Managing Shared Email Accounts & Distribution Groups in Outlook

In Outlook, in addition to your individual email inbox, you may also have access to distribution groups and shared mailboxes. What’s the difference?

Distribution groups are security groups created in the BCIT Global Address Book. The name of the group should have been emailed to you when the mailbox was created.
Shared mailboxes are email inboxes that multiple people can access and manage. When shared mailboxes are setup a new security group is created in the BCIT Global Address Book, all members of the group will have full access to the mailbox. The name of the security group should have been emailed to you when the mailbox was created. Shared mailboxes are managed and accessed differently than regular email accounts as there is no username and password that needs to be shared between users. Users use their existing @bcit.ca email address and password to sign in.

In your browser:

Log in to webmail.bcit.ca with your usual BCIT credentials.
Click on the Settings icon in the ribbon, then click the View all Outlook Settings button.
In the Settings menu, click on General, then Distribution Groups.
Click the this portal link.
Under Distribution groups I own, click to select the distribution group or shared mailbox you want to modify from the list and click the pencil icon at the top.
- Note: If the distribution list or shared mailbox that you want to modify is not listed, you may not be the owner or the list may be hidden. Please contact the ITS Help Desk for further assistance.
On the Distribution Group window that opens, select membership from the left menu to view members of the list.
Add or remove members from the list using the + and – buttons at the top.
- Note: In order to search for a BCIT contact, you’ll have to first click to select Default Global Address List from the list on the left.
When done, click the Save button.

Distribution list or shared mailbox owners are those users who can make changes to its members and owners. Use care when modifying these settings.

In your browser:

Log in to webmail.bcit.ca with your usual BCIT credentials.
Click on the Settings icon in the ribbon, then click the View all Outlook Settings button.
In the Settings menu, click on General, then Distribution Groups.
Click the this portal link.
Under Distribution groups I own, click to select the distribution group or shared mailbox you want to modify from the list and click the pencil icon at the top.
- Note: If the distribution list or shared mailbox that you want to modify is not listed, you may not be the owner or the list may be hidden. Please contact the ITS Help Desk for further assistance.
On the Distribution Group window that opens, select ownership from the left menu to view all current owners.
- Note: “BCIT Exchange Online Team” will always be listed as an owner for shared mailboxes. Do not attempt to remove this item.
Add or remove owners from the list using the + and – buttons at the top.
- Note: In order to search for a BCIT contact, you’ll have to first click to select Default Global Address List from the list on the left.
When done, click the Save button.

Managing distribution list or shared mailbox membership