Office 365 Groups

Overview/Introduction

Office 365 Groups enables project teams to:

• Share information with the group via a group email distribution list.
• Access those emails (or conversations, as Microsoft calls it) in one place, even if you deleted the email from your personal inbox.
• Post to and access a group calendar.
• Create, share, and collaborate on group files using Microsoft SharePoint.
• Take and store meeting notes using OneNote (also called Notebook).
• Delegate tasks and monitor progress using Planner.

There are several policies and guidelines to be aware of when creating and using Groups. Consult this document to learn more.

Details

How do I access an Office 365 Group?

1. Students should contact Tech Support if they would like to create an Office 365 Group. Faculty and staff can log in to Office 365 using their Ursinus credentials.
2. Select the grid of dots in the top left-hand corner and click on People (don't see it? click on All Apps).
3. Any Groups you belong to will show on the left-hand side under Groups. Alternatively, if you have Outlook 2016 on your computer, you will see your Groups on the left-hand side under your email folders.
4. Click on Discover (you may have to scroll to the bottom of the Groups list and click on More to find it) to see what Office 365 Groups have already been created.

How do I create an Office 365 Group?

1. Follow the instructions above, then click on the + icon next to Groups.
2. Choose Standard Group and give it a title (Choose a unique name that is reflective of the group’s purpose. You cannot change the email address once it’s created, though you can change the Group’s title). Once you create the Group, the system will automatically add a UCGroup_ prefix to it.
3. Once you give the group a title, set the group’s privacy to Private (unless you want anyone at Ursinus College to have access to that Group’s contents).
4. Check the box next to “Send copies of all groups messages…” (or “Subscribe new members…” if you are creating a Group in Outlook).
5. Click Create.
6. After you create a Group, you can add and remove members at any time by logging in to Office365, selecting the People icon, and clicking the Group name in the left-hand navigation menu.

How do I send emails to the Group?

1. Compose an email message in Outlook and in the To: Field, type in or find the Group’s email address (Remember: the group’s name will begin with UCGroup_). Then send the message.
2. Group members will receive the email in their personal Outlook. A copy will also be sent to the Group’s conversation section. If a group member deletes the email in their personal Outlook, it won’t affect the email in the Group’s conversation section.

How do I invite Group members to an appointment?

1. Create an appointment in your Outlook Calendar and click on Invite Attendees.
2. Type in the Group’s email address and send the appointment.
3. Alternatively, you can go to your Group (either online in Office 365 under People or in Outlook 2016) and select Calendar. Post the appointment there to the Group’s calendar (Note: Your personal calendar will show up in this section, but only you can see it).
4. Group members will receive the invite via email and it will place a tentative appointment on their personal Outlook calendar.

How do I share files with my Group?

1. Go to your Group by either clicking on the Group title in Outlook or logging in to Office 365, clicking on People, and then selecting your Group.
2. Select Files at the top.
3. If you are accessing your Group through Office 365 online, you will need to click on Browse Library in the right-hand corner to access the entire Group library.
4. You can create new files or upload a website link in SharePoint by clicking on New. You can click on the Upload button to upload multiple files and folders from your computer to your group’s SharePoint library. External users need to be part of an Office 365 Group to access the Group’s files in SharePoint. You cannot share individual files and folders from SharePoint with external users as you can in OneDrive.
5. Just like OneDrive, you can also edit shared documents at the same time in SharePoint. If two people are editing the same document in SharePoint online, each of you will see the changes in real time. You can also leave comments on the document. If one person is editing the document in their desktop application (e.g. Microsoft Word), that person needs to hit Save before the other individuals will see those changes.

How do I take notes that the entire Group can access?

1. Go to your Group by either clicking on the Group title in Outlook 2016 or logging in to Office 365, clicking on People, and then selecting your Group.
2. Select Notebook at the top. This will bring up your Group’s shared notebook in OneNote.
3. From now on, you can also open your Group Notebook by opening the OneNote program on your computer or going to OneNote Online and choosing the group.
4. Within OneNote, you can create multiple tabs/sections and multiple pages. You can also link or embed files, record audio and video, and keep to-do lists.

How do I assign group members tasks in Planner?

1. Go to https://tasks.office.com and sign in with your Ursinus credentials.
2. Choose your Group on the left-hand side under Recent Plans or scroll down to the very bottom and choose the Group under All Plans.
3. Click the + icon to add a task. Add a due date and assign it to someone, then click Add Task. Select the task again to add more details or mark the task as in progress or completed.

FAQ

1. Can I copy files from OneDrive to SharePoint and vice versa? Yes, you can!
   1. If you would like to copy a file you created in OneDrive to your Group’s SharePoint library, go to OneDrive, select the file, and click on Copy To (if you don’t see “Copy To” at the top of your screen, click on the three dots). Choose the Group you wish to copy it to.
   2. To copy a file from a Group’s SharePoint library to your personal OneDrive, go to your Group’s SharePoint, select the file, and click on Copy To (if you don’t see “Copy To” at the top of your screen, click on the three dots). Choose Your OneDrive.

See Also