This article guides you in adding and managing delegate permissions (or full access) to your emails and calendar in Outlook.

 

What is a delegate and what they can do on your behalf

You can choose a delegate to do the following actions on your behalf:

• receive and respond to email messages
• receive and respond to meeting requests
• read, create, or change items in your Microsoft Exchange Server mailbox. To perform these tasks, read the Microsoft article See Manage another person's mail and calendar items.

By default, delegates have full access to your Calendar and Tasks folders, and they can also respond to meeting requests on your behalf. You can determine the level of access that the delegate has to your folders whenever you want.

Delegate permission levels

Reviewer: the delegate with this permission can read items in your folders.

Author: the delegate with this permission can read, create, change and delete items that they have created in your Task or Calendar folder. They can also send the item on your behalf.

Editor: the delegate with this permission can do everything that an Author has permission to do. Additionally, they can change and delete items you created.

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Adding and managing delegates in Outlook web application (OWA)

Add a delegate

1. Sign in to Outlook with your university email and password

2. Open the label "Folders" and right-click on:

• a specific folder, or
• the main mail folder ("Inbox") to give access to any folder other than the inbox
  
  

3. Select the option Sharing and permissions

4.  The permissions dialogue box will appear

5. At the top of the dialog box you will find the list of people other than you who will have or currently have permissions to view the folder. As default setting you will see this field populated with "Default" and "Anonymous". 

6. To give someone permissions please select the plus sign (+) at the top left of the dialogue box

7. Enter the name or the address of the person you want to give permissions

8. Select Add 

9. Now select the permissions level from the drop-down menu. At this stage you can customize the default settings

10 Select the button OK to confirm your choice

 

Remove a delegate

1. Sign in to Outlook with your university email and password

2. Right-click on a specific folder or the main mail folder ("Inbox") to give access to any folder other than the inbox

3. Select the option Sharing and permissions

4.  The permissions dialogue box will appear

5. At the top of the dialog box you will find the list of people other than you who will have or currently have permissions to view the folder. Select the person you want to remove from the list

6. Select the bin icon at the top of the dialogue box

 

7. Select the button OK to confirm your choice

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Adding and managing delegates in Outlook desktop application for Windows

The source of the following text is the Windows article “Allow someone else to manage your mail and calendar”. The following instructions are for Outlook desktop client users.

By default, a delegate receives:

• Send on Behalf permissions
• permission to read only your meeting requests and responses.

The delegate cannot read other messages in your Inbox.

Add a delegate

1. Open Outlook

2. Select the File tab.

3. Select Account Settings, and then select Delegate Access

4. Select Add

5. Type the name of the person whom you want to choose as your delegate

6. Select Add

7. Select OK

8. In the Delegate Permissions dialogue box, you can both:

• accept the default permission settings
• or select custom access levels for Exchange folders.
  
  Default settings
  By default, the delegate is granted Editor permission to your Calendar folder – that means that they can read, create, and change items. When the delegate responds to a meeting on your behalf, it is added to your Calendar folder.
  
  
  
  The default permission settings are “Delegate receives copies of meeting-related messages sent to me”. Meeting requests and responses will go directly to the delegate's Inbox.
  
  If you want your delegate to work only with meeting requests and responses, select the setting None from the drop-down menu. 
  
  

9. You can notify your delegate of the changed permissions by sending them a message. To do that, select the check box “Automatically send a message to delegate summarizing these permissions”.

10. If you want, you can check the box “Delegate can see my private items” and let your delegate access your:

1. Mail
2. Contacts
3. Calendar
4. Tasks
5. Notes,
6. Journal folders.

Please note: there is no way to grant access to private items in only specified folders.

11. Select OK.
 
Messages sent with Send on Behalf permissions include both the delegate's and your names next to From. When a message is sent with Send As permissions, only your name appears.

Your delegate can add your Exchange mailbox to their Outlook profile. Read the Windows article Manage another person's mail and calendar items to find guidance.

 

Change permissions for a delegate

1. Open Outlook
2. Select the File tab.
3. Select Account Settings
4. Select Delegate Access
5. Select the name of the delegate for whom you want to change permissions, and then select Permissions. If you want to remove all Delegate Access permissions, select Remove and skip the rest of these steps.
6. Change the permissions for any Outlook folder that the delegate has access to.
7. To let your delegate receive a notification about the changed permissions, select the check box “Automatically send a message to delegate summarizing these permissions check box”.

 

Change delegate access to private items

Hiding personal information

You can hide personal information (such as appointments, meetings, tasks, and contacts) from your delegate by:

1. Opening each personal item
2. Go to the Tags group
3. Select Private

Allowing delete access to personal information and items

You can grant access to your private items by following steps:

1. Open Outlook
2. Select the File tab.
3. Select Account Settings
4. Select Delegate Access
5. Select the name of the delegate for whom you want to change access to your private appointments, and then select Permissions.
6. Select the check box "Delegate can see my private items"

 

Give "Folder visible permissions" to your delegate

You can allow your delegate to add your mailbox folder to their mailbox. By doing this, they will able to automatically open your mailbox every time you open Outlook.

Instructions:

1. Right-click the root folder of your mailbox

2. Select Folder Permissions

3. Select the name of the delegate

4. Select one the Permission level from the drop-down menu. Be sure that the checkbox "Folder visible" (under the section "Other") is ticked

5. Select the button Apply

6. Select the button OK

 

Remove a delegate

1. Open Outlook

2. Select the File tab

3. Select Account Settings

4. Select Delegate Access

5. Select the person whom you want to remove

6. Select the button Remove

7. Select OK to confirm your choice

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Adding and managing delegates in Outlook desktop application for Apple macOS

The source of the following text is the Windows article Add and manage delegates in Outlook for Mac.

Add a delegate

1. Go to the Tools menu and select Accounts
2. Select the account that you want to add a delegate to, then:
   1. select Advanced
   2. select Delegates
3. Under Delegates who can act on my behalf, click Add (+)
4. Type the name of the person that you want to add as a delegate
5. Select the delegate's name in the search results list, and then click Add
6. Select the permission level that you want to set for the delegate.

 

Manage delegate permissions for many items

1. Go to the Tools menu and select Accounts
2. Select the account that you want to add a delegate to, then
   1. select Advanced
   2. select Delegates
3. Under Delegates who can act on my behalf, select the delegate.
4. Select the Action button
5. Select Set Permissions, and then make the changes.

 

Manage delegate permissions for a single folder

1. Select the folder you want to change from the navigation pane.
2. On the Organize tab:
   1. In Calendar, select Calendar Permissions.
   2. In Mail or People, select Folder Permissions.
3. In the Permission Level list, choose the access level that you want. 

You can customize the user's permission levels by selecting or clearing the check boxes under Read, Write, Delete, and Other.

 

Remove a delegate

1. Go to the Tools menu and select Accounts
2. Select the account that you want to add a delegate to, then
   1. select Advanced
   2. select Delegates
3. Under Delegates who can act on my behalf, select the delegate.
4. Select Delete (–)

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Add another person's mailbox to your list of folders

The source of the following text is the Windows article “Manage another person's mail and calendar items”. 

You can allow your delegate to add your mailbox folder to their mailbox. By doing this, they will be able to automatically open your mailbox every time you open Outlook.

Instructions for Outlook desktop application for Windows

Step 1 - Grant Folder visible permission

1. Select the File tab

2. Select Account Settings

3. From the drop-down menu, select the option Account Settings

4. On the Email tab in the list, select your profile

5. Select the tab Change

6. Select the button More Settings

7. Select the tab Advanced tab

8. Select the button Add close to the box "Open these additional mailboxes"

9. Enter the mailbox name of the person who previously added you as their delegate

Step 2 - Open another person's folder

1. Select the File tab

2. Select the tab Open & Export

3. Select the button Other User's Folder

4. Enter the name of the person who granted you Delegate Access, or select the button Name to look for them from the list

5. In the Folder type list, select the folder that you want to open

The folder will appear under the sidebar. Please note that Outlook might need a while before showing all the sub-folders.

 

Instructions for Outlook desktop application for Apple macOS

1. From the menu bar, select Outlook

2. Select Settings...

3. Select the icon Accounts

4. Select the button Delegation and Sharing

5. Select the tab Shared with Me

6. Select the plus button (+)

7. Enter the name or the email of the person who added you as their delegate

8. Select the button Add

9. Select the button Done

10. Close the dialogue box

The folder will appear under the sidebar.

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Related content

Allow someone else to manage your mail and calendar (external link)

Add and manage delegates in Outlook for Mac (external link)

See Manage another person's mail and calendar items (external link)

Send email on behalf of someone else (external link)