Managing Shared Email Accounts & Distribution Groups in Outlook

Distribution lists

Distribution lists 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.

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.

1. Open a web browser and navigate to mail.bcit.ca/.
2. Login using your usual BCIT credentials.
3. In the top right corner of the page click on the gear icon and then Options.
4. Click on General then Distribution groups.
5. In the distribution groups I own section will be a list of all the groups you are an owner of.
6. Double-click on the group you would like to edit (all shared accounts have a group in the format BCIT_alias_SG). A new window will open with information on the group.
7. Click on either Ownership or Membership to expand the sections you would like to edit.
   Note: The difference between an Owner and a Member is:
   • Owners: Users who can add or remove members to the account.
   • Members: People listed in the distribution list / Users who have access to use the shared email account.
8. Add or remove members as desired.
   
   • Add Users by clicking + and searching for their name in the search window.
   • Remove Users by selecting their name and clicking -.
9. After modifying the group click Save.
10. If users have been added to the distribution group they will need to be notified that they can access the shared mailbox after one hour.

1. Open Outlook.
2. Click on the Address Book button located on the Home tab of the Ribbon.
3. In the search box enter the name of the distribution group (all shared accounts have a group in the format BCIT_alias_SG).
   
4. Double Click on the group name to open the group properties.
   • A list of all the group Members as well as the owner of the group will be displayed. Outlook Web App must be used if the group has multiple owners or to edit the group owners.
5. Click on the Modify Members button to edit the members.
   
   • Add Users by clicking the Add button and searching for their name in the search window.
   • Remove Users by selecting their name and clicking the Remove button.
6. Click OK.
   • Note: If you receive any error messages when trying to modify the group members you should try using Outlook Web App. You may also need to verify that you are an Owner of the distribution group.
7. If users have been added to the distribution group they will need to be notified that they can access the shared mailbox after one hour.