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Version: 5.7

Subscribing to and using shared mailboxes

In addition to their personal mailboxes, users can access individual mailboxes shared by other users, as well as collaborative mailboxes created by the domain administrator: group mailboxes and shared mailboxes.

Subscribe to a mailbox​

When access rights to a mailbox – whether individual or group – are granted to a user (see Sharing Mailboxes), the user receives an email notification:

Once the notification has been received, to view the mailbox in their mail app or on their connected mobile devices and software, the user must enable the subscription in their email settings: Preferences > Email > Other mailboxes:

The interface displays, where applicable, the list of mailboxes to which the user is already subscribed, as well as those for which they have been granted sharing rights (see Setting the sharing level).

Subscription is neither automatic nor compulsory; a ‘Subscribe/Unsubscribe’ button is available for each one.

If the mailbox does not appear in the list, click on “Subscribe to other mailboxes”.
A pop-up window will then display all the mailboxes to which the user has access; tick the desired mailbox(es) and then click on ‘Add 1[2,3,...] mailbox’:

To confirm your subscription, restart the application by clicking on the ‘Reload now’ link in the banner that appears:

synchronisation

The synchronisation option allows you to control the visibility of the mailbox in third-party software and on mobile devices. For more information, see the dedicated page: Synchronizing Mailboxes.

Using a user mailbox​

Once the subscription has been activated (see above), the user’s shared mailbox appears in the folder list (For further information see Using the folder list):

Depending on the level of access granted (see Setting the sharing level), the shared mailbox can then be used in the same way as a user’s mailbox. The user can:

Using a shared mailbox​

Shared mailboxes – also known simply as ‘shared mailboxes’ or as functional, service, project or archive mailboxes, etc. – are mailboxes which, unlike user mailboxes, are not named after a specific user: they do not have their own username, and one or more users may be associated with them.

Actions carried out in these mailboxes are specific to them, so any follow-up, reply or forwarding carried out by one of the users will be visible to all colleagues. For example, if one of the users marks an email as ‘Important’, all users will see the follow-up flag.

This feature, which is ideally suited to teamwork, can be used by a company department, as part of a project, or even to make shared email templates available (see Using drafts and templates).

Shared mailboxes have the same default folders as a user mailbox: Inbox, sent messages folder, drafts, etc. They also contain address books, calendars and to-do lists that can be used and synchronised in BlueMind’s online applications as well as in desktop software.

Simple shared mailboxes (older BlueMind versions up to 5.4) only have one mailbox. The parent folder of the mailbox corresponds to its inbox, under which there is, by default, a ‘Sent Messages’ folder and a ‘Trash’ folder.
Note: Other folders may be created, but they will need to be managed manually like any other folder; client software will not detect them as an outbox or a drafts folder, for example.

Creation and management

These two types of group mailboxes are created and managed by administrators, who can delegate the management of sharing rights to one or more users, known as “delegated administrators”.

For further information see :

Once the subscription has been activated (see above), the mailbox appears in the folder list:

  • Shared mailboxes (new version): in a separate tree structure, just like a user’s mailbox:
  • Simple shared mailboxes (older versions): in the Shared Folders tree:

For further information see Using the folder list

Depending on the level of access granted by the domain administrator or delegated administrator, the mailbox can then be used for:

  • Viewing messages and folders (with read-only access)

  • Organising and flagging emails and Moving, Flagging and Marking Conversations (with write permissions)

  • Create and Adding tags to emails and conversations (with write permissions)

    ℹ️ Restricted write permissions

    Only the account owner can change categories from the preferences. Delegates or users with write access to a shared mailbox can create or Adding tags messages from the mailbox, but cannot modify the text or color, or delete them.

    ⚠️ As shared mailboxes do not have an account, it is not possible to edit or delete tags from the preferences.

  • Creating and editing folders (with write permissions)

  • Sending emails using the shared mailbox’s e-mail address - For further information see Writing as a delegate

    ℹ️ Write permissions
    To be able to send emails, the user must be designated as a delegate. For more information on creating and managing delegations, see Manage delegations.

  • Edit shares (only available with administrative rights) – For further information see Sharing Mailboxes.

Using a group mailbox​

User groups, created by the administrator, bring together members of the organisation who share common needs or objectives (for example, a ‘service managers’ group to bring together all the service managers within a company). This makes it easier, in particular, to manage access rights shared by all members of a group.

Group administration

For further information For information on managing groups, see visit Editing Groups.

The administrator can assign a specific mailbox to the group, which functions by default as a company distribution list: emails sent to the group’s mailbox are received in the individual mailboxes of each group member.
Actions carried out on emails are individual. For example, if one of the users flags an email as “Important”, this will only apply to their own mailbox. Other users will not see it.

Moving emails

Note that group members can move emails received in individual mailboxes to the group mailbox.

The domain administrator can configure the group mailbox so that emails received are also stored in the mailbox folder. In this case, any user with the appropriate access rights can view and act on the emails. The actions taken are then visible to all members of the group.

Once the subscription has been activated, the group mailbox appears in the Group Folders section of the folder list (For further information see on the page Using the folder list).

Depending on the level of access granted by the domain administrator or the delegated administrator, the group mailbox can then be used in the same way as a user’s mailbox. The user can:

  • Viewing messages and folders (with read-only access)

    ℹ️ Received messages
    By default, only sent emails, the trash and emails filed in folders are visible. Received messages can only be viewed from the group mailbox if the administrator has ticked the relevant option.

    ℹ️ Automatic reply

    When an email is sent to the group's address, no automatic reply is sent to the sender, even if some group members have set up an out-of-office message. For an automatic reply to be sent to the sender, the email must be addressed to the email address of the member(s) who have set up an out-of-office message, not to the group's email address.

    For further information see the paragraphs Enabling auto-reply and Mail.

  • Organising and flagging emails and Moving, Flagging and Marking Conversations (with write permissions)

    ℹ️ Received messages
    By default, only actions relating to sent emails, the trash or emails filed in folders are possible and visible to all group members. Actions relating to received emails can only be carried out and viewed from the group mailbox if the administrator has ticked the relevant option.

  • Create and Adding tags to emails and conversations (with write permissions)

    ℹ️ Received messages
    By default, tags can only be assigned to, and are only visible to all group members, on sent emails, the trash or filed emails. Tags can be assigned to received emails and viewed from the group’s mailbox only if the administrator has ticked the relevant option.

    ℹ️ Greyed-out tags

    Shaded categories are categories that have been assigned to an email, but no longer exist in the user account preferences. This may be due to the deletion of the category or a change in its name. This is also the case when a user moves an email with personal categories from their mailbox to a group folder where the category does not exist.
    View emails in a tag shaded is still possible, but is no longer available at Multi-criteria search.

    For more information on editing and deleting tags, see Manage tags.

    ℹ️ Restricted write permissions

    Only the account owner can change categories from the preferences. Delegates or users with write access to a shared mailbox can create or Adding tags messages from the mailbox, but cannot modify the text or color, or delete them.

    ⚠️ As group mailboxes do not have an account, it is not possible to edit or delete tags from the preferences.

  • Creating and editing folders (with write permissions)

  • Send emails on behalf of the group (only available to users with full administrative rights)

  • Edit shares (only available with administrative rights) – For further information see Sharing Mailboxes.

Find out more​

Related BlueMind documentation pages

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