Shared and secondary accounts

Your Nexus365 accounts can be shared with others within the University.

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An account owner, or appropriate IT support staff (for secondary accounts), can request updates to the delegates of a Nexus365 account.

One or more of the following settings can be applied for each delegate:
 

Full Access Allows access the mailbox and calendar
Send As Allows mail to be sent in the name of the account
Send on Behalf of Allows mail to be sent in the delegate's name, on behalf of the account
Automap Displays the mailbox in Outlook automatically (should only be used for small mailboxes)

Outlook users can access a mailbox as a delegate.  Other email applications use the account's single sign-on (SSO) and password, in the same way as for personal mailboxes.

Outlook

A shared mailbox can be added as an account or mapped to your existing one, though it should not be added in multiple ways.

 

Mapped

Smaller mailboxes can be mapped automatically, or manually:

  1. In Outlook, select File > Account Settings > Account Settings...
  2. Highlight your email address.
  3. Select Change... More Settings
  4. Select the Advanced tab Add...
  5. Provide the mailbox email address, then OK

Account

Mailboxes that are large or have many folders should be added as accounts:

  1. In Outlook, select File > Account Settings > Account Settings... New...
  2. Provide the mailbox email address and name if requested.  Do not provide any password details or select the manual or advanced setup options.
  3. If necessary, choose the provider to be Office 365
  4. When prompted for credentials, select your account or provide your Oxford username in the format abcd1234@ox.ac.uk and your SSO password.
  5. Provide any necessary confirmations, then restart Outlook.

Outlook

In Outlook for Mac:

  1. Select Tools > Accounts
  2. Select the account that has access to the shared mailbox
  3. Select Delegation and Sharing
  4. Select the Shared With Me tab
  5. Select + to add a shared or delegated mailbox
  6. Provide the name or email address of the mailbox, then Add

Outlook

The Outlook app is available from the Google Play Store

  1. Open the Outlook app
  2. Select the top left Outlook icon
  3. Select the envelope plus icon
  4. Select Add a shared mailbox
  5. Type the email address of the mailbox to open

Outlook

The Outlook app is available from the Apple Store

  1. Open the Outlook app
  2. Select the top left Outlook icon
  3. Select the envelope plus icon
  4. Select Add a shared mailbox
  5. Type the email address of the mailbox to open

Outlook (browser based)

The mailbox can be accessed directly or from a folder in your normal view.

 

Direct access

Type https://outlook.office.com/example@unit.ox.ac.uk into your web browser's address field (substituting the correct email address).

 

Or

 

  1. Log in to Outlook on the web using your Oxford username in the format abcd1234@ox.ac.uk and SSO password
  2. Select your picture or initials in the upper-right corner
  3. Select Open another mailbox
  4. Type the name or email address of the mailbox to open
  5. Select the mailbox, then Open

Folder

Add a folder to your normal view:

  1. Log in to Outlook on the web using your Oxford username in the format abcd1234@ox.ac.uk and SSO password
  2. In the column containing mailbox folders, right click on Folders
  3. Select Add shared folder
  4. Type the name or email address of the mailbox to add
  5. Select the mailbox, then Add

Outlook

When composing or replying to an email:

  1. If the From field is not displayed, select Options Show From button
  2. Select the From button to display the alternate sending addresses

If the required address is not yet displayed:

  1. Select the From button > Other E-mail Address... > From...
  2. Change the Address Book to Global Address List
  3. Locate and add the email address using the Search field

Outlook

When composing or replying to an email:

  1. If the From field is not displayed, select the top right double chevron icon  
  2. Select the chevron icon  next to the from address to display the alternate sending addresses

 

Outlook

  1. Add the shared mailbox
  2. Either:
    • Click on the top left Outlook icon, switch to the account, then send the message
    • When composing a message, click on the default email address and select another

Outlook

  1. Add the shared mailbox
  2. Either:
    • Click on the top left Outlook icon, switch to the account, then send the message
    • When composing a message, click on the default email address and select another

Outlook (browser based)

  1. Open the shared mailbox
  2. Send the message from the account

Also referred to as project, role-based, non-personal, or generic accounts, secondary accounts are similar to personal Nexus 365 accounts but can be easily shared with other's across the University or transferred to another person.

Secondary accounts are most commonly used so:

  • several people can monitor the mailbox of a project or service.
  • several people can send from a common mailbox and email address.
  • mail and calendars relating to a specific role can be transferred to another person.
  • a shared calendar can be used for group events.

 

Types of secondary account:

Mailbox only

Recommended in most cases.

A shared mailbox and calendar that can be used by a number of people through delegation, with an email address in the format example@unit.ox.ac.uk.

SSO only

For infrastructure management where a single sign-on (SSO) username and password is required to log in.

Accounts have an AD record with status 'User' and do not come with a Linux shell or web instance. 

Mailbox and SSO

Similar to personal Nexus 365 mailboxes.

Due to the increased security risk it is recommended that mailbox only accounts are used instead wherever possible.

Resource

Allow authorised users to book rooms, equipment and other resources within your unit.

Guidance for this type of account is available on our resource mailboxes page.

A secondary account can be requested on your behalf by your IT support staff using the secondary account request form.

Accounts must be owned by certain types of University members, such as staff and postgraduates.  Details of who can own of secondary accounts are available on the card entitlements page, the facility is titled Project accounts.

An account owner, or appropriate IT support staff (for secondary accounts), can make the following updates to the account through service requests.

 

Action Service request name
Modify access to a personal account Personal Email Account Delegation
Modify access to a secondary account Generic Email Account Delegation
Change a secondary account's owner Generic Account Ownership Change
Modify the display name or email address Email Address Name Change
Remove a secondary account's password Remove Password (SSO) from a Generic Account
Delete an unused secondary account Delete Generic Account

To check who has delegated access to accounts you own:

  1. Access the Self-Registration Home Page
  2. Select Set, update or view Nexus mailbox settings
  3. Select the appropriate mailbox
  4. Select Show mailbox information
  5. Select Submit

To check information about the accounts you own:

  1. Access the Self-Registration Home Page
  2. Select User info from the left-hand menu
  3. Select Accounts from the top menu bar

If you have access to an account but don't know who the owner is, your local IT support staff or the Service Desk are likely to be able to check the owner for you.

Microsoft Word uses Outlook's default sender for mail merge.  To set the shared account as the default sender:

  1. In Outlook, select File Account Settings > Account Settings... > E-mail
  2. If the email address of the mailbox is listed, select it then Set as Default
  3. If the email address is not listed, set up the account in a new profile then open Outlook using that profile
  4. Select File Options Mail
  5. Within the Send messages section, ensure Always use the default account when composing new messages is checked

If a new profile was needed you can switch back to your usual profile once your mail merge finishes.  You can switch to the new profile if you need it again in the future.

By default, desktop versions of Outlook will save items sent from mapped mailboxes to the account the mailbox is mapped to, usually the sender's personal mailbox.

To save sent mail to its own mailbox, individual settings can be applied in the Windows registry:

  • Please first speak to your local IT support staff, updating the registry incorrectly may cause serious issues for your computer.
  • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Outlook\Preferences, add/change the DWORD DelegateSentItemsStyle with Value Data: 1

Alternatively, a server setting can be applied that affects everyone using the mailbox:

  • The mail will be saved to both the mailbox and the original location
  • The account owner or appropriate ITSS must contact the IT Service Desk to request this, including:

    • The name and email address of the mailbox
    • Request MessageCopyForSentAsEnabled and MessageCopyForSendOnBehalfEnabled are set to true
    • Confirmation that all delegates are aware of the proposed change

If both the registry and server settings are applied, two instances of the message will appear in the mailbox's sent items folder.

Single sign-on (SSO) passwords of personal accounts must never be shared.

Accounts are usually shared through delegation.  Due to an increased security risk, a secondary account should only have an SSO when necessary.

When a secondary account does have an SSO, it is the account owner's responsibility to ensure compliance with University policy and keep records of the use and distribution of any shared credentials.  To ensure you fully understand these responsibilities please contact your Information Officer.

Microsoft also provide details on how to access and use shared mailboxes.

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