Office 365 offers several options for mailboxes, mailing lists, and calendars. This article provides detailed information about these options.
Active Directory
These are groups within Active Directory that have been set up to have an email address attached to them.This will allow a user to email the group and the email will be delivered to all the members’ mailboxes.These groups can be managed via https://selfservice.unc.edu. Domain administrators can also manage them from ADUC.
Note: These groups only work with internal email addresses. External email address cannot be added to them. Microsoft 365 Groups (listed below) are the preferred method to reach external recipients.
Microsoft 365
Distribution Groups (Distribution Lists)
Distribution groups/lists are mailing lists that can only have internal users as members.
- You can set up an email address used to mail the members of the list. The emails will be delivered to all the members’ mailboxes. Please note: some email domains may require to be set up by request.
- These lists can have moderation enabled. This can mean messages must be approved before they are sent out. It can also restrict sending to only certain members.
Microsoft 365 Groups
Office 365 groups can have both internal and external members. Emails sent to the group’s email address will be sent to all the members of the group.
- You will be given a listname@office.unc.edu email address that can be used to mail the members.
- You can manage the membership via Outlook or Outlook Online.
- Has a single group calendar.
- This type can be set up by request to the ITS Service Desk to allow All Senders (Anyone internal and external can send to the group), specific senders, or moderation (Approval emails will be sent to the specified members).
- It can be a mail-only list.
- Each 365 Group has a SharePoint site. It can be used for information and file sharing.
- It can also be associated with Microsoft Teams. If this is set up it will use the SharePoint Document Library and create a folder with the name of the channel. For example, Each Team has a General channel by default. In the Documents Library on SharePoint, you will see a General folder. Please visit our Knowledge Article Office 365 - Groups and Teams - Getting Started for more information.
Shared Mailbox
Shared mailboxes are mailboxes that can be accessed by internal members only. These are mailboxes that are separate from a user’s mailbox. They are commonly used for teams and projects where multiple people need access to a mailbox This has a mailbox that can be viewed from Outlook Online or Outlook Desktop if you are a member of the mailbox. Please visit Office 365 – Shared Mailbox for instructions on how to set up a shared mailbox.
Resource Mailbox
This is commonly known as a shared calendar. This is a mailbox setup with calendar-only functionality. Please visit Office 365 – Resource Calendar for more information.
These are typically set up for:
- Rooms – Can also have associated room lists set up by request to the ITS Service Desk.
- Equipment – Vehicles, computers, etc.
- Group Calendar – Shared with members and can be viewed in Outlook Online or Outlook desktop client.