Overcome Shared Office365 Account Challenges with Individual Outlook Views and Signatures

Discover how to personalize Outlook views and signatures for multiple users sharing one Office365 account. End the frustration and improve productivity today!

In a team environment, sharing an Office365 email account is common. However, this can lead to issues when individual preferences clash, particularly in Outlook views and signatures. This article will guide you through resolving these issues, allowing each user to have a personalized Outlook experience while still sharing the same account.

Problem: Shared Outlook Views and Signatures

When multiple users share an Office365 account, changes made by one user in Outlook can affect all users. This includes changes to views and signatures. This occurs because each user’s settings are saved to the account, rather than their individual devices.

Understanding the Root of the Problem

The issue arises when multiple users share the same Office365 account, and each user has their Outlook configured on their respective devices. When one user makes changes to their Outlook view, such as changing the layout or adding/removing columns, it syncs across all devices connected to the shared account. This means that all other users sharing the account will see the same changes, whether they want to or not. The same problem occurs with signatures. If one user updates their signature, it overwrites the signatures of all other users, forcing them to use the new signature.

Solution 1: Individual Outlook Views

Outlook view settings are local to the copy of Outlook. To maintain individual views, users should have the shared mailbox added automatically to their Outlooks via automapping. This can be achieved by granting each user Full Access rights to the shared mailbox via the Exchange Admin Center.

1. Select the File tab on the ribbon, then select Account Settings > Account Settings.
2. Select the Email tab. Make sure the correct account is highlighted, then choose Change.
3. Choose More Settings > Advanced > Add.
4. Type the shared email address.
5. Choose OK > OK. Choose Next > Finish > Close.

Solution 2: Taming Outlook Views

To create personalized views for each user, follow these steps:

1. In Outlook, click on ‘View’ in the menu ribbon.
2. Select ‘Change View’ and choose ‘Save Current View As a New View.’
3. Name the view and set ‘Who can use this view?’ to ‘This computer only.’
4. Click ‘OK’ to save the view.
5. Repeat these steps for each user, ensuring they select their personal view when accessing the shared account.

Solution 3: Creating Individual Outlook Profiles

One solution to this problem is to create individual Outlook profiles for each user. This can be done by following these steps:

1. Open Outlook and go to “File” in the top menu.
2. Click on “Account Settings” and select “Account Settings” again in the dropdown menu.
3. In the “Account Settings” window, click on “Email” in the left-hand menu.
4. Select the shared Office365 account and click “Change”.
5. In the “Change Account” window, select “Create a new outlook profile” and click “Next”.
6. Follow the prompts to create a new profile, including selecting a new profile name and choosing a folder to store the data.
7. Repeat the process for each user sharing the account.

By creating individual profiles, each user can have their own Outlook view and signature, independent of the others.

Solution 4: Using Outlook’s “Open these additional accounts” feature

Another solution is to use Outlook’s “Open these additional accounts” feature. This allows each user to have their own view and signature while still sharing the same Office365 account. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open Outlook and go to “File” in the top menu.
2. Click on “Account Settings” and select “Account Settings” again in the dropdown menu.
3. In the “Account Settings” window, click on “Email” in the left-hand menu.
4. Select the shared Office365 account and click “Open these additional accounts”.
5. In the “Open these additional accounts” window, click “Add” and enter the email address of another user sharing the account.
6. Repeat step 5 for each user sharing the account.

Once all users are added, each user can set up their own view and signature independently of the others.

Solution 5: Individual Signatures

To maintain individual signatures, a unified mail signature can be created by setting up transmission rules in the Exchange Admin Center. This allows all users in the organization to automatically generate mail signatures.

1. Open the EAC, find Mail Flow> Rules, click the “+” sign and choose to create a new rule.
2. Select the conditions. If you want all users in the organization to automatically generate mail signatures, select “Sender is inside the organization”.

Solution 6: Disable Signature Synchronization

To prevent signatures from syncing across devices, you’ll need to disable signature synchronization:

1. In Outlook, click on ‘File’ in the menu ribbon.
2. Select ‘Options’ and navigate to ‘Mail.’
3. Under ‘Create or modify signatures for messages,’ click ‘Signatures.’
4. Uncheck ‘Synchronize signatures’ and click ‘OK.’

Now, each user can create and use their own signature without affecting others.

Solution 7: Implement Cached Exchange Mode

Enable Cached Exchange Mode to store a local copy of mailbox data, reducing reliance on server settings.

In Outlook, go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings > Email tab > select the Exchange account > Change > check “Use Cached Exchange Mode.”

Conclusion

By implementing these solutions, teams can effectively share an Office365 account while maintaining individual Outlook views and signatures. This ensures a seamless and personalized user experience for each team member.