Mail Lists in Outlook
There have been lots of questions about how mail lists work in Outlook. This week's tip is designed to explain the different types of mail lists available to UW Colleges and UW Extension staff and faculty. There are differences for the two institutions, but remember we are still in the process of migrating UW Extension staff and faculty to Outlook. Once that migration is complete, both institutions will have similar options when it comes to mail lists.
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There are basically three types of mail lists available to UW Extension and two available to UW Colleges. The table below shows the list types and availability. An explanation of how each type of list is created and when to use it will follow.
| UW Colleges | UW Extension | |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Distribution List | Yes | Yes |
| Outlook Distribution List | Yes | Coming Soon |
| Mailman Lists | Coming Soon | Yes |
Personal Distribution List
This is a list that an individual user would create in their Outlook Contacts Folder. It is used for ad-hoc groups for which the faculty/staff member needs a mail list. This list resides in the user's own Contacts Folder, but can be shared with others. Often this list is made up of users on our Outlook Exchange server, but can also include email addresses for users not on our server. To learn how to create a Personal Distribution List, check out the August 25, 2006 Computing Tip of the Week at http://www.uwex.uwc.edu/outlook/tips/?file=2006-08-25. This tip also covers how to share a Personal Distribution List with the folks who are on the list. These lists are more for personal use and would not provide a large number of individuals in the organization any benefit if they were part of the Global Address Book as Outlook Distribution Lists are. Personal Distribution Lists are NOT a good choice for any institutional group where members of the group should be able to send to the list.
Outlook Distribution List
These lists are made up of individuals from the UW Colleges and/or UW Extension almost exclusively. There are a few exceptions where a couple outside users are added to one of these lists. In the UW Colleges, lists are identified by a descriptive prefix to the list name, are Bold and have an icon identifying the item as a list in the Global Address Book (GAL). Here is an view of the GAL showing lists that include faculty or staff from across the institution. A department list would have DEPT- as the prefix.
Currently there are not any lists of this type in the GAL for UW Extension. Once all Extension faculty and staff are migrated to Outlook, lists will be created for divisions, departments, workgroups, etc. Each UWEX division and unit will have a designated individual responsible for maintaining that unit's maillists. Remember these lists are made up of users on our Exchange Server. Outlook Distribution Lists are the best choice for most institutional mail lists.
Mailman Lists (UW Extension only, but will be available to UW Colleges)
For lists that are made up primarily of individuals who are not UW Extension faculty or staff, a Mailman List works best. They are easy to set up. Go to: http://lists.uwex.edu/. There are links on the page that comes up for information about these lists, creating new lists, and once the list is created, a link for users to administer their list.
These lists are not accessible via the GAL. To see the public lists available through Mailman, users can go to: https://lists.uwex.edu/mailman/listinfo where there is a link to and description of the many Mailman lists.
In summary, there are different options for how to communicate with groups of email recipients. Personal Distribution Lists, Outlook Distribution Lists or Mailman Lists are part of the solution. The key is determining the appropriate list. If a list you need is not in the GAL, you can contact your unit IT manager to see if it should be in the GAL. If the answer is no, then it should be created as a Personal Distribution List. AND UW Extension users should be patient. The lists in the GAL for Extension will not be created until most users are migrated over to Outlook. That process should be done in the next few weeks.