Open a Shared Mailbox or Calendar

📥 What Is a Shared Mailbox?

A Shared Mailbox is a mailbox that one or more users can access to read and send email messages on behalf of a supplemental or group account. It also includes a shared calendar, making it easy for teams to coordinate schedules and manage events. S These mailboxes are ideal for departments, student organizations, or project teams.

Key Features:

• Collaborative Email Management: Multiple users can send and receive emails from a shared address (e.g., its@stcloudstate.edu).
• Unified Identity: Replies sent from the shared mailbox appear to come from the shared address, not from individual users.
• Shared Calendar: Teams can use the mailbox’s calendar to schedule and view meetings or events.
• No Direct Login: Shared mailboxes are not designed for direct sign-in. Access is granted through your primary account.

⚠️ Note: Most Shared mailboxes are not designed for direct sign-in. Access is granted through your primary account.

🔄 Automatic Access

If you've been granted access to a shared mailbox, it should appear automatically in your Outlook folder list within 4–6 hours. If it doesn’t:

• Restart Outlook (desktop app).
• Or follow the steps below to open it manually in Office 365 Webmail.

🗓️ Option 1: Add a Shared Calendar (Outlook for Windows)

• Open Outlook and go to the Calendar view.

• In the upper-right corner, click Add → Open Shared Calendar.

  
• Type the name of the calendar (e.g., SCSU-Academic Calendar) and click OK.
• Type the name of the calendar, then click OK. Example:  SCSU-Academic Calendar
  • 

📬 Option 2: Add a Shared Mailbox (Outlook for Windows)

• Open Outlook.

• Go to the File tab → Account Settings → Account Settings.

• Under the Email tab, select your account and click Change.
• Click More Settings → Advanced → Add.
• Enter the shared mailbox name or email (e.g., SCSU-Academic Calendar).
• Click OK → OK → Next → Finish → Close.

✉️ New Outlook Experience (Windows)

1. Scroll down your folder list.
2. Expand the Shared with me section to view shared mailboxes.
   • OR -
3. Right-click your email address and select Add shared folder or mailbox.
4. Type the name of the mailbox and select it.

• • 
  • The following box will come up, type in the name of the mailbox you have access to

📨 Sending Email from a Shared Mailbox (Outlook for Windows)

• Click New Email.
• Go to the Options tab and click From to display the From field.
• Click From again and select or type the shared mailbox address.
• The next time you send an email, the shared address will appear in the drop-down.
• Click From, then type the name or email address that you want to use to send the email 
• The next time you need to send from that mailbox, select From in a New email and select the appropriate address from the drop-down. 

🍎 Accessing a Shared Mailbox (Outlook for Mac)

• Open Outlook on your Mac.
• Go to Tools → Accounts.
• Select your mail account to open additional options.
• Click Delegates and Sharing.​​​​​​

• Go to the Shared with Me tab.
• Click the + (plus) sign to add a new mailbox.
• Search for the mailbox name and click Add.

• Done: The shared mailbox will now be added to your Outlook account and visible in the navigation pane on the left. 

✉️ Sending from a Shared Mailbox (Outlook for Mac)

• In a New Email window, click the From dropdown.
• Select the shared mailbox from the list.

🌐 Accessing a Shared Mailbox via Office 365 Webmail

• Go to Office365.com and sign in:

  • Faculty/Staff/Student Employees: StarID@MinnState.edu

  • Student Club/Organization Members: StarID@go.minnstate.edu
• In the left navigation pane, right-click “Folders” and select Add shared folder.
• In the dialog box, type the email address of the shared mailbox and click Add.

✅ The shared mailbox and its folders will now appear in your folder list each time you open Outlook on the web.

🔗 Microsoft Support: Open and use a shared mailbox in Outlook 

📱 Accessing a Shared Mailbox via Outlook Mobile App

⚠️ Note: Shared mailboxes are not supported in the default iOS Mail app. You must use the Microsoft Outlook app.

Steps:

• Install the Outlook app from the App Store or Google Play.
• Sign in using your StarID@MinnState.edu account.
• Tap the menu icon (three lines or your profile picture).
• Tap Add Account → Add a Shared Mailbox.
• Enter the shared mailbox email address and tap Add Shared Mailbox.
• Tap the Home button to return to your inbox.

✅ The shared mailbox will appear in the left-hand column under your initials. Tap the initials to switch between mailboxes.

🔗 Microsoft Support: Add a shared mailbox to Outlook mobile 

✉️ Additional Notes

• ⏳ Sync Delay: If the shared mailbox doesn’t appear right away, allow a few hours for it to sync. If it’s still missing the next day, contact HuskyTech for assistance.
• ⚠️ Shared Rules Apply to All Users: Any rule set up in a shared mailbox (e.g., moving emails to a folder or clutter) will apply to everyone with access to that mailbox.

Example: If you create a rule to move emails from SCSU to a specific folder, it will affect all users of the shared mailbox.