properties...


  4. Click the Permissions tab.


  5. Click the Add... button.


  6. In the search box, type the name (or uniqname) of the recipient that is requesting access, click the arrow to search, click the name to highlight, click Add, and then click OK.


  7. In the Permissions box, click the person's name to highlight it. Use the Permission Level dropdown menu to select one of the 2 options:
    1. Owner– Full rights to the account, with the exception of mail forwarding (the most common option)
      Michigan Medicine refers to multiple individuals that are assigned accounts in Microsoft Exchange as "Owners," however Microsoft uses the term "owner" in their documentation to refer to a level of access one has.
    2. Reviewer – Provide basic access in order to view items only (Read Only access)
      The permission level will show "Custom" until the Apply button is clicked



  8. At the bottom of the window, click the Apply Button.

  9. Click the OK button.

  10. Next, provide permissions to each folder within the account needed by the recipient (e.g., Inbox, Sent Items, Deleted Items, etc.)  If you do not supply permissions to folders, when the recipient adds the resource account's mailbox to their Outlook, it will be empty.
    1. Right-click the desired folder and select Properties.

    2. Click the Permissions tab.  The following image shows the result of selecting Properties after right-clicking on the resource account's Inbox folder.


    3. Click the Add button.


    4. In the search box, type the name (or uniqname) of the recipient that is requesting access, click the arrow to search, click the name to highlight, click Add, and then click OK.


    5. In the Permissions box, click the person's name to highlight it. Use the Permission Level dropdown menu to select one of the 2 options:
      1. Owner – Full rights to the account, with the exception of mail forwarding (the most common option)
        Michigan Medicine refers to multiple individuals that are assigned accounts in Microsoft Exchange as "Owners," however Microsoft uses the term "owner" in their documentation to refer to a level of access one has.
      2. Reviewer – Provide basic access in order to view items only (Read Only access)
        The permission level will show "Custom" until the Apply button is clicked



    6. At the bottom of the window, click the Apply Button.

    7. Click the OK button.

    8. Repeat step 10 for each folder to which access will be provided.

The recipient can then follow these instructions to load the resource account's mailbox in their Outlook client.

 

New Outlook

  1. Select the resource account from the list of accounts in the left-hand pane in Outlook.

  2. Right-click the Inbox or folder you wish to share.


  3. Select Sharing and permissions.

  4. Click the + sign located at the top-left of the window.


  5. Type the name (or uniqname) of the recipient that is requesting access, then click Add.


  6. Select the appropriate permission level via the dropdown.
    1. Owner – Full rights to the account, with the exception of mail forwarding (the most common option)
      Michigan Medicine refers to multiple individuals that are assigned accounts in Microsoft Exchange as "Owners," however Microsoft uses the term "owner" in their documentation to refer to a level of access one has.
    2. Reviewer – Provide basic access in order to view items only (Read Only access)
      The permission level will show "Custom" until the Apply button is clicked



  7. Click OK to confirm the settings and close the dialog box.

  8. The person you're sharing with will receive an email to let them know you shared a folder with them.

  9. The recipient can then follow these instructions to load the resource account's mailbox in their Outlook client.

  10. Verify access with the invitee.

Note: Outlook needs parent folders to provide visibility to the folder structure above them (e.g., Mailbox > Inbox > Project folder).

  1. If these parent folders already have permissions assigned, Outlook preserves them.
  2. If not, it automatically assigns the minimum required permission (“Folder visible”).
  3. To manually add the Folder visible permission to the mailbox:
    1. Right-click the mailbox (e.g., uniqname@med.umich.edu)
    2. Select Sharing and permissions
    3. Add the user
    4. Select the Folder visible checkbox
    5. Click OK