Microsoft 365 - Getting Started with Groups

General Information:

Public vs. Private Groups

As of June 10, 2019, Microsoft 365 Groups created through Outlook, SharePoint, Microsoft Stream, or Microsoft Teams are Private by default. 

Public Groups

A public group is open to everyone. If you just want to see what the group is doing, all the content and conversations are easy to view. But if the group interests you, you can join it and become a member. In most cases, a public group is your preferred alternative.

Private Groups

A private group is exclusive and only open to its members. The content and conversations are secure and not viewable by everyone. Choose a private group when you are concerned about security and privacy, such as trade secrets or confidential information. Although anyone can see the name of the private group, information is also security-trimmed so it is not accessible from search, 

Additional Notes

• Both public and private groups are discoverable by default in the Global Address List (GAL). See “Visibility in the Global Address List (GAL)” below for more information.

• Anyone with a UW-Madison Microsoft 365 account can email either type of group unless the setting is restricted. See “Email Settings” below for more information for owners on how to modify this.

• Group owners can convert a group between public and private at any time.

Finding and Joining Groups

Groups are open and discover-able by default. Both public and private groups have a group profile displayed in a card that includes the name, description, photo, alias, membership, and so on. If this group information is sensitive, you should look at other options instead of using a group.

Visibility in the Global Address List (GAL)

By default:

• Groups and their members are visible in the Global Address List (GAL).

• Anyone in UW-Madison's Microsoft 365 environment can search for groups and view membership.

• This visibility can be modified by hiding the group or its membership from non-members.

For instructions, see Microsoft 365 - Make a Group Hidden or Unhidden within Global Address List (GAL) or make Members Hidden from non-members.

Browse Existing Groups

To search for groups in Outlook on the web:

1. Open Outlook on the web.
   
   

2. In the navigation pane, under Groups, select Discover. (If you don't see Discover, click More at the bottom of your groups list. Once all of your groups are displayed you should see the Discover link.)

Join a Group

There are times when you would like to join an existing group or looking for more information on the purpose of the group. Follow steps to request to join a group. To find out the use of the group, contact the group owner - by searching for the group and viewing the group members. Important: If the group is hidden in the Global Address List, contact the help desk to make this request.

Following a Group

When you follow a group in Outlook, all group conversations and calendar events will be sent to both the group mailbox and your personal inbox. This is particularly helpful when you belong to multiple groups and want to stay on top of the conversations from one location.

Important: By default, if you are a member of the group and send a message to the group, you won't receive the messages in your inbox. If you want to receive the message into your inbox, please make sure to modify your group settings: Learn how to follow or unfollow a group.

Promoting Your Group

Group owners can share a direct link to their group using the following format:

https://outlook.office.com/owa/?path=/group/groupaddress@office365.wisc.edu/mail

Replace groupaddress@office365.wisc.edu with the group's email address.

Managing Your Group

A Group lets you work with your friends, family or colleagues on a common goal: You can send messages to the group, share files, and schedule events on a group calendar. You can add members when you first create a group or add them later.

Create a Group:

Any fully licensed Microsoft 365 account can create and manage a Group. It is recommended that you use Outlook on the web to create a group. It is recommended that you wait at least 60 minutes after creating, managing members, or deleting a group so that the changes are synced within Microsoft. Learn more.

Naming Recommendations

The official campus group naming convention follows:

Naming convention: {Org}-{Dept}-{specific use case]
Example group name: DoIT PCS Project XYZ
Email address: doitpcsprojetxyz@office365.wisc.edu (if available)

If there is a conflict with the address of the group, you will have the ability to modify the address when creating the group.

If the desired email address is unavailable, you can modify it during group creation.

Group Email Addresses

Every Microsoft 365 Group receives an email address in the format:

name@office365.wisc.edu

By default:

• Any UW-Madison Microsoft 365 user can send email to the group.

• Group owners can restrict or allow external senders as needed. See: Email Settings > Allow External Senders below.

View and manage your Group:

It is recommended to use Outlook on the web to view and manage groups you are a member or owner of.

Membership Management

Note: it may take up to 24 hours for a member to be able to access the Teams application for a Group.

Group owners can add:

• UW-Madison users

• Guest users

• Service accounts

Learn more.

Important Limitations

Hidden Accounts

Users hidden in the GAL cannot be added through Outlook or Teams clients.

You will need to use the Microsoft 365 - Manage/view Microsoft 365 Group Settings/Parameters process instead.

Guest Access

Guest access in Microsoft 365 Groups lets you and your team collaborate with people from outside your organization by granting them access to group conversations, files, calendar invitations, and the group notebook. Access can be granted to a guest - for example, a partner, vendor, supplier, or consultant - by any group owner.

Guests can access:

• Conversations

• Files

• Calendar invitations

• Group notebooks

Learn more.

Requirements:

• Guests can be added individually by their email addresses.

• You can not add lists or groups from external systems to a M365 group.

• Guest email domains must support TLS encryption in order to receive mail sent to the group. Group mail sent to domains that do not support TLS will not be delivered.

Nested Groups

Nesting groups is not supported. If you add another Microsoft 365 group as a member, the membership is expanded and the members of the group you were adding will be added individually and any changes to the nested group will not be reflected in the group they were added to.

Manifest

Manifest cannot be used to manage Microsoft 365 Group membership due to Microsoft’s management of members.

Service Accounts

Service accounts can be group members or owners. Owners receive administrative capabilities in addition to standard member access. Please see “Can you add a service account as an owner to a Group?” under the FAQ expandable menu for more information on how to use a service account as a Group owner.

Email Delivery Behavior

When Groups are created in Outlook:

• Members are automatically subscribed to receive group emails in their inbox.

• Owners and members can change this setting at any time.

If you send a message to a group of which you are a member:

• The message appears in your Sent Items folder.

• You will not receive a copy in your inbox unless you explicitly enable this setting.

• Expanding the Group address membership list will not include members of the Group that are hidden in the GAL. It is recommended to send to the Group address without expanding the membership list to ensure that all members within the Group receive the message. 

See the "How do I receive a copy of messages I send?" in the FAQ section.

Email Settings

Allow External Senders

Group owners can allow email from outside UW-Madison:

1. Open the Groups page in Outlook on the web.

2. Select the Group you are wanting to change settings for.

3. Select Settings.

4. Select Edit Group.

5. Enable Let people outside the organization email the group.

6. Save changes.

Folders and Rules

Group owners now have the ability to create and delete folders and rules. Group members need permission before they can use these functions. Managing folders and rules can only be performed via Outlook on the web client. This feature is not yet available for Outlook desktop clients.

With rules, users can automate the organization of incoming Groups emails. Rules can be accessed/managed via the group settings page.

Teams-Created Groups

When a Team is created directly in Microsoft Teams and is not connected to an already existing Microsoft 365 Group:

• A Microsoft 365 Group is created in the background and is hidden from Outlook.

• Additional Group services such as Mail, Calendar, and Groups are not available.

If you need full Microsoft 365 Group functionality to include features such as Mail and Calendar:

• Create the Group first in Outlook or the Groups app.

• Then create a Team connected to that Group.

If Team data must be preserved, contact the DoIT Help Desk before making changes.

Restoring Deleted Groups

Groups can be restored within 30 days of deletion by the owners of the Group. After 30 days, Microsoft permanently removes all associated data and recovery is no longer possible. Please see FAQ below for "What happens if a Group is deleted?"

Restore Process

1. Sign in to Outlook on the web.

2. Navigate to Groups.

3. Open Deleted Groups.

4. Select the group intended for restoration.

5. Choose Restore.

Restoration may take up to 60 minutes.

Note: Shifts data/schedule is not restored - Microsoft is aware of this and working on a solution. 

Advanced Administration

Advanced management options include:

• Adding aliases or alternate email addresses

• Managing Send As permissions

• Managing Send on Behalf permissions

• Configuring sender restrictions

See Microsoft 365 - Manage/view Microsoft 365 Group Settings/ParametersMicrosoft 365 - Manage/view Microsoft 365 Group Settings/Parameters

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What clients/devices can I use to interact with Groups?

How do you know if a Microsoft 365 account is a group?

How do you know if a Microsoft 365 account is a group?

 Does a group have a file storage quota limit?

Can a group be used to manage calendar permissions (i.e. resource account)?

Can the email address of a group be changed?

 Can I assign a new email address to an existing group?

How do you suppress the welcome email?

 Can you assign a Microsoft 365 service account as a member/owner of a group?

 How can I receive a copy of an email I send to the group?

How do I report a message as spam/phish?

What happens when a group is deleted?