Office 365 Mailbox Creation and Lifecycle

Mailbox Eligibility

Office 365 mailboxes are available for:

• UT Austin current and future employees (faculty and staff)
• UT Austin current students
• UT System current employees
• UT Austin official visitors and affiliated workers
• EIDs with the mailbox entitlement (EML)

Mailbox Creation

Office 365 mailboxes can be created in two ways: 

1.  For UT Austin future and current employees (faculty and staff) including student workers, a mailbox will be created by an automated process.  Automated mailbox creation also occurs for accounts marked with the mailbox entitlement (EML). Automatic provisioning happens at 7AM the first day an employee is considered a "future employee." Employees who did not have an Office 365 Exchange mailbox at the time automated provisioning began (late 2018), have been marked to prevent one automatically being created for them. Some departments have opted out of student worker auto-provisioning.
   
   
2. For all others who are eligible for an Office 365 mailbox, a mailbox may be created manually by visiting the Office 365 Management web application. As soon as an employee has future employee affiliation, they will be able to sign up for Duo and self-create a mailbox.

Automated mailbox creation occurs once daily. When a mailbox is created by the automated process, a message is sent to the official email address associated with the mailbox owner's EID. Another email message is sent to the mailbox owner's manager, if there is one, as reflected in Workday.

Mailbox Lifecycle

Accounts with Office 365 mailboxes are checked regularly for mailbox eligibility. When an account is no longer eligible for a mailbox, a thirty-day count-down begins, after which the mailbox will be deprovisioned. Should the account re-gain mailbox eligibility any time during this thirty-day period, the deprovisioning process will end. Deprovisioning notices are sent to the mailbox owner's official university address and his or her manager, if applicable. Notices are sent when the mailbox is first marked for deprovisioning, with reminders mailed after 7, 14, and 21 days.

Office 365 Management Web Application

The Office 365 Management web application allows mailbox owners to manage their mailboxes and distribution groups, including actions such as adding a secondary email address, setting or clearing a forwarding address, or updating the mailbox display name. The website is at https://www.austin.utexas.edu/Office365Management. You will be prompted to authenticate with your EID credentials.

Navigation Overview

Mailbox Management Actions

Create a Mailbox

If an account is eligible for an Office 365 mailbox AND a mailbox has not been created for it, the account holder may create a mailbox through the web application.

1. Log in to the Office 365 Management web application (https://www.austin.utexas.edu/Office365Management) with your EID. If you do not yet have a mailbox, you will be presented with the Create My Mailbox page. If a mailbox has already been created for you, you will see details about the mailbox.
2. Enter your desired display name in the Display Name box.
3. Enter your desired email address in the Primary mail address field.
4. Click Submit.

If you have entered an email address which is already in use or is invalid, you will be presented with an opportunity to select another address.

After a mailbox has been created, additional steps need to occur for full provisioning. That process may take up to one hour. You will receive an email message when provisioning has been completed, to the official email address associated with your EID.

Update Mailbox Display Name

1. On the My Services page, click the My Mailbox pane if it is not already open.
2. Enter your desired display name in the Display Name box.
3. Click Save.

Hide or Unhide Mailbox from Exchange Address Lists

A mailbox which is hidden from Exchange address lists will not appear when other Exchange users search for the mailbox address or display name.

1. On the My Services page, click the My Mailbox pane if it is not already open.
2. If the checkbox next to Mailbox hidden from Exchange address lists is unchecked, check it to hide the mailbox. If the checkbox is already checked, uncheck it to show the mailbox again in the Exchange lists.
3. The information updates automatically when the checkbox valued is changed.

Update Primary Email Address

The primary email address may be changed only when the mailbox has more than one address associated with it. See Add Secondary Email Address(es) below for details on creating multiple addresses.

1. On the My Services page, click the My Mailbox pane if it is not already open.
2. Unlock the Primary mail address for edits by clicking the lock icon beneath it. The lock icon will change to check mark.
3. Select another address from the dropdown menu.
4. Click Save.

Add Secondary Email Address(es)

1. On the My Services page, click the My Mailbox pane if it is not already open.
2. In the box below the list of Secondary mail addresses, enter your desired secondary mail address in the address field. Select the email address domain from those available in the drop-down menu next to the address field.
3. Click Add.

If the address entered is already in use, the application will provide a warning message and will not add it.

Remove Secondary Email Address

1. On the My Services page, click the My Mailbox pane if it is not already open.
2. In the list of Secondary mail addresses, highlight the address you wish to remove.
3. Click Remove selected address.

View Mailbox Statistics

1. On the My Services page, click the My Mailbox pane if it is not already open.
2. Click the Load/Refresh button next to Mailbox Statistics to see details such as the mailbox size and forwarding addresses.

Delete Mailbox

Mailbox deletion removes all messages from the mailbox and deletes the mailbox permanently. It is not possible to restore information after deletion, so any information that may be useful in the future should be saved elsewhere prior to deleting a mailbox.

1. On the My Services page, click the My Mailbox pane if it is not already open.
2. Under the Delete My Mailbox section, check the box next to I Understand that my Office 365 mailbox will be PERMANENTLY deleted.
3. Click Delete My Mailbox.

Note: You may first need to click the Load/Refresh button to verify that your mailbox is eligible for deletion.

Distribution Group Management Actions

View Distribution Group Memberships

1. On the My Services page, click the Distribution Group Membership pane if it is not already open.
2. A list of distribution groups of which you are a member will appear in the pane.

View Distribution Groups You Own

1. On the My Services page, click the Distribution Group Management pane if it is not already open.
2. Click on the dropdown list labeled Select a group to view a list of all groups that you own. If you are not an owner of any groups, this tab will be blank.

Update a Distribution Group's Display Name

1. On the My Services page, click the Distribution Group Management pane if it is not already open.
2. Select the distribution group you wish to edit from the dropdown menu.
3. Enter a new value in the Display name field.
4. Click Save.

Hide or Unhide a Distribution Group from Exchange Address Lists

A distribution group which is hidden from the Exchange address lists will not appear when other Exchange users search for the mailbox address or display name.

1. On the My Services page, click the Distribution Group Management pane if it is not already open.
2. Select the distribution group you wish to edit from the dropdown menu.
3. If the checkbox next to Group hidden from Exchange address lists is unchecked, check it to hide the mailbox. If the checkbox is already checked, uncheck it to show the mailbox again in the Exchange lists.
4. The information updates automatically when the checkbox valued is changed.

Enable or Disable Senders to Receive Out-of-Office Messages from Group Members

This setting enables the message sender to receive out-of-office messages when group members have them turned on for their mailbox.

1. On the My Services page, click the Distribution Group Management pane if it is not already open.
2. Select the distribution group you wish to edit from the dropdown menu.
3. If the checkbox next to Send out-of-office messages to originator is unchecked, check it to enable out of office message delivery. If the checkbox is already checked, uncheck it to disable this function.
4. The information updates automatically when the checkbox valued is changed.

Manage Who Can Send Messages to a Distribution Group

1. On the My Services page, click the Distribution Group Management pane if it is not already open.
2. Select the distribution group you wish to edit from the dropdown menu.
3. If the checkbox next to Only accept messages from members of this group is unchecked, check it to limit message sending to group members. If the checkbox is already checked, uncheck it to allow senders from outside the group to send email to the group.
4. The information updates automatically when the checkbox valued is changed.

Control Non-delivery Reports from a Distribution Group

1. On the My Services page, click the Distribution Group Management pane if it is not already open.
2. Select the distribution group you wish to edit from the dropdown menu.
3. Select an option from the dropdown menu to control whether non-delivery reports are sent to the message’s originator, sent to the group’s manager(s), or are suppressed.

Update a Distribution Group's Primary Email Address

The primary email address may be changed only when the distribution group has more than one address associated with it. See Add Secondary Email Address(es) to a Distribution Group below for details on creating multiple addresses.

1. On the My Services page, click the Distribution Group Management pane if it is not already open.
2. Select the distribution group you wish to edit from the dropdown menu.
3. Unlock the Primary mail address for edits by clicking the lock icon beneath it. The lock icon will change to an opened lock.
4. Select another address from the dropdown menu.
5. Click Save

Add Secondary Email Address(es) to a Distribution Group (Distribution Group Managers Only)

1. On the My Services page, click the Distribution Group Management pane if it is not already open.
2. Select the distribution group you wish to edit from the dropdown menu.
3. In the box below the list of Secondary mail addresses, enter your desired secondary mail address in the address field. Select the email address domain from those available in the drop-down menu next to the address field.
4. Click Add.

If the address entered is already in use, the application will provide a warning message and will not add it.

Remove Secondary Email Address from a Distribution Group

1. On the My Services page, click the Distribution Group Management pane if it is not already open.
2. Select the distribution group you wish to edit from the dropdown menu.
3. In the list of Secondary mail addresses, highlight the address you wish to remove.
4. Click Remove selected address.

Update Distribution Group Members

1. On the My Services page, click the Distribution Group Management pane if it is not already open.
2. Select the distribution group you wish to edit from the dropdown menu.
3. To add a new member, enter the EID or email address of the user you would like to add in the Members section and click Add.
4. To remove a member, highlight the name in the Members list and click Remove Selected Member.

Update Distribution Group Managers

1. On the My Services page, click the Distribution Group Management pane if it is not already open.
2. Select the distribution group you wish to edit from the dropdown menu.
3. To add a new manager, enter the EID or email address of the user you would like to add in the Managers section and click Add.
4. To remove a manager, highlight the name in the Managers list and click Remove Selected Manager.