Public folders in Outlook give you a great place to collect, organize, and share information about particular topics or projects within an organization. 'Public' in this case means viewable by everyone within the organization, not the world at large. When you post a message to a public folder, you're not emailing it to anyone, so no one's Inbox gets cluttered. Instead, people can check the folder whenever they want to look for interesting posts.
Expand Public Folders > All Public Folders, the root folder, and your domain. Outlook 2011 for Mac. Open Outlook 2011 and log in to your email account. From the Tools menu, select Public Folders. Within the folder browser, select the root folder and your domain. Entourage 2008. Open Entourage and log in to your email account. In the navigation. Jan 28, 2016 Outlook must be set up to cache all of your Public Folder favorites. The Public Folders you want to search must be chosen as favorites. The search has to be made from within the Favorites section of the Public Folders tree in the Navigation pane. The following instructions work for both Outlook 2010 and Outlook 2013.
Important: You need a Microsoft Exchange Server and an Exchange email account to use public folders with Outlook. Most home and personal email accounts don't use Exchange.
Newer versionsOffice 2007
![Outlook Outlook](/uploads/1/2/6/2/126225516/261266550.jpg)
Step 1: Check with your Exchange administrator
Your organization might not allow public folders or might have policies on how to use them. Check with your administrator so you'll be on the right track. If your organization allows and supports the use of public folders but a top level public folder doesn’t exist yet, ask your Exchange administrator to create one.
When the top level folder is available, simply press Ctrl + 6 to view it and its content in the Outlook Folder pane.
Step 2: Create and name your folder
- Press Ctrl+6 to see Public Folders in the Folder Pane.Important: If you don't see a Public Folders section in the Folder Pane, see your local Exchange email administrator. They must set it up for you.
- Right-click Public Folders, and click New Folder.
- Name the folder, and click OK.
Tips:
- You can add a public folder to your Favorites folders. Then in Outlook Web App, you can perform certain functions within those same public folders, such as create, update or delete items. These actions can be done in Calendar, Contact, Mail and Post public folders.
- To add a public folder to your Favorites, right-click the folder, then select Add to Favorites....
- For information on how to use Favorite folders in Outlook Web App, see Working with message folders in Outlook Web App.
Step 3: Set folder permissions for users and groups
By default, Outlook grants permissions only to you, as the creator of the public folder, so you then need to specifically grant permissions to people so they can read and post content in the folder. Learn how to Change permissions for a public folder.
Get started using public folders
Here are some typical ways to use public folders in an organization:
Online discussions
Store each discussion topic in its own subfolder. As needed, set permissions for each subfolder (you may want to restrict access to folders that contain confidential or sensitive information). A topic can have its own moderator to control whether an item is posted, and to delete posts that don't meet organizational standards or violate policy.
Share calendars, contact lists, and task lists
Attach calendars, contacts, and tasks or task lists to posts to share information with people who have access to the folder. This type of centralized location facilitates communication and collaboration on team projects.
Differences between mail folders and public folders
- When you switch from an email folder to a public folder, the New Post button above the Folder Pane changes to New Email – because you typically post items instead of send email messages in a public folder.
- When you reply to a post in a public folder, there's no Reply All button. Anyone who views the contents of the folder can see your post.
More about Outlook folders
Create a public folder and specify permissions, views, forms, and rules
To create a public folder, you must have permission to create folders in an existing public folder. For information about how to obtain permission, see your administrator.
Step 1: Create the public folder
- On the File menu, point to New, and then click Folder.
- In the Name box, enter a name for the folder.
- In the Folder Contains box, click the type of folder you want to create.
- In the Select where to place the folder list, click the location for the folder.To quickly start a public folder with existing items:
- In the Folder List, in the Navigation Pane, click the folder you want to copy.
- On the File menu, point to Folder, and then click Copy Folder name.
- In the list, click the location you want the folder copied to.
Step 2: Set permission levels
- In the Folder List, in the Navigation Pane, right-click the public folder you want to share, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.You must have Owner permission for a public folder to set sharing permissions for the folder. You can set permissions for only one folder at a time.
- Click the Permissions tab.
- Click Add.
- In the Search box, enter the name of the person you want to grant sharing permissions to.
- Click Add, and then click OK.
- In the Name list, click the name of the person you just added.
- Under Permissions, choose the settings you want.Note: You can assign everyone who has access to the folder the same permissions by clicking Default in the Name list.
Step 3: Create views to organize and find information
Do one of the following:
- Create a view from scratch
- On the View menu, point to Current View, and then click Define Views.
- Click New.
- In the Name of new view box, type a name.
- In the Type of view box, choose the view type you want.
- To change where the view will be available, click an option under Can be used on.
- Click OK.
- To further customize the view, under Description, click a button, and then select the options you want to use.
- When you finish selecting options, click OK.
- To use the view immediately, click Apply View.
- Create a view based on a standard view
- Switch to the view you want to base the new view on.
- On the View menu, point to Current View, and then click Customize Current View.
- For each type of change you want to make, under Description, click a button, and then select the options you want.
- When you're finished making changes, close the Customize View dialog box.
- On the View menu, point to Current View, and then click Define Views.
- In the Views for folder folder name box, click Current view settings.
- Click Copy.
- In the Name of new view box, type a name.
- To change where the view will be available, click an option under Can be used on.Note: New views are added to the Current View submenu (on the View menu, point to Arrange By).
Step 4: Change the default view for the folder
To change the default view for a public folder, you must have Owner permission for the folder, and there must be at least one custom view defined for the folder that is visible to everyone.
- In the Folder List, in the Navigation Pane, right-click the public folder, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.
- Click the Administration tab.If the Administration tab does not appear, you don't have Owner permission.
- In the Initial view on folder list, click the view that you want to appear each time the folder is opened.The Normal view displays the default Microsoft Outlook view for the type of items in the folder.
Step 5: Specify the forms available for others to post information in the public folder
You must have Editor, Publishing Editor, or Owner permission to add forms to a private shared folder or to a public folder. If the folder is a public folder, and you have Owner permission, you can limit the forms that are available to other people who use the folder.
- In the Folder List, in the Navigation Pane, right-click the folder, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.
- Click the Forms tab.
- To add a form to the Forms associated with this folder list, click Manage, then indicate the form.
- Click Close.
- To limit the forms that you want to be available for other people who use the folder, click an option under Allow these forms in this folder.
Step 6: Create rules to process items posted in the folder
You must have Owner permission for a public folder to create or modify rules for it.
- In the Folder List, in the Navigation Pane, right-click the public folder you want to create or modify rules for, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.
- Click the Administration tab.
- Click Folder Assistant.
- Do either of the following:
- To create a rule, click Add Rule.
- To modify an existing rule, click a rule in the list, and then click Edit Rule.
- Enter the conditions that the item must meet for the action to occur. For more conditions, click Advanced.
- Under Perform these actions, select the options you want.Note: When you create a rule, it is active by default.
Step 7: Add information to the public folder
Do any of the following:
- Share a calendar
- Create a new folder, and choose Calendar items in the Folder contains list.
- In the Select where to place the folder list, click Calendar, and then click OK.
- Add meetings and events to the folder.
- Share a contact list
- Create a new folder, and choose Contact items in the Folder contains list.
- In the Select where to place the folder list, click Contacts, and then click OK.
- Add contacts to the folder.Note: The shared contact list appears in the Outlook Address Book/Contacts.
- Share a task list
- Create a new folder, and choose Task items in the Folder contains list.
- In the Select where to place the folder list, click Tasks, and then click OK.
- Add tasks to the folder.Note: While you can copy a task list to a public folder, you cannot copy a task request to a public folder or create a task request from a public folder.
- Post information in a public folder
- Open the public folder you want to post information in.
- To use the default form for posting information, click the File menu, point to New, and then click Post in This Folder.
- In the form, enter the information you want to post.
- Click Post.
Create a moderated public folder
You must have Owner permission for a public folder in order to designate it as a moderated folder.
- In the Folder List, in the Navigation Pane, right-click the public folder, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.
- On the Administration tab, click Moderated Folder.
- Select the Set folder up as a moderated folder check box.
- In the Forward new items to box, enter the name of the person who receives incoming messages or the name of an alternate public folder where the messages are stored for review. The moderator who does the reviewing is specified in step 6.
- Optional: To automatically send a response when a new message is received by the moderator, select an option under Reply to new items with.Choose one of the following:
- Standard response'Thank you for your submission. Please note that submissions to some folders or discussion groups are reviewed to determine whether they should be made publicly available. In these cases, there will be a delay before approved submissions can be viewed by others.'
- Custom responseClick Custom response, and then click Template. Type the text of your custom response.
Moderators will not receive either of these responses when they post messages. - To add or remove names of people who are moderators, click Add or Remove.
- Optional: To view the properties of a selected moderator, click Properties.
Public folders are designed for shared access and provide an easy and effective way to collect, organize, and share information with other people in your workgroup or organization. Public folders help organize content in a deep hierarchy that's easy to browse. Users will see the full hierarchy in Outlook, which makes it easy for them to browse for the content they're interested in.
Note
Public folders are available in the following Outlook clients: Outlook on the web (formerly known as Outlook Web App), Outlook 2007 or later, and Outlook for Mac.
Public folders can also be used as an archiving method for distribution groups. When you mail-enable a public folder and add it as a member of the distribution group, email sent to the group is automatically added to the public folder for later reference.
Public folders aren't designed for the following purposes:
- Data archiving. Users who have mailbox limits sometimes use public folders instead of mailboxes to archive data. This practice isn't recommended because it affects storage in public folders and undermines the goal of mailbox limits. Instead, we recommend that you use In-Place Archiving as your archiving solution.
- Document sharing and collaboration. Public folders don't provide versioning or other document management features, such as controlled check-in and check-out functionality and automatic notifications of content changes. Instead, we recommend that you use SharePoint Online as your documentation sharing solution.
For more information about public folders and other collaboration methods in Office 365 and Exchange Online, see Collaboration in Exchange Online.
For a list of frequently asked questions regarding public folders in Office 365 and Exchange Online, see FAQ: Public folders.
For more information about public folder quotas in Office 365 and Exchange Online, see the service description topics Sharing and Collaboration and Exchange Online Limits.
For a list of public folder management tasks, see Public folder procedures in Office 365 and Exchange Online.
For more information about the public folder limits in Office 365 and Exchange Online, see Exchange Online Limits.
Looking for the Exchange Server version of this topic? See Public Folders.
Public folder architecture
Public folder architecture uses specially designed mailboxes to store both the public folder hierarchy and the content. The main architectural components of public folders are the public folder mailboxes.
Public folder mailboxes
There are two types of public folder mailboxes: the primary hierarchy mailbox and secondary hierarchy mailboxes. Both types of mailboxes can contain content:
- Primary hierarchy mailbox: The primary hierarchy mailbox is the one writable copy of the public folder hierarchy. The public folder hierarchy is copied to all other public folder mailboxes, but these will be read-only copies.
- Secondary hierarchy mailboxes: Secondary hierarchy mailboxes contain public folder content as well and a read-only copy of the public folder hierarchy.
There are two ways you can manage public folder mailboxes:
- In the Exchange admin center (EAC), navigate to Public folders > Public folder mailboxes.
- In Exchange Online PowerShell, use the *-Mailbox set of cmdlets.
Public folder hierarchy
The public folder hierarchy contains the folders' properties and organizational information, including tree structure. Each public folder mailbox contains a copy of the public folder hierarchy. There's only one writeable copy of the hierarchy, which is in the primary public folder mailbox. For a specific folder, the hierarchy information is used to identify the following:
- Permissions on the folder
- The folder's position in the public folder tree, including its parent and child folders
Note
The hierarchy doesn't store information about email addresses for mail-enabled public folders. Email addresses are stored in the directory.
Hierarchy synchronization
The public folder hierarchy synchronization process uses Incremental Change Synchronization (ICS), which provides a mechanism to monitor and synchronize changes to an Exchange store hierarchy or content. The changes include creating, modifying, and deleting folders and messages. When users are connected to and using content mailboxes, synchronization occurs every 15 minutes. If no users are connected to content mailbox, synchronization will be triggered less often (every 24 hours).If a write operation such as a creating a folder is performed on the primary hierarchy, synchronization is triggered immediately (synchronously) to the content mailbox.
Important
Because there's only one writeable copy of the hierarchy, folder creation is proxied to the hierarchy mailbox by the content mailbox users are connected to.
For more information, see Update the public folder hierarchy.
Public folder content
Public folder content can include email messages, posts, documents, and eForms. The content is stored in the public folder mailbox but isn't replicated across multiple public folders mailboxes. All users access the same public folder mailbox for the same set of content. Although a full text search of public folder content is available, public folder content isn't searchable across public folders and the content isn't indexed by Exchange Search.
Considerations
Although there are many advantages to using public folders in Office 365 and Exchange Online, there are some things to consider before implementing them in your organization:
- Outlook on the web is supported, but with limitations. You can add and remove favorite public folders and perform item-level operations such as creating, editing, deleting posts, and replying to posts. However, you can't create or delete public folders from Outlook on the web.
- Although a full text search of public folder content is available, public folder content isn't searchable across public folders and the content isn't indexed by Exchange Search.
- You must use Exchange Online supported Outlook client or later to access public folders in Office 365 and Exchange Online.
Migrating public folders to Office 365 and Exchange Online
When you migrate your public folders, you'll use a process called batch public folder migration. Batch public folder migration (or simply batch migration) creates a mailbox migration request for each public folder mailbox that will exist in Exchange Online. Using multiple requests means the migration will move along much faster because it's able to make more efficient use of available network bandwidth. It's also more reliable because it reduces the possibility of a single failure or bottleneck affecting the entire migration.
While batch migrations need to be started using the New-MigrationBatch cmdlet in Exchange Online PowerShell, the progress and completion of the migration can be viewed and managed in the EAC. Because the New-MigrationBatch cmdlet initiates a mailbox migration request for each public folder mailbox, you can view the status of these requests using the mailbox migration page. You can get to the mailbox migration page, and create migration reports that can be emailed to you, by opening the EAC in Exchange Online and navigating to Mailbox > Migration.
To use batch migration to migrate your public folders to Exchange Online, your legacy Exchange server needs to meet the requirements in the following list. If it does, and you're ready to start, check out Use batch migration to migrate legacy public folders to Office 365 and Exchange Online.
Exchange supports moving your public folders to Office 365 and Exchange Online from the following legacy versions of Exchange Server:
- Exchange Server 2010 SP3 RU8 or later
See Use batch migration to migrate Exchange Server public folders to Exchange Online to migrate your Exchange Server public folders.
We recommend that you use batch migration instead of Outlook's PST export feature to migrate public folders to Office 365 and Exchange Online. Office 365 public folder mailbox growth is managed using an auto-split feature that splits the public folder mailbox when it exceeds size quotas. Auto-split can't handle the sudden growth of public folder mailboxes when you use PST export to migrate your public folders and you might have to wait for up to two weeks for auto-split to move the data from the primary mailbox. We provide batch migration instructions in Use batch migration to migrate legacy public folders to Office 365 and Exchange Online and Use batch migration to migrate Exchange Server public folders to Exchange Online. However, if you've elected to do a PST migration and have run into an issue where the primary mailbox is full, you have two options for recovering the PST migration:
- Wait for the auto-split to move the data from the primary mailbox. This may take up to two weeks. However, all the public folders in a completely filled public folder mailbox won't be able to receive new content until the auto-split completes.
- Create a public folder mailbox and then use the New-PublicFolder cmdlet with the Mailbox parameter to create the remaining public folders in the secondary public folder mailbox. This example creates a new public folder named PF201 in the secondary public folder mailbox.