Shared Mailbox: How to perform a mail merge in Microsoft Word from a shared mailbox

Overview

Microsoft Word's mail merge feature only sends emails from Outlook's default email. This article instructs how to add a shared mailbox to Outlook and set it as the default email so the mail merge will send emails from the shared mailbox instead.

Instructions to add a shared mailbox to Outlook can be found in this article.

Instructions

Change Default Email To Shared Mailbox

Step 1: In Outlook, click File along the top menu bar.

Microsoft Outlook window showing the top ribbon with the File tab selected, where the user begins changing account settings to set a shared mailbox as the default email.

Step 2: Inside the File menu, click Account Settings and then Account Settings again.

Outlook File menu showing the Account Settings button expanded, where the user selects Account Settings again to open email account configuration options

Step 3: On the Email tab, select your shared mailbox account, then click Set as Default. A black checkmark icon should appear next to that account. When confirmed, click Close at the bottom right.

Outlook Account Settings window on the Email tab showing a shared mailbox selected and Set as Default clicked, indicated by a black checkmark next to the account, before the user selects Close to confirm the shared mailbox as the default sending account.

Step 4: Proceed with the Mail Merge operation in Microsoft Word. When the Mail Merge is complete, follow the next steps to set your NetID@utk.edu email account back to the default.

Change Default Email Back to Your Personal Account

Step 1: In Outlook, click File along the top menu bar.

Microsoft Outlook window showing the top ribbon with the File tab selected, where the user starts the process to change the default email account back to their personal mailbox.

Step 2: Inside the File menu, click Account Settings and then Account Settings again.

Outlook File menu showing the Account Settings button expanded, where the user selects Account Settings again to open the email account list and change the default account back to their personal mailbox.

Step 3: In the Email tab, select your NetID@utk.edu account, then click Set as Default. A black checkmark icon should appear next to that account. When confirmed, click Close in the bottom right.

Outlook Account Settings window on the Email tab showing the NetID@utk.edu account selected and marked with a black checkmark after clicking Set as Default, where the user confirms their personal mailbox is restored as the default sending account before selecting Close.

 

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