Setup a Delegate to Manage My Calendar and Email (Mac)

Question

How do I set up a delegate to manage my calendar and email (Mac)?

Answer

Just like an assistant managing physical mail, a delegate in Outlook can manage your digital communications—responding to emails, meeting requests, and more on your behalf.

✅ Recommendation: Limit to one delegate for best performance, though multiple can be configured if needed.

🔐 Delegate vs. Sharing

If you only want someone to view your folders (Inbox, Calendar, etc.), simply share the folder and set the permission level to Reviewer.
To allow someone to act on your behalf, follow the delegate setup steps below.

🛠️ Default Delegate Permissions

By default, a delegate will:

• Have Send on Behalf permission (e.g., “Bob Assistant on behalf of Judy Manager”).
• Have full access to your Calendar and Tasks folders.
• Receive meeting requests and responses (but not other emails).
• Be able to respond to meeting requests on your behalf.

🔒 Items marked Private are not visible to delegates.
📁 Subfolders are not shared unless you manually update their permissions.

✅ Grant Delegate Access

1. Go to the Tools menu and select Accounts.
2. In the Accounts dialog box, select the account you want to delegate.
3. Click Advanced, then go to the Delegates tab.
4. Under Delegates who can act on my behalf, click the plus (+) sign.
5. In the Choose a Person dialog box, type the person’s name and select them.
6. Click Add.

Set Permissions:

• Reviewer: Can read items.
• Author: Can read, create, and modify/delete items they created.
• Editor: Can read, create, and modify/delete all items (including yours).

7. Click OK to close the Permissions dialog box.
8. Click OK again to close the Delegates dialog box.
9. Close the Accounts dialog box.

The delegate will receive an email summary of their permissions.

🔄 Change Delegate Permissions

1. Go to Tools > Accounts.
2. Select the account and click Advanced > Delegates.
3. Select the delegate’s name, click the gear icon, then choose Set Permissions.
4. Adjust access levels for Calendar, Inbox, and/or Address Book.
5. To allow the delegate to receive meeting invites:
   • Ensure they have Editor access to your Calendar.
   • Check the box for Delegate receives meeting invites.
6. Click OK to save and close all dialog boxes.

🔗 To share your calendar without delegate access, visit:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/share-your-calendar-in-outlook-for-mac-1534a3e9-b6d1-420f-88ae-89abb17ad57e

❌ Remove Delegate Access

1. Go to Tools > Accounts.
2. Select the account and click Advanced > Delegates.
3. Select the delegate’s name and click the minus (-) sign.
4. Click OK to close the Delegates dialog box.
5. Close the Accounts dialog box.