Groups in Office 365 let you choose a set of people that you wish to collaborate with and easily set up a collection of resources for those people to share such as:

• a shared Outlook inbox
• a shared calendar
• a document library for collaborating on files

When creating a group you’ll need to decide if you want it to be a private group or a public group. Content in a public group can be seen by anybody in your organization, and anybody in your organization is able to join the group. Content in a private group can only be seen by the members of the group and people who want to join a private group have to be approved by a group owner.

Microsoft support article on 365 Groups

Logging in to Groups

Microsoft Groups is available through our College Office 365 account.

1. Log in to the College of Wooster Office 365 via a web browser by either

• wooster.edu
• click Email link at bottom of Wooster.edu -> email.wooster.edu

2. Click the ‘waffle’ and select Outlook from the list of apps

Create a Group from Outlook web

1. In the navigation pane, next to Groups, select the +
2. Select Standard group. Click Next.
3. Enter the group information.
   • Group name
   • Description
   • Privacy: Public vs. Private
   • Checkbox “Send all group conversations and events to members’ inboxes”
4. Click Create.

Add members

Invite members

1. In the group header, select > Invite others.
2. Do one of the following:

• Select Copyto paste the link to join the group into an email that you’ve already started composing.
• Select Emailto start a new mail with a Submit request link embedded within it. The recipient will have to click that link to send the join request to the group owner.

Add members

1. In the group header, select the member count
2. Under All, click the Add members button
3. Enter a name in the search box and click to select the user.
4. Click Save.

Promote a member to owner (or demote)

Features in Outlook Groups

Shared Inbox – For email conversations between your members

• All members of the group will be able to read the new message you’ve posted.
• Any members who follow the group will get a copy of the message in their personal inbox.
• This inbox has an email address nameofgroup@live.wooster.edu and can be set to accept messages from people outside the group and even outside your organization, much like a traditional distribution list.

1. Under Conversations, click the New button.
2. Compose your email message as you normally would.

Tip: You can also send an email to a group from your personal inbox. Just add the group’s alias in the To line in your email.

Shared Calendar – For scheduling events related to the group

Access the calendar by going to your group in Outlook (on the left navigation pane)

1. Select Calendar from the ribbon or the calendar button at the bottom of the left navigation pane
2. See your personal calendar plus the shared calendars of any groups you’re a member of.
3. You can click to select the Group’s calendar you want to see and view them side by side.

• All meetings that you create on the group calendar are delivered to both the group mailbox and the personal inboxes of all group members.
• Every member of the group can edit or cancel meetings – No extra permissions required.

Schedule a meeting on a group calendar in Outlook

Add a meeting to a group calendar

1. Double click on the calendar to select the time at which you’ll schedule the meeting.
2. Enter information such as meeting title, location, and end time in the details window.
3. Be sure that Save to calendar has the Group selected.
4. Click the Send button.

Edit event or see who’s attending your group meeting

At the Calendar:

• Click once on an event to open a preview including RSVP numbers.
• Double click to open the event. Attendees will be listed in the right frame.

Group Files – A central place for the group to store and share files

Access the files library by going to your group in Outlook (on the left navigation pane)

1. Click Fileson the Ribbon
2. See the list of shared files
3. Click New to create new files
4. Click Upload to upload files from your computer
5. Click to the left of a file to select it and reveal View, Email, Download options
6. Click a file name to open it

SharePoint Document Library – Advanced file functionality

Your group files are technically in an automatically created “modern” SharePoint site.

To leverage more functionality with your files, click Browse library in the ribbon.

• Under New, create folders.
• Click to filter to search for documents. Click the i to show document details.
• Click Group conversations in the upper right to return to Outlook.
• Click to the left of a file to select it and reveal more options.
• Tip: Share group files (attach a shared file to an email message in Group conversation)

Shared OneNote Notebook – For gathering ideas, research, and information

• The first time you open the group’s shared notebook it will open in the browser in OneNote Online. You can make edits there, or
• If you have OneNote 2016 and you’d prefer to use that just click Edit in OneNotefrom the Ribbon. Once you’ve opened it in OneNote 2016 the notebook will sync to your list of open notebooks in OneNote 2016 and you can access it directly from within OneNote without having to go to the group first.

SharePoint Team Site – A central repository for information, links and content relating to your group

Planner – For assigning and managing project tasks among your group members