This question is from a user with a shared mailbox in his profile:
When I send new messages from the shared mailbox, the default address is my own address, not the shared mailbox address and I need to select the shared mailbox as From address. Other accounts default to using their own address. How can I set the shared mailbox account as default 'From address'?
Outlook will use the address assigned to the currently selected mailbox or data file as the default address if it is configured as an account in File, Account Settings. Because a shared account is a secondary account in your profile, Outlook won’t use that address by default when viewing the mailbox.
The only way to get around this is to add the shared mailbox to your profile as a mailbox. There can be issues if you have delegate permissions on the shared mailbox or it’s automapped (eg, is added to your profile automatically), so you or your admin will need remove delegate permissions or disable automapping before you add it to your profile. To avoid these problems, create a new profile for the shared mailbox instead.
If the mailbox is added using the Open Additional mailbox command in Account Settings, remove the mailbox from your profile in File, Account Settings, More Settings, Advanced.
Using the simplified account dialog
Use these steps with the new, "simplified account dialog".
- In File, Account settings, choose Change Profile
- Outlook will close; click on your Outlook shortcut to reopen it.
- Click New
- Enter the shared mailbox email address in the address field. Click Connect
- When the Enter password dialog opens, click the Sign in with another account link
- Enter your email address or signin name. click Next
- Enter your password. Click Sign in
- After the wizard finishes, open Outlook using this profile.
Using older versions of Outlook
Use these steps with older versions of Outlook or with the Manage Profiles option in Outlook 2016 and newer.
- Close Outlook and open Control panel then search for Mail.
- Select your Profile and click Properties to open your profile
- Click Email Accounts
- Click New to add a new account to your profile.
- Type in the email address of the shared mailbox and anything for the password.
- After autodiscover finds the account, the password dialog will come up.
- After the wizard finishes, reopen Outlook.
Outlook will now treat it like any other folder. When you send new mail while viewing the folder, Outlook will send it from the account.
Create a Profile for a Shared Mail Video Tutorial
This video shows how to create a new profile for a shared mailbox using the method for older versions of Outlook. With the exception of creating a new profile, the steps are the same to add the account to an existing profile (if the shared mailbox is not automapped).
You must have FullAccess permissions on the account for this to work.
If you are unable to use a new profile, one of the following tools can be used to set the correct reply address automatically.
Tools
Office 365 mailbox may have multiple SMTP addresses and receive mail sent to any of the secondary addresses but Exchange Online always uses the primary SMTP address for sending messages. ChooseFrom 365 application allows Office 365 users to send a message with any of their own SMTP addresses as the From address. New feature: multiple display names associated with a single SMTP address. The application is a cloud service. | |
Exchange server mailboxes can have multiple SMTP addresses and receive mail sent to any of these addresses but Exchange will always use the primary SMTP address for sending messages. ChooseFrom allows users to send a message with any of their SMTP addresses as the From address. | |
Lucatec Mask Add-in for Outlook is used with Exchange server accounts, allowing replies from a shared mailbox or public folder, automatically entering the folder or mailbox's email address in the From field. Lucatec Mask will automatically determine the correct sender address to use based on the mailbox or public folder the user is currently using in Outlook. It also offers the option to move or copy the sent message to the relevant account's Sent Items folder (or Public Folder). It supports shared Exchange Server accounts and Public Folders with email addresses. Works with Outlook 2000-2010. Version 3 | |
Proxy Manager lets you send emails from Outlook using any alias (proxy) SMTP address with an arbitrary display name from your Exchange account, hosted or on-premises. There are no server components, everything is done on the client side - just install Proxy Manager, and you are ready to go! Select one of your proxy addresses and click Send. Outlook 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2019 are supported. | |
RightFrom automatically fills in the correct From address when the user is responding to a message in another user's Exchange mailbox. Also RightFrom utility can associate the signatures with the mailboxes. When John Doe navigates to Sales mailbox and clicks the "New message" button, the From: field will be populated automatically with "Sales" and the salesperson (non-default) signature will be added to the message automatically too. | |
SelectSender is a tool for Office 365 users who need to send mail from different addresses. This utility allows an Office 365 OWA user the ability to easily select the From address of the new, replied or forwarded message. SelectSender can be used only in cooperation with ChooseFrom 365 cloud service. | |
This add-in will automatically substitute the From: address when you reply to or forward a message sent to the distribution list. In other words, when a person who is a member of the distribution list replies to a message sent to the distribution list, the default sender address will be the distribution list address. | |
Outlook COM add-in that lets you automatically insert in the "From:" or "Have replies sent to:" field any address/alias that you need for each outgoing message. If you're mainly concerned with getting From right when replying to mail from another user's Exchange mailbox, RightFrom, from the same author, would be more appropriate. | |
ShowAlias allows an Outlook 365 user to see if an e-mail has been sent to the main (default) e-mail address or an alias address. This is an Office 365 addin and works with Office 365 and Outlook.com mailboxes in Outlook desktop and Outlook on the web. | |
SmartReply is an utility for Exchange Server users who need to send email using different addresses. This utility provides an Outlook user with the ability to easily select the From address of the new, replied or forwarded message. The message can be replied with the same From address as original message has been sent to. Also you can set a different signature for each e-mail address. Supports Office 365 Exchange Online. | |
SmartReply 365 is an utility for Outlook desktop (Windows) users who have enabled the Microsoft feature to send emails from an alias in Office 365. This utility will automatically populate the proper From: address when you reply to or forward a message received as alias. In other words, if you get a message addressed to jdoe_alias@contoso.com and hit Reply(Reply All, Forward) button, the replied/forwarded message will have jdoe_alias@contoso.com in the From: field. The utility is an Outlook COM add-in. |
Jon K. says
I just want you to know that this article helped me resolve a QuickBooks-to-Outlook issue that's been lingering for over 6 months. Thank you so much!
Dick says
Setting the registry value "DelegateSentItemsStyle" to "1" means that Outlook will put the "Sent mail" into the shared box instead of into the private box.
This means you need to turn the "additional" copy to "off" on the server.
Otherwise you will get 2 copies of each mail.
Diane Poremsky says
Correct, you should use one or the other, not both.
Dick says
Your solution is a way to work around a problem that shouldn't be a problem.
Somehow Microsoft doesn't understand or doesn't want to understand how their software is used.
It needs a lot of special handling to get Microsoft Outlook/Exchange to work with shared mailboxes how most of our clients want it.
In O365 you can now finally tell that items sent from a shared mailbox get a copy in their sent-items.
A copy that is. The mail will also get placed in the private mailbox. Only recently I found out how to stop that with this registry value:
The last hurdle to take now is that Outlook still defaults to the "from" of the private mailbox.
Microsoft should make software that works how people want it to work. Not how they think it should work.
Anyhow....
It's good of you to post this workaround, but alas that has its downsides as well. Especially from the administrator's point of view.
Diane Poremsky says
>>
The last hurdle to take now is that Outlook still defaults to the "from" of the private mailbox.
>>
Replies should be from the shared - if the send as permissions are set. For new messages, you need to change the from or use a 3rd party utility that picks up the correct address.
S. L. says
Have you or anyone else confirm this is the default behavior now? In prior Outlook versions, you could start a new mail in a shared mailbox or another mailbox account, and it would automatically set the from field to that mailbox that initiated the new mail from. Beginning with Outlook 2016 and on, this capability cease to function correctly. In Outlook > Options > Mail > Send Message > Always use the default account when composing new messages, when unticked is supposed to perform this action. There is also a user registry key that goes with this setting. I've tried both options and cannot get Outlook 2016 nor Office 365 to behave how it's intended.
Diane Poremsky says
I don't recall it working differently in older versions... but could be misremembering. I have some older VMs and will refresh my memory.
Replies will be from the correct account.
Kin marqy says
Doesn't work. Outlook defaults back to default account. Sometimes restarting Outlook helps, but no luck in most cases. Software mentioned isn't available anymore, the guys website is gone.
Diane Poremsky says
The software is still there, the domain name changed and I didn't realize the I hadn't updated the links.
You have the parent account and the shared mailbox in one profile or are you creating a new profile with only the shared account and it is dropping back to send from the parent address?
For best results, you need to have the shared account in a new profile - especially if it is automapped - you can't have the shared mailbox in your profile as an account and as a shared mailbox.
RMCIG says
It's not working for me either - When I "Sign in with another account" (step 6-8), it spins after authenticating the second user, then goes back to the login for the first user. Maybe something changed with authentication methods?
I've turned off delegation and assigned FullAccess withOUT automapping. Tried doing this both as an additional account in the original profile and also adding it to a new profile
Diane Poremsky says
It's working here - I put it in a new profile where it is the only address. (I did it to share the calendar - that that is not working.)
Tiffany says
Hi! I followed these instructions and am so excited to be able to send mail merge through the shared mailbox...I've encountered another problem though, now that I've done this I can't seem to access my own inbox because my email is connected to the shared account?
Mel says
I'm having that same issue. The shared mailbox has its own inbox, but I'm not able to sign into my original email, since it says I'm already signed in. If anyone has a solution, I'm all ears!
Sarah Stewart says
THANK YOU! I tried about 6 things before this. Now I can use mail merge and send from a shared inbox instead of getting hundreds of replies to my own Inbox. Such a relief and great option, thanks again!!
rino19ny says
too much work. just add your AD account in the "Send As" delegation for the mailbox.
Diane Poremsky says
To use the method on this page, you need to have send as permission on the mailbox already, as your account will be logging into the mailbox. You would use this method if you need to send a mail merge from the shared mailbox or are sending from another application (such as quickbooks) or need to have the shared account set as default account.
Martin Loubser says
Thank you, thank you!!!!
I moved from G-Mail Suite to Office 365 and the shared Mailbox Auto-Map was just painful.
I also had a MS Access 2016 Application that needed to send emails as the shared mailbox (previously with G-Mail it was not).
After reading your article the lights went on :)
I also found how to remove the Auto-Map using this article: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2646504/how-to-remove-automapping-for-a-shared-mailbox-in-office-365
Now everything is working perfectly. It seems that Outlook is more stable now as well.
Grae Hunter says
I seem to be having the opposite problem of the rest of the internet. every time a user replies to an email from a newly created shared mailbox it attempts to reply as the shared mailbox, not as them - and they don't have permission to do that (nor do I want them to).
We plan to use this mailbox as a issue alert system. Everyone will have it and we can have conversational views to keep updates in order and in a single place. But I need to know who is adding their two cents when they reply, and currently the users will have to manually choose themselves, as the shared mailbox is the default reply address.
We have Exchange 2010, with Outlook 2013 and the users have only their own mail profile with the shared mailbox being added as "Additional Mailboxes" in their account settings.
Diane Poremsky says
What permissions do they have to the account? Replies will typically be from the receiving account if the person has full access and send as permission
hben says
Hello Diane,
Is-it possible to script the adding of shared mailbox as a mailbox? the purpose is to deploye this option for a large of users. Thanks a lot for your help and I wish you a very new year 2017.
Diane Poremsky says
If the shared mailbox is enabled for automapping, it will be added to the users profile automatically. If you need it added as a separate profile, you might be able to using the office customization tool.
hben says
We have disabled the automapping and create a shared mailbox for each our 1200 users. The purpose is to add every shared mailbox created as an additional mailbox in the same profile of user. How we can do that automatically for 1200 users and avoid to passing on each workstation? your help will be appreciate
Diane Poremsky says
AFAIK, you can't, especially with Outlook 2016. Outlook 2013 still uses PRF files to automate profile configuration. Otherwise you are limited to whatever is supported in the OCT, and i believe it's pretty much nothing (it's been a while since i used it.)
hben says
Hello Diane,
Adding the shared mailbox to the profile as a mailbox is a good solution but is there a way to do that by script or any automatically way as I must do that for over 1500 users :( .
Thank's Diane for your help. It's much appreciate.
Diane Poremsky says
The only way would be if the OCT supports adding additional accounts, or if you use an older version that supports a PRF... but unless each user opens the same mailbox, this will require creating a custom prf for each user (they are editabled in notepad... but not supported in 2016)
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc179097.aspx has information about the tool.
Simon Morris says
Hi I've done this same thing we are on office 365 and I've set up a shared mailbox that way, it works fine when its done but then after a few restarts of the computer and outlook its falling over and messages you send stay in outbox and says outlook data file cannot be accessed.
Did it where you add an additional account on to an existing one as the other way is not really a good option for us.
Diane Poremsky says
If you are adding it as an email account you need to make sure automapping is not enabled (if the account shows up in the profile automatically after adding your own account, it's automapped). It should also not be added as a additional account in Account Settings > double click on your account then More Settings. The account should only be added to the profile once. You also need send as permission on the shared mailbox.
The benefits of adding it as an account instead of a shared mailbox (using either automapping or the additional mailbox dialog):
Adding it as a second email account in the account list will create a separate cached data file for the shared account.
Signatures & Rules work
New messages will use the Shared account - you don't need to add the address to the from field.
Krishna Kumar says
Hi,
Thanks for the valuable writeup. For our small-business office setup, as part of office365 mail setup (Small Business Premium), we were badly looking for a solution and came across this page that met our requirements and solved one of our major setup issues. (May be solution is existing in Microsoft pages that we could not find out).
Many Thanks.
Helen Feddema says
Is there any way to set the default Reply To email programmatically? I have an application where I send Word docs using the Envelope object, which has only a small set of properties, not including SentOnBehalfOf. These documents need a different Reply To email. If I could programmatically change the default Reply To email, send the document, then set it back to the usual value, that would work.
Diane Poremsky says
To set the reply to, use this in the code:
Item.ReplyRecipients.Add "alias@example.com"
Item.ReplyRecipients.ResolveAll
If you wanted to use an itemsend macro, you'd use this - but it would apply to all mail unless you added an if statement to filter it.
Private Sub Application_ItemSend(ByVal Item As Object, Cancel As Boolean)
Item.ReplyRecipients.Add "alias@example.com"
Item.ReplyRecipients.ResolveAll
End Sub
Helen Feddema says
This is the Item property of the Envelope object in an emailed Word document -- not a regular Outlook Mailitem. It only has a few properties. Just To, CC, BCC, Subject and Visible, as far as know. I tried SendOnBehalfOf and a few other likely candidates, and they all errored out. Here is the code segment (running from Access):
'Make Envelope pane visible
pappWord.ActiveWindow.EnvelopeVisible = True
doc.MailEnvelope.Introduction = _
"Customer Project Reminder"
Set itm = doc.MailEnvelope.Item
itm.To = rst![Email]
itm.Subject = rst![Subject]
I tried the ReplyRecipients property just in case, and got an Invalid procedure call or argument error.
Diane Poremsky says
i don't have a database set up or the full code, so i can't test it fully (plus i'm on vacation :)), but this code works in word & sets the reply to address- it *should* work from Access too as long as the other fields work. Are you getting the reply to from a field? I wonder if it's not resolving?
Sub TestMacro()
ActiveWindow.EnvelopeVisible = True
ActiveDocument.MailEnvelope.Introduction = "Customer Project Reminder"
Set Itm = ActiveDocument.MailEnvelope.Item
Itm.To = "alias@domain.om"
Itm.Subject = "Test"
Itm.ReplyRecipients.Add "alias@example.com"
Itm.ReplyRecipients.ResolveAll
End Sub
Helen Feddema says
I tried this both with a hard-coded reply address and one picked up from a custom database property (that is what I am using). There were no errors, but the email did not have the right address in the From field (just my email address).
Then I tried SentOnBehalfOfName, and that worked! (It didn't work yesterday, so it might not be too reliable.)
Here is the modified code segment:
'Set envelope properties of open Word doc
pappWord.ActiveWindow.EnvelopeVisible = True
doc.MailEnvelope.Introduction = _
"Customer Project Confirmation"
Set itm = doc.MailEnvelope.Item
itm.To = strToEMail
itm.BCC = GetProperty("FromEMail", "")
'itm.ReplyRecipients.Add "hfeddema@hvc.rr.com"
'itm.ReplyRecipients.Add GetProperty("FromEMail", "")
'itm.ReplyRecipients.ResolveAll
itm.SentOnBehalfOfName = GetProperty("FromEMail", "")
itm.Subject = strMessageSubject
I will keep testing to see if SentOnBehalfOfName is reliable.
Diane Poremsky says
So you wanted the sender address changed, not the reply to address? Sorry for misunderstanding.
SendonBehalfof is reliable, although it can depend on the account type - if using exchange, you need the correct permission on the address. if you display the address, do so after you set the From address.
Helen Feddema says
Actually, I was just trying anything that would get the recipient's replies to go to a certain address. I think the original problem was that I used SentOnBehalfOf (no errors, but it didn't work). Then I looked it up in the Object Browser (should have done that first) and changed it to SentOnBehalfOfName, and that did work! Thanks for your help.
The Microsoft documentation on the EnvelopeItem (such as it is) is skimpy and inaccurate. It is a good thing we have Slipstick to turn to for sound advice.
Vladimir says
Hi all!
I have Exchange 2016 standard and clients with Outlook 2010 - 2013
Have the same problem. Need to insert programmatically "travma1@domain.com" into field "Reply-to".
But i so far away from "coding".
Which code and where i have to insert to permanently send emails from PC with mailbox "user1@domain.com" which is a member of shared mailbox "travma1@domain.com".
Diane Poremsky says
you use the ReplyRecipients field in add recipients code.
item.ReplyRecipients.Add "alias@domain.com"
jack says
Hi Diane, Thank you so much for your help! I followed exactly all your steps but outlook 2016 still not defaulting correctly to all my shared mailboxes!!! I did disable automapping via powershell and created a new profile on outlook 2016 and setup my email account which has full access permissions to 6 shared mailboxes but outlook still loads them all automatically, I don't know why? so then I added my 6 shared mailboxes as shown above, so when I reboot outlook 2016, some shared mail boxes are defaulting correctly but some of them are not and when I reboot outlook again, outlook change the behave and some shared mail boxes defaults correctly and some of them are not...My problem is I just want outlook 2016 to default to the shared mailboxes when I want to compose a new email so I don't have to change it manually...I can't really see where the problem is I've tried to fix that problem for a week but nothing changed I still have that problem!! another thing, when I add a shared mailboxes, some of them has their own data file and some of them are not I don't know why, and when I reboot outlook, the data files disappear and outlook creates new data file for other shared mailboxes...I'm really going mad!!! could you please help me sorting this problem out? Thank you so much and I'm sorry for my broken English!! Jack
Diane Poremsky says
Are the mailboxes still being automapped? Outlook is buggy if you add an automapped mailbox as an account too. If automapping was set to false, then they won't show up in outlook unless you add the account as an account or as a secondary account in account settings > more settings. Oh, are any of the shared mailboxes shared with other shared mailboxes?
No data file means the account is in outlook as a shared mailbox, not as an account.
When adding the accounts, add one at a time, restart outlook and use it for a bit to confirm it is working correctly before adding the next account.
Freshner Fresnido says
Hi I followed the above procedure. But when checking name I received an error message "The name cannot be resolved"
Diane Poremsky says
Is the shared account hidden from the GAL? It needs to be visible. Another cause would be general network connectivity issues.
Gayathri S says
is it possible to configure shared mailbox as secondary if the user has got just editor access to the mailbox and its folders ?
Diane Poremsky says
Yes, they can add it to their account in File, Account Settings, double click their account, More Settings > Open additional mailboxes. They'll need View folder permission on the root of the mailbox to access the folders they have permission to.
Paul Woodcock says
I went through a whole lot of other stuff before I read this and tried it...so simple that I thought it wouldn't work. And then it did!
Thank you so much!!
Joerg says
Hi there
I'm trying to implement what you're suggesting in your post. My setup: Exchange Online (aka Office 365), with a personal mailbox (joerg@xyz.com) and a shared mailbox (info@xyz.com). I want to be able to send new messages from info@ without having to chose that address as my "from" address every time.
Originally, I had given joerg@ "full access" and "send as" priviledges on info@. But this made the info@ mailbox appear in outlook automatically, and I think this is what you refer to above when saying "so you or your admin will need remove delegate permissions".
I did that, removed both priviledges. Then added the info@ mailbox as an additional account to my profile. This worked exactly as you describe above. But when I open Outlook, and select the info@ account, I get the message "Cannot display the folder. Microsoft Outlook cannot access the specified folder location. The operation failed. An object cannot be found." I also can't expand the folders.
Any idea what I'm doing wrong here?
thanks a lot!
Joerg
Diane Poremsky says
It sounds like you removed the permissions (full access) but was not give permission within Outlook to access the mailbox. The exchange admin can use powershell to remove automapping when adding full access permissions. Otherwise, Info needs to give you owner rights on the mailbox root.
B.C. says
Thank you, Diane!!
B.C. says
Hi Diane, I use two accounts and full rights for both, my personal account and a team shared account. Previously in Outlook 2007, when I was in the team inbox and I created a new email, the new email defaulted to send from my personal account (which is what I want). Now, with 2013, when I am in the shared inbox and create a new email, the from field defaults to the team email. I've searched and searched and cannot figure out how to change this. Thanks for any help!!
B.C. says
I think I figured this out using your suggestion above:
https://www.slipstick.com/outlook/outlook-2010/multiple-accounts-and-the-default-account/#sp1
By editing the registry. If there is an easier way though please let me know! Thanks again!
Diane Poremsky says
I don't think there is another way to change the behavior, other than by editing the registry. Sorry.
Diane Poremsky says
If the shared mailbox is added as a shared mailbox, not as an account, it should use the default email account for everything except replies to messages in the shared mailbox. If you want replies to be from your account, then you need the registry key you found.
if the shared mailbox is added as an account, it definitely will use the new behavior of using the account whose folders you are viewing.
Gordon says
I have 3 shared mailboxes (recipients) that are NOT accounts on my office 365 business service. Are there any other work arounds you can think of Diane, apart from effectively converting these mailboxes in to accounts by way of purchasing 3 more user licenses for 365, just to get this feature to work? TIA
Marcy Steele says
The account we want to be default is marked as default. This same acct is the default data file. But the emails are generating from the non-default account address and then sitting in the outbox of the default account until I delete them.
So, sending "FROM" non-default email address, but actually in outbox folder of default acct.
Diane Poremsky says
Something is definitely goofy. Is there is a configuration option in the software that is generating the email that sets the From address?
Marcy Steele says
Diane - thanks so much! That was the issue.
Now, another issue that I hope you can help with. I use an application that automatically generates an email through Outlook. It has always generated from the default outlook account (where we want it to - this is a generic email account), but now it is generating from my personal exchange account - which is not the default. So it looks like the email comes from me, rather than the generic default account. The application uses Outlook to send, this is not sent from within the application.
Appreciate any help you can provide.
Diane Poremsky says
Double check and verify that the other account the default for email. What is the default data file? It shouldn't matter, as the program should use the default email account.
Marcy Steele says
Hi Diane - I wanted to further clarify, I found this statement on a diff. site:
New to Outlook 2010: if you have multiple accounts each delivered to their own folder set, Outlook doesn't have a true "default" account - it uses the account associated to the folder set you are viewing.
The trouble I am having is Outlook 2010 IS recognizing the acct. marked default, rather than using the account associated with the folder I am viewing. In the non-default account, when I begin a new email, I have to manually change "FROM" to the right account because it is wanting to send from the default acct. This started about 2 weeks ago. No changes were made.
Thanks for any assistance!
Diane Poremsky says
Correct - if you have two (or more) accounts in the profile (in File, Account Settings, Email) and they are delivered to different data files, Outlook will detect the account based on the folders you are looking in. There is a reg key that will force the older behavior of one default account - https://www.slipstick.com/outlook/outlook-2010/multiple-accounts-and-the-default-account/#sp1 - see if the NewItemsUseDefaultSendingAccount value exists at HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Outlook\Options\Mail
Marcy Steele says
Diane - this is exactly how my account is set up at the office, however, Outlook has suddenly stopped recognizing which account I am in. No matter which account I am in, when I create a new email, it is coming from the Default account and I have to manually select the other account. Outlook 2010. Previously, whichever account I was in, when I created a new email, that account was recognized. Two exchange accounts. Any ideas?