2025 Updated: New Outlook Public Folders

Hi Katherine,

Seeing your response I thought I would add that the advise to add public folders as favourites is not a working solution as I've found it does not work at all for my clients. Microsoft should look to resolve the public folders in Outlook new or look to replace it with a new, improved and working solution before forcing users to use Outlook New. I believe they are looking to force to Outlook New sometime this year and we've seen some efforts by the software to move users away from Outlook Classic. This is quite strange seeing that so many of our clients do not like Outlook New and the fact that some key features are not included.

We are having the same issue, we have a shared contacts public folder and when you go to add it to the new outlook it says it's been added to people but never appears. there seems to be no way to share contacts in general, we looked into a generic account that we could use and then share with our employees individually but that also doesn't seem to be an option in the new outlook. large orgs need a central contacts database beyond the global address list.

Dear Jin Lee3

Thanks for choosing Microsoft Community.

Based on your description, I know your requirement. For this, I understand your frustration with the ongoing issues related to Public Folders in the new Outlook. Here are some updates and potential solutions:

1. Current Status of Public Folders: As of now, there hasn't been an official announcement from Microsoft about deprecating Public Folders. However, accessing them in the new Outlook requires adding them to Favorites. This workaround might not be ideal for large hierarchies. Here is the reference: Access public folders in Outlook for Windows - Outlook.
2. Alternative Solutions:
   • Shared Mailboxes: These can serve as a replacement for Public Folders, offering similar functionality for shared access to emails, calendars, and contacts.
   • Microsoft Teams: For collaboration and document sharing, Teams can be a robust alternative, integrating well with other Microsoft 365 services.

Here is the reference: Looking for an Alternative to Outlook’s Public Folders?

So sorry to bring you inconvenience for this. Hope this can help. I will continue to help you based on the information you provide. Your understanding and co-operation are highly appreciated.

Thanks for your precious time. Have a nice day.

Sincerely

Katherine

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