Summary
Read this article to understand how to create groups in Microsoft 365. Groups are created through the Microsoft Outlook application and have several uses.
Content
By creating a group in Outlook you’ll get:
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Shared Inbox -- For email conversations between your members. This inbox has an email address and can be set to accept messages from people outside the group and even outside your organization, much like a traditional distribution list
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Shared Calendar -- For scheduling events related to the group
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SharePoint Document Library -- A central place for the group to store and share files
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Shared OneNote Notebook -- For gathering ideas, research, and information
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SharePoint Team Site -- A central repository for information, links and content relating to your group
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Planner -- For assigning and managing project tasks among your group members
Creating the group automatically creates these resources for you and assigns the necessary permissions for your group members so they can start using them right away.
Information on creating and managing Groups can be found at Microsoft - Creating a group in Outlook
You can access these resources through the familiar Microsoft Outlook 2016 desktop client, via Outlook on the web, via Outlook 2016 for Mac (shared inbox only), or via Outlook mobile. You'll find your Office 365 Groups in the navigation pane on the left in Outlook desktop or on the Web.
Public vs Private
Content in a public group can be seen by anybody in your organization, and anybody in your organization is able to join the group.
Content in a private group can only be seen by the members of the group and people who want to join a private group must be approved by a group owner.
Note: Currently, groups created from Outlook on the web are private by default.
Neither public groups nor private groups can be seen or accessed by people outside of your organization unless those people have been specifically invited as guests.
Deleting
After a Group outlives its intended purpose, you can delete it to free up system resources and to remove the group from being listed or displayed.
Manage
On the left side of your Outlook application, there will be a Groups drop down containing all the Office 365 Groups you are an Owner/Member of. By selecting the Group you would like to edit, a ribbon at the top of the application will appear.
Select the Group Settings drop down, if you are an Owner of the group you will see three options, Add Members, Invite Others, and Edit Group. From there, you can modify the list accordingly, such as adding or removing members, editing the group display name, description, photo, create a Shareable invite link, and other various options.
By selecting New Group, you can create a new O365 Group, however it will have an appended "O365-" tag within the email alias, which you will be unable to edit. If you would like to request a new O365 Group without the appended tag, you can do so by going here. Be sure to include necessary items such as the Display Name and Email Alias. Keep in mind all UNH group mailboxes have required formatting, which includes a period within the alias. For example, Email.Alias@unh.edu, where "Email.Alias" is the email alias.
Calendar
One of the great things about using a O365 Group is that anyone who has access to the group also has full access to the calendar. You can create, edit, and delete events in the calendar. Use the shared calendar just as you would use your own calendar. You can access this calendar by navigating to your Group on the left side of Outlook, and selecting the Calendar button at the bottom of the list. Here's a short list of things you can do with the group calendar:
- Let your team know when you're going on vacation or when you’ll be out of the office.
- Create a team meeting.
- Edit a calendar event that someone else created.
- Cancel a meeting that someone else created.
Need Additional Help?
More information available at Microsoft -- Office 365 Groups
Please fill out the Microsoft 365 Support webform with as much detail as possible, or contact the ET&S Help Desk team on your local campus.