› Exchange Server › Shared Mailboxes and the Default ‘Send From’ Account
Last reviewed on February 1, 2018 58 Comments
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. Use these steps with the new, "simplified account dialog". Use these steps with older versions of Outlook or with the Manage Profiles option in Outlook 2016 and newer. 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. 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 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. COM add-in for Outlook that automatically fills in the correct From address when the user is responding to a message in another user's Exchange mailbox. (Use it with the UniSent add-in from the same site. UniSent keeps the outgoing messages in the Sent Items folder of the other users mailbox.) 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. 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. Create Rules and enable Out of Office for a Shared MailboxUsing the simplified account dialog
Using older versions of Outlook
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About Diane Poremsky
A Microsoft Outlook Most Valuable Professional (MVP) since 1999, Diane is the author of several books, including Outlook 2013 Absolute Beginners Book. She also created video training CDs and online training classes for Microsoft Outlook. You can find her helping people online in Outlook Forums as well as in the Microsoft Answers and TechNet forums.
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Jon K.(@guest_218268)
May 20, 2021 2:20 pm
#218268
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!
1
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Dick(@guest_217933)
April 16, 2021 9:21 am
#217933
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.
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Diane Poremsky(@diane-poremsky)
Author
Reply to Dick
April 16, 2021 9:48 am
#217935
Correct, you should use one or the other, not both.
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Dick(@guest_217930)
April 16, 2021 5:52 am
#217930
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:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Preferences]"DelegateSentItemsStyle"=dword:00000001
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.
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Diane Poremsky(@diane-poremsky)
Author
Reply to Dick
April 16, 2021 9:50 am
#217936
>>
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.
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S. L.(@guest_219673)
Reply to Diane Poremsky
August 29, 2022 7:34 pm
#219673
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.
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Diane Poremsky(@diane-poremsky)
Author
Reply to S. L.
August 29, 2022 8:31 pm
#219674
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.
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Kin marqy(@guest_217536)
February 8, 2021 5:59 am
#217536
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.
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Diane Poremsky(@diane-poremsky)
Author
Reply to Kin marqy
February 8, 2021 9:02 am
#217537
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.
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RMCIG(@guest_217857)
Reply to Kin marqy
April 6, 2021 7:20 pm
#217857
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
Last edited 1 year ago by RMCIG
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Diane Poremsky(@diane-poremsky)
Author
Reply to RMCIG
April 8, 2021 10:48 pm
#217872
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.)
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Tiffany(@guest_213961)
September 18, 2019 11:31 am
#213961
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?
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Sarah Stewart(@guest_213304)
May 24, 2019 12:11 pm
#213304
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!!
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rino19ny(@guest_210699)
March 25, 2018 8:54 am
#210699
too much work. just add your AD account in the "Send As" delegation for the mailbox.
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Diane Poremsky(@diane-poremsky)
Author
Reply to rino19ny
March 25, 2018 11:15 pm
#210702
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.
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Martin Loubser(@guest_210485)
February 28, 2018 12:27 am
#210485
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.
Reply
FAQs
Can you send from a shared mailbox as default sender? ›
As I know, to make it to be default for outgoing emails, you need to select the "Always use the default account when composing new messages" option via File > Options > Mail>Under Send Messages.
How do I change the sender of a shared mailbox in Outlook? ›Outlook Desktop App (Windows)
When composing a message click on the From in the drop-down box and select Other E-Mail Address. Type in the email address here that you wish to Send As and click OK. The next time you compose a message the Alternate Email Address will be available from the From Drop Down Box.
Send on Behalf: The Send on Behalf permission lets a user send email on behalf of the shared mailbox. For example, if John logs into the shared mailbox Reception Building 32 and sends an email, it look like the mail was sent by "John on behalf of Reception Building 32".
How do you change send from this account by default in Outlook? ›- Select File > Account Settings > Account Settings.
- From the list of accounts on the Email tab, select the account you want to use as the default account.
- Select Set as Default > Close.
- Open Outlook.
- Click File. Click Options. Click on the Mail tab. ...
- Click File. Click the Account Settings button. Click Account Settings... ...
- Select the email associated with the shared mailbox you just added. Click the Set as Default button. Click Close.
Go to Microsoft 365 admin center > Groups > Shared mailboxes. Choose the required mailbox, and then click on Send as permissions. Click on Add permissions and type the name of the user or users that you want to allow to send email from this mailbox. Once you have selected your users, click Add.
What is the difference between send as and send on behalf in Outlook shared mailbox? ›You can send email as a person or group if you have been granted Send As permissions to that specific user's mailbox or group. You can send email on behalf of a person or group if you have been granted Send on Behalf permissions to that specific user's mailbox or group.
What is the difference between send as and send on behalf in Outlook? ›When mail is sent "on behalf of", the recipient will see both the primary person's mailbox name as well as the delegate's name in the "From" line. Delegation is setup in Outlook by the mailbox owner. To "send as" another person or mailbox requires permissions on the mailbox set by an Exchange administrator.
Why can't I send an email from a shared mailbox? ›Cause. A common issue from the shared mailbox is the from option does not show up when creating a new email for user to select the shared email account to send the email from. This typically happens if the users only have one email account added to their outlook profile.
Can a shared mailbox send and receive emails? ›What is a shared mailbox? A shared mailbox is a way to allow multiple Microsoft 365 (Office 365) users to send and receive emails from a central email address such as info@, sales@, or support@yourcompany.com. Each person who is part of the shared mailbox can receive emails and reply as the email alias.
What is the difference between send as send on behalf and full access? ›
Send as: Allows a delegate to send email from the mailbox as the mailbox owner. Send on Behalf: Will indicate that the message was sent by the delegate on behalf of the owner. Full access: Allows a delegate to open the mailbox and behave as the owner.
How do I change which email account is sent from? ›Go to Gmail and select the cog icon in the upper right corner and select "Settings." Select "See all settings," "Accounts and Import" and then "Add a mail account." Enter your email address and leave the box "Treat as an alias" checked so when you reply to email it will come from your new Gmail account.
How do I change the Send Options in Outlook? ›- Select Send/Receive > Send/Receive Groups > Define Send/Receive Groups.
- Select the group you want to change.
- If you only want to send and receive mail when you press F9, clear the first Schedule an automatic send/receive every n minutes option.
- In your Gmail inbox screen, select Settings (gear icon).
- Select See All Settings.
- Select Accounts and Import.
- In the Send mail as section, choose the email you want to use as your default address and select Make Default.
- You've set your new default sending address.
Mail merges will always use the default account in your profile. You can create a second identity (profile) in Outlook on Mac and use that for the mail merge - but you need the correct permissions on the mailbox.
What email does mail merge send from? ›Microsoft Word's mail merge feature only sends emails from Outlook's default email.
Can a user have both Send As and Send on Behalf? ›You can configure Send as or Send on behalf for a given user, but not both. If you configure both, it will default to Send as.
How can I tell who sent an email from a shared mailbox? ›Monitoring emails sent from shared mailboxes is an important business requirement. To find the sender of an email, admins can search 'SendAs' and 'SendOnBehalf' activities in Office 365 audit log search. It can be done either through Microsoft 365 compliance center or the Search-UnifiedAuditLog PowerShell cmdlet.
How do I set a default signature for a shared mailbox in Outlook? ›Go to the File tab and click Options. Click on the Mail menu at the left. Click on the Signatures button to open the Signatures and Stationary window. Under Choose default signature select the Shared Mailbox Signature for New Messages and Replies/forwards.
Can a shared mailbox have its own signature? ›You can create a new rule that will be used to add a separate signature template for a shared mailbox or make use of an existing signature rule (and email signature). Either way, go to app.codetwo.com, select the rule you want to edit and go the Senders step.
Can you use a different signature for each email account in Outlook? ›
If you are using two accounts within Outlook you can set Outlook up so that a different Signature text is used with each email account.
How do I choose who to send in Outlook? ›In Outlook, open a new email and select Options tab > Show Fields > From to enable the From field. Once the From field is enabled, select the From dropdown > Other Email Address. A pop-up box will appear for Send from Other Email Address. Type in the email address you want to send from and select OK.
How do I make Outlook send on behalf of someone else? ›- On the Options tab, in the Show Fields group, click From.
- In the From box, type the name of the person on whose behalf you are sending the message. ...
- Add recipients, a subject, and the contents of the message as you typically do.
Before you send a message on behalf of another person, you must add their email address to the From field. Once you've entered the person's address, it shows automatically when you compose new messages. Recipients have that person's address in the message's From field.
Can a shared mailbox send SMTP? ›Custom SMTP connections are typically configured using a user's credential for on-prem Exchange shared mailboxes. Once configured successfully, emails sent from that shared mailbox will be delivered through your Exchange servers, but not stored or visible in the sent folder.
How do I send an email from a delegated account in Outlook? ›- Open a new email message.
- Click the Options tab.
- In the “Show Fields” group, select “From.” The “From” field will appear above the “To” and “Cc” fields at the top of your email message.
- Click the [From] button and select “Other Email Address.”
- Select New mail above the folder list. ...
- Select More. ...
- To add recipients, type the name of anyone who is in your contacts folder or organization's address list, or type the email address in the To or Cc box. ...
- Type a subject.
- Type the message you want to send.
Every Shared Mailbox has a size limit of 50 GB, and if it exceeds that limit, then it needs to be licensed. A shared Mailbox doesn't have a Username or Password, and no one can sign into it directly. To access a shared mailbox, users need to sign into their own mailbox, and then open the shared mailbox.
Do Outlook rules affect shared mailbox? ›Adding rules is a great way to manage the inflow of email. You can add rules on a shared mailbox you have access to the same way you add rules to your own account. However, not all methods of setting rules are compatible with each other so it's best to use one method below for all rules on shared mailboxes.
Can you send emails from a shared mailbox without a license? ›Shared mailboxes usually don't require a license.
What is the difference between read and manage and send as in shared mailbox? ›
Read and Manage: This permission allows the assigned user mailbox(es) to read as well as manage emails in the user mailbox on which the permission is assigned. Send as: This permission allows the assigned user mailbox(es) to send emails from another user's mailbox on which permission is assigned.
What is the difference between user mailbox and shared mailbox attributes permissions? ›The main difference between a user mailbox and a shared mailbox is that the shared mailbox is associated with a disabled user. Shared mailbox is mainly used to allow login access for multiple users. It is the same when multiple users use a user mailbox and a shared mailbox at the same time.
What is the difference between sharing and sending? ›Sending means inviting people to view or download particular files. The download link in the email invitation expires after seven days, but recipients who have their own Files. Warwick file space can still access the file. Sharing means giving people permission to share your file space.
Why am I getting emails sent to a different email address? ›If you get lots of messages addressed to someone else, check if someone accidentally forwards their mail to you. On your computer, open a message that looks like it was sent to you by mistake. Click Show original. If you see "X-Forwarded-For" on the page, someone forwards their Gmail messages to your account.
How do I get my emails sent to the wrong email address? ›- Select the Sent Items folder.
- Select or double-click the message so it opens in another window.
- Select File > Info.
- Select Message Resend and Recall > Recall This Message..., and select one of the two options. ...
- Select the Tell me if recall succeeds or fails for each recipient check box.
- Select OK.
In Outlook, choose File > Account Settings > Account Settings. Select the email account that you want to change, and then choose Change. You can change your name on the Account Settings screen. To change the name that displays when you send email, update the Your name field.
What is the difference between sender and from in SMTP? ›What is the difference between the “From” and “Sender”? Each message you send out has both the sender and from address. The sender domain is what the receiving email server sees when initiating the session. The from address is what your recipients will see.
What is a default account for email? ›The default or catch-all address is the one to which all e-mails, addressed to a non-available or mistakenly entered email account at your domain name are routed to.
How do I change which email my Iphone sends from? ›at the top of the Mailboxes list, then choose Preferences. Click Composing, click the “Set a default address” pop-up menu, then choose an email address. In the list of addresses below, select the ones you want to be able to send from in iCloud Mail. Click Done.
How do I choose which email account to send in Outlook? ›- Select File > Account Settings > Account Settings.
- From the list of accounts on the Email tab, select the account you want to use as the default account.
- Select Set as Default > Close.
How do I change my default email to send? ›
Step 1: Open the “Settings” app. Step 2: Tap on “Mail”. Step 3: Scroll all the way down and select “Default Account”. Step 4: Choose the Gmail account you want to set as your new default.
How do I configure a shared mailbox as SMTP? ›- Email address - email address of the shared mailbox account.
- Hostname - smtp.office365.com.
- Port - 587.
- Security - leave the "Allow unsecure connection" field unchecked.
- Username - email address of your regular mailbox account.
What is a shared mailbox? A shared mailbox is a way to allow multiple Microsoft 365 (Office 365) users to send and receive emails from a central email address such as info@, sales@, or support@yourcompany.com. Each person who is part of the shared mailbox can receive emails and reply as the email alias.
What is the difference between group mailbox and shared mailbox? ›The key difference between these tools lies in the main function of distribution or collaboration. Group emails function as distribution lists for teams, while shared mailboxes serve as an email management platform through which teams can address emails collaboratively.
What is the difference between user mailbox and shared mailbox? ›A shared mailbox is a type of user mailbox that doesn't have its own username and password. As a result, users can't log into them directly. To access a shared mailbox, users must first be granted Send As or Full Access permissions to the mailbox.
How do I allow external senders in Office 365 shared mailbox? ›Accessing the Microsoft 365 group settings. In the pane that opens on the right, select the Settings tab, enable the Allow external senders to email this group option, and click Save (Fig.
How do I choose which account to send the email from? ›- On your computer, open Gmail.
- In the top right, click Settings. See all settings.
- Click the Accounts and import or Accounts tab.
- In the "Send mail as" section to the right of the address you want to use, click Make default.
Send As: Messages sent by a delegate appear to come from the mailbox. Send on Behalf: Messages sent by a delegate have " <Delegate> on behalf of <Mailbox>" in the From address.