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Email messages that you send from a shared mailbox aren't saved in the Sent Items folder in Outlook for Mac

  • Article
  • Applies to:
    Exchange Server 2013 Enterprise, Exchange Server 2013 Standard Edition, Exchange Server 2010 Enterprise, Exchange Server 2010 Standard, Exchange Server 2007, Outlook 2016 for Mac, Outlook for Microsoft 365 for Mac

Original KB number:   2928846

Symptoms

Consider the following scenario:

  • You have a primary mailbox that has Full Access and Send As permissions to a shared mailbox.

  • You configure Microsoft Outlook 2016 for Mac or Outlook for Mac 2011 to open a primary mailbox that is hosted on Microsoft Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2010, or Exchange Server 2007.

  • In the same Outlook profile or identity, you open a secondary shared mailbox that is hosted on Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2010, or Exchange Server 2007.

  • You use the credentials of the primary mailbox to access the shared mailbox.

  • You send email messages from the shared mailbox.

In this scenario, email messages that you send from the shared mailbox are not saved in the Sent Items folder of the shared mailbox. Instead, the messages are saved in the Drafts folder of the primary mailbox on the Exchange Server. Additionally, the messages in the primary mailbox's Drafts folder are not synchronized to the Outlook for Mac client, and they are visible only when you use Outlook Web Access or a Windows Outlook client.

Cause

This issue occurs because the Exchange Web Services GetMessageParentFolderIdAndSession function incorrectly uses the SendAndSaveCopy method.

Resolution

This issue was resolved in Cumulative Update 5 for Exchange Server 2013.

After you install this cumulative update, the messages will be saved in the Sent Items folder of the Shared mailbox.

Workarounds for Exchange Server 2010 and 2007

If you run Exchange Server 2010 or Exchange Server 2007, the following workarounds are applicable.

Workaround 1

  1. In Outlook for Mac, click Tools > Accounts.

    Note

    If you have the shared account added here, select it and then click the minus sign (-) to remove it. Click Delete to confirm.

  2. Click Advanced, and then click Delegates.

  3. In the Open these additional mailboxes section, click the plus sign (+).

    Note

    You don't have to be a delegate for the shared account in order to add it here, you only need permissions to access this mailbox.

  4. Enter the alias of the Shared Account, and then click Find. Select the correct account, and then click OK.

  5. Click OK, and then close the Accounts window.

  6. Allow for time for the shared account to appear in the folder list in Outlook for Mac 2011. Now, when an email is sent from the Shared mailbox, the message will be saved in the Sent Items folder of the Primary mailbox.

If you prefer the messages to be saved in both the Primary and Shared mailbox Sent Items folders and you are running Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 2 (SP2) RU4 or a later version, you can run one of the following Windows PowerShell commands depending on whether you use the Send As or Send On Behalf permission.

  • Send As

    Set-MailboxSentItemsConfiguration <SharedAccountAlias> -SendAsItemsCopiedTo SenderAndFrom

  • Send On Behalf

    Set-MailboxSentItemsConfiguration <SharedAccountAlias> -SendOnBehalfOfItemsCopiedTo SenderAndFrom

Workaround 2

  1. In Outlook for Mac, click Tools > Accounts.
  2. Select the shared account, and then click the minus sign (-) to remove it. Click Delete to confirm.
  3. Close the Accounts window.
  4. Click File, click Open, and then click Other User's Folder.
  5. Enter the name of the shared mailbox, select Inbox as the folder type, and then click OK.

Note

When you use this method, only the Inbox folder of the shared mailbox is available. If you must have access to other folders, use the workaround 1.