Instructions for creating a secondary Outlook profile connected only to a Shared Mailbox, to allow use with Mail Merge

Mail Merge using Shared Mailbox

Situation: You want to do a Mail Merge using Microsoft Word

Problem: You want the e-mails to be sent From a Shared Mailbox address, not your personal address. But a Word Mail Merge automatically uses the primary account in Outlook.

Solution: Set up a second Outlook Profile that only contains the Shared Mailbox address, and use that when performing the Mail Merge:

1. Exit Outlook
2. Open the Control Panel
3. Change the “View By:” drop-down (upper right) to ‘Large icons’ or ‘Small icons’ (if not already)
4. Select ‘Mail’ in Control Panel
5. Select ‘Show Profiles…’
6. Select ‘Add…’
7. Enter a Profile Name that indicates the Shared Mailbox you intend to use, and click OK
8. A new 'Add Account' window will appear. Cancel this window.
9. When prompted to create a profile with no email accounts, click OK. This should take you back to the 'Mail' window.
10. Configure the ‘When starting Microsoft Outlook, use this profile’ setting. You have two options:
    1. Select ‘Prompt for a profile to be used’. If you do this, Outlook will ask you which profile to use each time you start Outlook.
    2. Select 'Always use this profile', and then in the drop-down select the new profile that you just created. You'll need to switch this back to your main profile after you finish the mail merge.
11. Select OK to close the 'Mail' window
12. Open Outlook. Depending on what you selected, it will either prompt you to select a profile, or automatically try to load the new profile you created.
    1. If it prompts, pick the new profile in the drop-down.
13. You will then be prompted with an Outlook window, containing an email address and a Connect button
14. The email address will probably be auto-filled with your personal email address. Erase that, and enter the shared mailbox address, then click Connect.
15. A new window will appear, prompting you to enter the password for the shared mailbox. Instead, click the 'Sign in with another account' link below the password prompt
16. At the new Sign in prompt, enter your personal account username@unbc.ca, then Next, enter your password, and Sign In
17. You may receive a prompt about Microsoft saving data to a new location, click OK
18. Eventually it should show a window with the message "Account successfully added", and below that the shared mailbox address
19. Un-check "Set up Outlook Mobile on my phone, too" (if checked)
20. Click Done
21. Outlook should now load into a profile that just has the shared mailbox.
22. Before doing the mail merge, allow Outlook to synchronize the account. Wait for text in the bottom right to say "All folders are up to date"
23. Once the mailbox is synced, you can perform the mail merge.
24. After performing the mail merge, again wait for the account to sync (the message "All folders are up to date") before exiting Outlook and switching back to your main profile.

Mailbox Login Credentials

If at any time you are prompted for a password, make sure it is showing your personal username, and not the shared mailbox email address. If it's showing the shared mailbox email address, select the More choices or Sign in with another account option, and enter your own personal username and password.

Alternate Method - Add Second Account, Set as Default for Composing Messages

If the steps described above are not working, there is a different option you can try. At a high level, the steps are:

1. Manually add the shared mailbox to your main Profile, as a second Account
2. Set the Shared Mailbox as the Default account
3. Enable the Outlook Mail option to "Always use the default account when composing new messages"

Full instructions, with pictures, are available at https://support.uidaho.edu/TDClient/40/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=1909