This blog provides a walkthrough of various features in Microsoft Outlook and the Exchange Admin Center, focusing on tasks such as setting up a shared mailbox, creating mail flow rules, using message trace, and assigning users to specific roles or groups.

Prerequisites

To follow along with the steps, you'll need a Microsoft 365 Developer Sandbox Subscription, which you can get here.

Assigning Users to a Help Desk Role Group

• In the Exchange Admin Center, go to Roles -> Admin Roles (this will display a list of available role groups).
• Select the Help Desk role group.
• Click on Assigned, then search for the user you want to add.
• Click Add, and the user will be successfully added to the Help Desk group.

Checking Mailbox Size Restrictions

• Navigate to Recipients -> Mailboxes.
• Select a user (for example, Adele).
• Click on Mailbox and choose Manage message size restrictions.

Note: You can adjust the maximum size for both sent and received messages. However, keep in mind that setting these sizes too high could negatively impact server performance.

Creating a Shared Mailbox for Delegation

• Go to Recipients -> Mailboxes.
• Click on Add a shared mailbox.
• Enter a display name and email address for the shared mailbox.
• Click Create, and the new shared mailbox will appear in the Mailboxes list.

Adding a Shared Mailbox/Folder in Outlook

• In the Mailboxes list, select the shared mailbox (e.g., NewSharedMailbox).
• Click on Delegation, then Edit under Read and Manage to grant user access to the mailbox.

Note: If you want the user to send emails as the shared mailbox, add them under the Save as delegation section.

• In Outlook, right-click on Folders, select Add Shared Folder or Mailbox, enter the name or email address of the shared mailbox or user, and click Add.

Note: It may take some time for the shared mailbox to appear in Outlook.

Using Message Trace to Find a Message and Review Results

• Go to Mail Flow -> Message Trace.
• Click on Start a Trace.
• Add the user under Recipients and set the time range for the search (e.g., show emails from the last 2 days).
• Set the Report Type to Summary Report and click Search. The messages within the specified time range will be displayed.

Note: If you add a user under Senders, the trace will show the emails sent by that user to others. You can click on any message to check its delivery status.

Creating a Mail Flow Rule with Specific Conditions

• Go to Mail Flow -> Rules.
• Click on Add a Rule to start configuring your mail flow rule.
• Define the rule conditions, such as the rule name, applicable recipients, activation time, and exceptions.
• Once the rule is created, it will be in a disabled state by default.

Note: After creating the rule (e.g., Blocking Viruses), you can click on the rule, navigate to the Enable or Disable Rule tab, and activate it for the relevant users.