How do I create an Office 365 Distribution Group?

Overview

Office 365 Distribution Groups are a component of MSU Denver's Microsoft Office 365 environment. They are managed through the Outlook Web App, accessed at email.msudenver.edu.

Please see the instructions provided below for information about creating and using Office 365 Distribution Groups.

Before you begin...

Log in to the Outlook Web App at email.msudenver.edu.

Instructions

1. Select the gear-shaped icon near your portrait/initials in the top-right corner of the window.
   

2. In the menu that opens, look in the leftmost column and select the General option.

3. In the column to the right, select the Distribution groups option.

4. In the rightmost section, select the "visit this portal" link. Note: The next menu may take several seconds to load fully.
   
   

5. The next page will have two columns, "Distribution groups I belong to" on the left and "Distribution groups I own" on the right. To begin creating a distribution group, look under the "Distribution groups I own" column and select the plus sign. Note: The next window may take several seconds to load fully.
   
   

6. Once the New Distribution Group window has opened, you can begin setting up the distribution group. Note: These settings can all be changed later.

   • Display Name: The distribution group's name as it appears in the address book. This will be the name people see when they receive an email from this distribution group.

   • Alias: The first part of the distribution group's email address, before the '@' symbol. Once you've entered a name here, the Email address field will automatically copy the text.

   • Email address: This should automatically copy over from the Alias field.

     • Important: Make sure you change the email address domain to 'msudenver.edu'.

   • Notes: A description of the distribution group. This will be viewable from the public address book.

   • Owners: Anyone marked as an owner of a distribution group can add or remove members, designate approved senders, and assign moderators. By default, the distribution group's creator is an owner.

   • Members: The list of people who will receive emails sent to this distribution group. Note: If you don't want to receive the emails sent to this distribution group, uncheck the 'Add group owners as members' box.

   • Owner Approval: ITS strongly encourages not setting any distribution groups to "Open". Please select either "Closed" or "Owner approval", as appropriate for your needs.

7. Once you have finished filling out all required and desired fields, click the Save button at the bottom of the page.
    

Result

Once you return to the two-column list of distribution groups, you should see your newly-created distribution group in the right-hand column.