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Office 365 Email

...because email is a must.

Let's face it, the world is dependent on email for communication.  William & Mary is no exception.  We have relied on Microsoft as a email service since 2010.  In 2017, we transitioned our onsite Exchange servers to Microsoft Office 365, which is a Cloud service. In 2022, we transitioned all students from Gmail to Outlook. Here's what you need to get started with Microsoft Office 365 Email.  

Outlook LOgin

Duo Two-Factor Authentication

Get Set-Up
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Client Installation

Outlook desktop clients are available for both PC's and Macs. 

  • PCs on the W&M leasing program - An Outlook client will be installed for you before you receive the computer.  
  • Macs or PCs outside of the leasing program - Contact the Technology Support Center for Outlook installation.
Online Access to Outlook

You can access your W&M email online several ways.  Here are some options:

Mobile Settings

Want to set-up email on your phone?  Here's the settings you need:

  • Description of Mailbox: Exchange 
  • Server Name: outlook.office365.com
  • Username: Enter your W&M Username
  • Password: Enter your password for your W&M Username

Mobile Apps: Many of the Office 365 services have mobile apps available - including email!  Find them in your iPhone App Store or Google Play store. Microsoft recommends all Apple devices to use Outlook for iOS.  Sign in with your W&M email address and you will be directed to the W&M authentication site.

Minimum Requirements:

  • Apple Devices  -  iOS 11.3.1 or above 
  • Android Devices - 8.0 or above
SMTP Settings
  • Server name: smtp.office365.com
  • Port number: 587
  • Encryption method: Start TLS
Duo Two-Factor Authentication

Duo Two-Factor Authentication is required for Office 365. Details about Duo & Office 365

Self-Directed Training

Training for Outlook covers both email and Calendar.

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Outlook Quick Start Guide

View or download the Outlook Quick Start Guide (pdf).

Microsoft Support Quick Start

Microsoft's support site offers an overview of Outlook features with step-by-step instructions on their Outlook Quick Start webpage.

Outlook Learning Path

Walk through an in-depth training course at your own pace with the Outlook Learning Path (pdf).  Or pick-and-choose topics that you are interested in by clicking on the lesson options.

Microsoft Video Training 

Select videos related to specific Outlook topics on the Outlook Video Training webpage.

LinkedIn Learning Video Training Course


A good starter course is a 48-minute course called Office 365: Learn Outlook, which covers both email and calendar. There are versions for both PC's and Macs.  To find it:

For Faculty/Staff:

  • Sign into Cornerstone at cornerstone.wm.edu
  • Select Browse for Training
  • In the Search bar, search for Email/Outlook
  • Select the appropriate training class

Student:

How To's
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Set an Auto Reply
  1. Log in to outlook.wm.edu
  2. Select the gear icon (Settings) in the top right section of the page
  3. Select View all Outlook settings (bottom right in Settings box)
  4. Select Automatic replies
  5. Toggle the Turn on Automatic replies button
  6. Fill out the form
  7. Click Save when finished (bottom right of form)
Set an Auto Reply for a Departmental Mailbox
  1. Log in to outlook.wm.edu using your own credentials
  2. Click on your name in the top-right corner of the window and a drop-down menu will appear
  3. Select Open Another Mailbox and a small window will open
  4. Type in the name of the departmental mailbox and click Open
  5. The departmental mailbox will open in a new window
  6. Select the gear icon (Settings) in the top right section of the page
  7. Select View all Outlook settings (bottom right in Settings box)
  8. Select Automatic replies
  9. Toggle the Turn on Automatic replies button
  10. Fill out the form
  11. Click Save when finished (bottom right of form)
Turn Off the "Focused" Inbox

Office 365 automatically filters mail into a "Focused" mailbox or "Other".  You can turn off that feature by following the Turn Off Focused Inbox instructions.

Check Your Junk Mail Folder

Junk Email FolderIt is important to check your Junk folder periodically.  Sometimes legitimate emails will get routed to this folder.  The folder is located in the left-hand navigation menu below the Inbox.  

More information available on Microsoft's Overview of the Junk Mail Filter support site.

Block a Sender (Mark as Junk)

Emails delivered to your Inbox, can also be routed Junk mail folder.  Also, the sender of the emails can be blocked if you no longer wish to receive emails from that account.


To do this in the web version of Outlook:block-senderreportasphish

  1. Select the email you wish to move to Junk
  2. In the gray bar at the top of the screen, you can either click Junk to send it directly to the Junk mail folder
  3. Or select the Junk dropdown menu for additional options 
  4. Select Unsubscribe to block the sender
    1. To Manage Blocked senders and Safe \ Approved Senders: Settings>View All Outlook Settings>Mail>Junk email

For Mac clients:

  1. Right click on the email you wish to move to Junk
  2. Hover over Report or Block
  3. Select either Report Junk or Block Sender
mark-email-as-junk

To do this in the Outlook PC Desktop Client Application

  1. Select the email you would like to mark as junk
  2. Choose Junk from the drop-down
  3. Select Block Sender
    1. To manage your junk settings in the Outlook Desktop Client Application:
      1. Choose Junk from the drop down menu
      2. Select Junk E-mail Options
      3. Choose your preferred Junk E-mail Option.
       
Approve a Sender (Mark as Not Junk)

Occasionally you may find an email in your Junk mail folder that isn't junk.  You can move it to your Inbox, by marking it as Not Junk.  From that point on, all messages sent from that address will be delivered to your Inbox.

Mark as Not JunkTo do this in the web version of Outlook:

  1. Right click on the message
  2. Select Mark as not junk
    1. To Manage Blocked senders and Safe \ Approved Senders: Settings>View All Outlook Settings>Mail>Junk email 

For the Mac clients:

  1. Right click on the message
  2. Hover over Block
  3. Select Never Block Sender

To do this in the Outlook PC Desktop Client Application

  1. Select the email you would like to Mark as not junkmark-email-as-junk
  2. Choose Junk from the drop-down
  3. Select either Never Block Sender
Request an Alias

By default, the W&M email addresses assigned to faculty and staff use the convention of 'W&M Username' @wm.edu. Faculty and staff may request an alias for the default email address. For instance, if the default email address is txjefferson@wm.edu, an alias such as tom.jefferson@wm.edu or jefferson@wm.edu may be possible.

If the requested alias is available, the W&M Username (txjefferson) would not change; however, email sent to tom.jefferson@wm.edu or jefferson@wm.edu would be directed to the mailbox. To request an email address alias, contact [[support]].

Recovering an Item
  1. Log in to outlook.wm.edu
  2. Click on the Deleted Items folder
  3. Click on Recover Deleted Items and a new window will appear
  4. In the new window, select checkbox for items to recover
  5. Click Recover
  6. Click OK

The recovered item will be restored to its original folder.  If the item was in the Deleted Items folder, it will be restored to the Deleted Items folder.

Access a Departmental Mailbox

To set-up access to a departmental mailbox, please contact the Technology Support Center (TSC) and submit a request. 

Once the permissions are granted and take effect, the departmental mailbox shows up automatically in Outlook for PCs.  With Outlook for Macs, the account must be manually added as a delegate.

 FAQs
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What versions of the Outlook client will work with Office 365?
  • 2016 and newer (PC and Mac)
Will POP be supported?

POP will not be supported at W&M with Office 365.

Are there any mailbox size limits in Office 365?

There is a 50 GB size limit to regular mailboxes in Office 365.  

There is unlimited space in an Archive mailbox.  Contact the Technology Support Center to set-up an Archive mailbox.

Is there a limit to the amount of email messages that I can send per day (24-hour period)?
  • Students are able to send email messages to up to 500 recipients per day. If they reach the limit at any point during a 24-hour period, they will not be able to send another message until 24 hours later.
  • Faculty and staff are able to send email messages to up to 1,000 recipients per day. If they reach the limit at any point during a 24-hour period, they will not be able to send another message until 24 hours later. 
What options for email clients do I have on a Mac with Office 365?

It depends on the version of your Mac's operating system.  If you have: 

  • Mac OS 10.12 or newer - you can use OWA, Outlook from Office 2016, or MacMail
  • Mac OS 10.11 or older - you can use OWA or Outlook from Office 2016
If I have a new Mac, how do I get Microsoft Office 365 on my computer?

To have the Office 365 clients installed on your computer, contact Technology Support Center. In the meantime, you can go to office.wm.edu and use the web version of Office 365.

For attachments, are there any blocked file types?

In an effort to protect the William & Mary community from email borne viruses, Information Technology is removing self-executing attachments from emails sent to or from William & Mary email addresses. Attachments created in Microsoft Office will not be affected by these new restrictions.

If you need to send a file of a prohibited file type as an attachment, we suggest you use Box (box.wm.edu) instead.  If you have any questions or need help with sending an attachment, please contact the Technology Support Center at 757-221-4357 (HELP) or [[support]].

The following extensions are currently being blocked:
.ace, .ade, .adp, .ani, .app, .bas, .bat, .cab, .chm, .cmd, .com, .cpl, .crt, .exe, .hlp, .hta, .inf, .ins, .iso, .isp, .jar, .jnlp, .js, .jse, .lnk, .mde, .msc, .msi, .msp, .mst, .pcd, .pif, .ps1, .ps2, .reg, .scr, .url, .vbe, .vbs, .wsf, .wsh

We acknowledge Microsoft best practices of executable attachments.

What is the gray box at the top of my emails letting me know I don't often get email from a certain address?

The first contact safety tip in Microsoft Outlook guards against phishing, which is the number one threat to cybersecurity at the university. This setting flags if you are getting a message from an address for the first time or if you haven’t gotten a message from it in a long time, which helps to guard against potential impersonation attacks. Please note that we cannot turn off this security feature for individual accounts. Our goal is to protect the campus from phishing and spoofing attacks, and this requires the participation of our entire community.

(For Faculty) How do I email from Banner 9 Self-Service Class Roster without an email client?

Banner 9 Self-Service Class Roster requires the use of an email client. Many of our faculty may be using O365 on the web but do not want to install an email client.  The solution to this is to either install an email client or use a service handler in Google Chrome. Important: this only works in Google Chrome (on PC and Mac).

Here's how:

  1. Login to O365 webmail at webmail.wm.edu. 
  2. On the right hand side of the URL bar in your browser window, notice the overlapping diamond icon.
  3. Click this icon, then select "Allow". Once activated, the icon disappears from the bar. 
  4. Access Class Roster, select students to email, click email icon and email window opens. 


Questions?
Contact the Technology Support Center (TSC)
757-221-4357 (HELP) | [[support]] | Jones 201, Monday - Friday, 8:00 am - 5:00 pm