How to Perform a Mail Merge in Microsoft Word from a Shared Mailbox

Microsoft Word's mail merge feature only sends emails from Outlook's default email. By adding a shared mailbox to Outlook and setting it as the default email, the mail merge will send emails from the shared mailbox instead. To begin, please add your Shared Mailbox to Outlook. Once that is done, follow the steps to set the shared email as the default email when one needs to Send As.

Please note: these instructions will only work when using the old/classic version of the Outlook Desktop app. If you are currently using the New Outlook, you will first need to revert to the old version by toggling the "New Outlook" setting in the top right of the Outlook screen.

 

Adding Your Shared Mailbox

  1. From your Outlook Inbox, Navigate to the File Tab in the upper left hand corner of the application.
  2. Click the Account Settings button then select the Account Settings option.
  3. On the Email tab, click the New... button.
  4. Enter the shared email address into the box and click the Connect button.
  5. If you have the password for the shared mailbox, enter it and click Sign In. If not, click Sign-in with another account.
  6. Enter the address for your primary email account that has access to the shared account and click Next.
  7. Enter the password for your primary email account and click Sign In, then complete the PingID prompt.
  8. Once signed in, click Done. Now exit out of all open Outlook windows, and then reopen it. You should now see the shared mailbox in the left-hand navigation pane. Note that it may take a while to synchronize all emails for it.

 

Setting it as Default

  1. In Outlook, click File on the top toolbar.
  2. Now click Options in the bottom left corner.
  3. Click the Mail menu option and scroll to the Send Messages section.
  4. Check the box for Always use the default account when composing new messages, then click the OK button.
  5. Click File on the top toolbar again.
  6. Click the Account Settings button then select the Account Settings option.
  7. Select the shared email address from the list, and click Set as Default.
  8. Now when running mail merge, it should use your shared mailbox account instead while it is set as Default. If you need to revert to having your OU mailbox as the default, simply repeat the previous steps and set your personal OU account back to default. 

 

Alternate Method

  1. Exit Outlook and Teams.
  2. In the search bar type in Control Panel.
  3. Open Control Panel.
  4. Click on User Accounts.
  5. Click on Mail (Microsoft Outlook).
  6. Click on Show Profiles...
  7. Click Add.
  8. Type the name of the profile (shared email, for example) and click OK.
  9. A new window will pop up, hit Cancel.
  10. Click OK in the next window to create a profile with no mail account.
  11. Back in the Mail window, select Prompt for a profile to be used.
  12. Click Apply and OK.
  13. Open Outlook and click the down arrow next to the profile name to select a profile to use (choose the shared account profile).
  14. When you open Outlook, you will now be asked to sign into an account. Enter the address of the shared mailbox you want to send the mail merge from, then click Connect.
  15. On the next screen, press Sign in with another account.
  16. Enter your University Of Oklahoma email address, then click Next.
  17. Enter your password and click Sign in.
  18. The sign-in process will hang and an error will appear. Please minimize any windows you have open on the desktop until you see the error message below and press OK.
  19. Click Done. Outlook should open, and you should now have a profile with only the shared mailbox added.
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