Using a shared mailbox in Exchange environment

In a browser

Method 1

  1. You can type the address directly in the address bar in the format https://mail.metropolia.fi/owa/osoite. To access e.g the mailbox called tietohallinto, type https://mail.metropolia.fi/owa/tietohallinto@metropolia.fi.
  2. Log in using your user ID.

Method 2

  1. Login to the web access service with your user ID (https://mail.metropolia.fi).
  2. In the upper right corner, click on the head icon.
  3. Select "Open another mailbox".
  4. Enter the name of the mailbox and click OK.

Using Outlook 2016

A shared mailbox opens in Outlook alongside with your own mailbox. To open a shared mailbox you must have a personal e-mail account in Outlook and you must be logged in.

  1. Open File > Info > Account Settings > Account Settings.
  2. Select your Exchange account from the list and click “Change…”
  3. Select "More Settings..."
  4. When you see the message "The operation you selected will not complete until you quit and restart Microsoft Outlook.", click OK.
  5. Open the "Advanced" tab.
  6. In "Open these additional mailboxes" click on "Add..."
  7. Type in the name of the shared mailbox.
  8. Close the windows that you opened and click on the “Ok” and “Next” buttons.
  9. The shared folder will show on the folder listing.

In Finnish Outlook:

  1. Select Tiedosto > Tiedot > Tiliasetukset > Tiliasetukset.
  2. Select your Exchange account from the menu and click on "Muuta..."
  3. Select "Lisää asetuksia..."
  4. Clik ok, for "Valitsemasi toiminto ei pääty, ennen kuin suljet Microsoft Outlookin ja käynnistät sen uudelleen.".
  5. Open the "Lisäasetukset" tab.
  6. In "Avaa nämä lisäpostilaatikot", click on "Lisää.."
  7. Type in the name of the shared mailbox.
  8. Close the windows that you opened and click on the “Ok” and “Seuraava” buttons.
  9. The shared folder will show on the folder listing.

Office Outlook 2019 and Outlook 365

Primary method 1

1. Click on File:


2. Click on Add Account:


3. In the Email Address field, enter the email address of the shared mailbox:


4. Click on More choises but do not enter your password yet:


5. Click on Use a different account but do not enter your password yet:


6. Enter your username and password (the same username with which you log in OMA - do not add the "@metropoli.fi" suffix).

7. Click on OK:


8. Click on Finish:


Alternative method 2 (does not always work)

  1. Click on File > Account Settings > Account settings...
  2. In the Email tab, double-click on your Exchange account.
  3. Click on More Settings...
  4. Select the Advanced tab and click on Add...
  5. Enter the email account name and click on OK.
  6. Click on Apply and OK.
  7. Close Outlook, and start it again. The shared account will show on the folder listing.

Using IMAP

You can browse a shared folder with IMAP by logging in with your username in the form “pk/username/shared mailbox” and your password. For example the user “jukkatv” can browse the shared mailbox “tietohallinto” by logging in as “pk/jukkatv/tietohallinto”.

Adding an automatic reply to a shared mailbox

1. First log in to a shared mailbox in a browser as explained In a browser guide above.

2. In the upper right corner, click on Settings and from there automatic replies.

3. Define automatic reply for a shared mailbox.

Outlook and sender name

In a new message, your personal email address is by default shown as the sender address even if you select a shared mailbox.

You can change the sender address in the new message window. To show the sender address field, click on Options > Show Fields > From. Now you can select the sender address from the drop-down menu. If the name of the shared mailbox is now shown, you can add it by clicking on Other E-mail Address. You can send email from addresses that you have access rights to.

Shared e-mail address policy

In Metropolia shared e-mail addresses are created for the following purposes:

Official organizational addresses

The university and its units must have organizational e-mail addresses for managing official business matters and services (e.g. kirjaamo@metropolia.fi or helpdesk@metropolia.fi). E-mail concerning the university’s services should be sent primarily to the university’s organizational e-mail addresses instead of individual employee’s e-mail addresses. E-mail sent to organizational e-mail addresses can be accessed by more than one employee only.

Other administrative e-mail addresses

In addition to official organizational e-mail addresses other organizational addresses can be created as well. Such addresses include addresses used for event registration and an employee groups’ internal communication. The addresses are created only on demand by the employees.

Mailing lists

Metropolia staff can create mailing lists to be used by projects in their communication. Persons external to Metropolia can be included in a mailing list but only on person’s permission. Mailing lists are maintained on a separate software.

Other e-mail addresses

E-mail addresses are created for student clubs and student projects as needed.

Using shared e-mail addresses

Shared e-mail addresses can be created in different ways:

E-mail is always accessed using one's own user account. No separate user accounts are created for shared mailboxes.

Requests for having shared e-mail addresses created should be made to Helpdesk. Please, provide the desired address, purpose of use, the name of the person who will answer to the e-mail sent to the address, and the names of the persons who will be given read access to the e-mail.

An e-mail address cannot contain special characters, spaces or Scandinavian characters and it must be reflective of the purpose of use of the e-mail address. E.g. seminar2009@metropolia.fi is a bad address because it does not identify the seminar in question. A better address would be youthworkseminar@metropolia.fi.

Shared mailbox with read access for one or more persons

E-mail sent to the address can be redirected to a shared mailbox. A shared mailbox is used always by logging in first to one’s own mail account and then opening the shared mailbox.

Redirection to one or more persons mailboxes

An e-mail address can also be implemented in such a way that mail sent to it is redirected directly to one or more persons mailboxes. In such a case all users will receive their own copy of the e-mail and they will not be able to see whether other users have read it or replied to it. Such redirection is not suitable for handling organizational e-mail addresses.

Mailing list server

Mailing lists are maintained using the Sympa application’s browser interface at http://lists.metropolia.fi/sympa. Mailing list e-mail addresses are of the format list@metropolia.fi.


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