Sharing and Opening Shared Mail Folders - Outlook for Windows

Overview

This article describes how to share, open, and remove shared folders from Outlook for Windows (Outlook 2021, M365). It is intended for individuals who are using the new SFU Mail with Exchange Online experience. If you're using the previous version of SFU Mail, please see Sharing Mail Folders: Outlook for PC.

Details

Sharing your mailbox folder in Outlook

To share your mailbox folder, you'll need to do the following in sequence:

  1. Grant sharing permissions for your top-level mailbox
  2. Grant sharing permissions to your mailbox folder(s)

 

Granting sharing permissions for your mailbox

  1. Right click your email address and select Folder Permissions:

     
  2. In the Properties window, select Add... 

     
  3. Search for and add the individual(s) you'd like to grant access to. Then click OK.

     
  4. Grant them with Permission Level, Read, Delete items, and Write set to "None". Grant them Folder visible. Then select OK.

 

Granting sharing permissions for your mailbox folder(s)

The process to grant sharing permissions for your mailbox folders is similar to granting permissions to your mailbox:

  1. Right click the folder and select Properties

     
  2. Select the Permissions tab in the Properties window. Then select Add... 

     
  3. Search for and add the individual(s) you'd like to grant access to.

     
  4. When granting permissions to this folder, you may want to give them the following permissions or higher:
  • Reviewer: reviewers can read your messages
  • Nonediting Author: nonediting authors can read your messages and drop messages into a folder


     
  1. If the folder is a subfolder, repeat steps 1-4 for each folder the subfolder is nested in.

 

Opening a mailbox folder that's been shared with you

  1. Select File

     

  2. Select Account Settings

     

  3. Select your account then click Change...

     

  4. Select More Settings

     

  5. Select the Advanced tab.

     

  6. Click Add...

     

  7. Enter the recipient's name or email address.

     

  8. Select the correct owner if you get more than one result. Then click OK.

     

  9. Select OK to finish.

     

  10. The shared folder will appear under your list of accounts on the left.

 

Removing a shared mailbox

  1. Select File
  2. Select Account Settings
  3. Select your account then click Change...
  4. Select More Settings
  5. Select the Advanced tab.
  6. Select the account and click Remove. You'll be asked to confirm the removal of the mailbox.

 

Troubleshooting

Issue Cause Try the following
Outlook stops responding after adding shared mailbox Appears to be a client-side issue.
  1. Outlook will resume function after waiting
  2. Make sure Outlook app is up to date
Error message "Cannot expand the folder" Permissions have not yet had a chance to synchronize to the client.

Close and re-open Outlook.

Print Article

Details

Article ID: 9416
Created
Mon 4/8/24 10:36 AM
Modified
Tue 4/16/24 2:31 PM