Groups

By default you will not receive a copy of the email that you send to a Group that you are a member of. To enable this functionality, use the following steps:

1. Log into https://myoffice.uwo.ca and open Outlook
2. Select the Settings gear icon in the top right corner > View all Outlook settings
3. Select Groups from the list of settings
4. Check the Send me a copy of email I send to a group box
5. Click x in the top right corner to finalize

By default, Owners of Groups receive all email sent to a Group like a regular Member. You can opt out of receiving this mail to your inbox by Unfollowing or Leaving the Group.

To Unfollow a Group:

1. Log into https://myoffice.uwo.ca and open Outlook
2. Select Manage Groups in the bottom left navigation, underneath all of your folders
3. Select the Group you do not want to receive mail from
4. Select Stop following from the top navigation

When you Unfollow a Group, its email is not delivered to your inbox, but you can still check the Group mailbox.

To Leave a Group:

1. Log into https://myoffice.uwo.ca and open Outlook
2. Select Manage Groups in the bottom left navigation, underneath all of your folders
3. Select the Group you wish to Leave
4. Select Leave from the top navigation

When you Leave a Group, its email is not delivered to your inbox, and you lose access to the Group mailbox.

You can request settings changes to your Group using a ticket to the WTS Helpdesk: https://westernu.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/2/group/12/create/771

Sending Restrictions

This determines who is allowed to send email to the Group. Options:

1. Anyone (default)
2. Members only
3. Specific users or Groups

Visibility

This determines how visible the Group is in Western's Global Address List. Options:

1. Full visibility (default)
2. Hidden members
3. Fully hidden

Welcome Message

This determines if newly added Group members receive a "Welcome" message. Options:

1. Enabled (default)
2. Disabled

Delegates (Send As a Group)

This setting allows specified users to send emails from a Group's email address (e.g., example@groups.uwo.ca), rather than from their personal email address.

1. Enabled
2. Disabled (default)

Microsoft provides no way for you to prevent a member from leaving your Group. It is not possible to configure a Group so that a member cannot leave.  Members have the ability to remove themselves at any time without notification.

For a Group with a small number of members, you will likely notice if someone has voluntarily left the Group, but for larger Group it could be less obvious. To keep your Group membership current, you can make a copy of your membership listing and store it outside of Outlook and then copy your membership listing into your Group before sending an email.

Groups and Distribution Groups can have a uwo.ca email address applied to them by WTS. To request a uwo.ca address for your Group, please submit the ticket below.

Request a uwo.ca address for a Group

Groups cannot be members of other Groups. If you try to add a Group as a member, Outlook will attempt to add each of that Group's current membership, rather than adding the Group itself.

At the time of the migration from List Guardian, mailing lists with nesting were converted to Distribution Groups. Microsoft have since depreciated the functionality of Distribution Groups.

Existing Distribution Groups continue to function as expected, but WTS cannot create new Distribution Groups going forward.

Our recommendation is to exclusively use Groups in place of Distribution Groups. If you require WTS to bulk-add the memberships of several Groups into one singular Group, please see the Request bulk changes... section below.

While Groups cannot recieve external emails by default, you can change the setting to accept external messages. This will allow your Microsoft Office 365 Group to be reachable by anyone outside of Western.

1. Go to https://myoffice.uwo.ca, sign in and click Outlook on the left.
2. Navigate to “Groups” in the bottom left, located underneath your email folders and select the group you wish to edit.
3. Click the 3 dots underneath the Group details and click “Settings”.
4. Click “Edit Group” on the menu that appears on the right.
5. Scroll down to “External Email Settings” and check in the “Let people outside the organization email the groups” option, then click “Save”.

An M365 Group can be created by all Western faculty, staff or student with an active Western Identity.

To create a Group in Outlook on the Web (Recommended):

1. Log in to https://myoffice.uwo.ca and go to Outlook
2. Navigate to the Groups dropdown in the bottom left navigation, underneath all of your folders
3. Select New Group
4. Enter your desired Group Name - the email address will be filled automatically, but can be edited here if needed
5. Enter your desired Description (a reminder about the purpose of the Group)
6. Leave Default settings unchanged, and click Create to finalize

To create a Group in Outlook on Windows:

1. Open Outlook on your desktop
2. Navigate to the Groups dropdown in the bottom left navigation, underneath all of your folders
3. Right click on Groups, and select New Group
4. Enter your desired Group Name - the email address will be filled automatically, but can be edited here if needed
5. Enter your desired Description (a reminder about the purpose of the Group)
6. Leave other settings unchanged, and click Create to finalize

To add members to a Group in Outlook on the Web (Recommended):

1. Log in to https://myoffice.uwo.ca and go to Outlook
2. Navigate to Groups in the bottom left navigation, underneath all of your folders
3. Right click on Groups, then select Manage Groups
4. Select your desired Group, then Add members
5. Search for Group members by their email address, or name (Western users only)
6. Select Add to finalize

To add members to a Group in Outlook on Windows:

1. Open Outlook on your desktop
2. Navigate to Groups in the bottom left navigation, underneath all of your folders
3. Click on your desired Group
4. From the top navigation, select Group Settings > Add Members
5. Search for Group members by their email address or name, click on them to add
6. Select OK to finalize

To update owners or remove members in Outlook on the Web (Recommended):

1. Log in to https://myoffice.uwo.ca and go to Outlook
2. Navigate to Groups in the bottom left navigation, underneath all of your folders
3. Right click on Groups, then select Manage Groups
   
4. Select your desired Group, then Members
5. Click the arrow beside a user's Role to update them to an Owner or Member
6. Click the X beside a user's role to remove them from the Group

To update owners or remove members in Outlook on Windows:

1. Open Outlook on your desktop
2. Navigate to Groups in the bottom left navigation, underneath all of your folders
3. Right click on Groups, then select Manage Groups
4. Click on your desired Group
5. From the top navigation, select Group Settings > Edit Group
6. Click Make owner or Remove owner status to update a member's role
7. Click the X beside a user's name to remove them from the Group
8. Select OK to finalize

Request bulk changes:

Bulk changes by owners, such as adds, removals and membership exports are not supported in Groups. To request a bulk action on a Group, please submit the following ticket to the WTS Helpdesk:

REQUEST BULK ACTIONS

By submitting this ticket, owners can request the following bulk Group actions:

1. Export a list of all member names & email addresses
2. Remove all members (owners will remain)
3. Add a list of members

Update Group settings:

UPDATE GROUP OPTIONS

By submitting this ticket, owners can request changes to the following Group settings:

1. Visibility
2. Sending Restrictions
3. Welcome Message
   
4. Sending as a Group address