Create a New Mailbox

Topic Last Modified: 2009-10-12

To create a new user mailbox in the Web management interface, follow these easy steps:

Select My Organization > Users & Groups > Mailboxes > New.
Enter the following information:
- First name, Initial, Last name These fields aren't required but they're a good idea.
- * Display name This name appears in the address book, on the To: and From: lines in e-mail, and in the Mailbox list in the Web management interface. It's required.
- * Windows Live ID This consists of the user's alias on the left side of the @ symbol, and your domain name, like contoso.edu, on the right side. It becomes the user's Windows Live ID and e-mail address. Users use their Windows Live ID to access their mailboxes. The Windows Live ID is required.
  Note If you have accepted domains in your organization, the names of those domains appear in a drop-down list. If there's more than one domain name in this list, select one when you create a new mailbox. To learn more about how to use accepted domains, see Accepted Domains.
- * Password The minimum password length for a Windows Live ID account is six characters, but it's a good idea to use strong passwords that are at least eight characters long, and combine uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. For more information, see Password Guidelines for Outlook Live.
- * Confirm password Retype the password to verify that you typed it correctly. You have to confirm the password to save the new mailbox.
- Require password change on next logon This option helps ensure that only the user knows the password. Be sure to encourage people to use strong passwords.
- Mailbox plan A mailbox plan defines settings and permissions for the user. You can choose a mailbox plan for the user here if your organization has more than one mailbox plan. Some organizations have only one. For more information, see Mailbox Plans for Outlook Live.
When you're finished, click Save.

Import or evict existing Windows Live IDs when you create a new mailbox

When you create a new mailbox, you may receive an error message saying the Windows Live ID already exists. Why does this happen? If you used your domain name for e-mail addresses before you enrolled the domain in Outlook Live, it's likely that many of your users created Windows Live IDs for those e-mail addresses. This type of Windows Live ID is called an unmanaged Windows Live ID. You can't create a Windows Live ID that matches an existing unmanaged Windows Live ID. In this situation you have to decide whether to import or evict the unmanaged Windows Live ID. For more information, see Import or Evict Existing Windows Live IDs.

Import the Windows Live ID

When you import the Windows Live ID, the Windows Live ID and all of its existing settings are preserved. The existing Windows Live ID is associated with the new mailbox that you create. After you import a Windows Live ID into your Outlook Live organization, the Windows Live ID is subject to the security and privacy policies of the organization.

When should you import an unmanaged Windows Live ID? When you're certain of the identity of the user and you want to associate that user's Windows Live ID with a new Outlook Live mailbox in your organization.

Note When you import a Windows Live ID, the properties of the existing Windows Live ID, such as first name, last name, display name, and password aren't modified by the values you specify in the New Mailbox page. But you can change these after you create the mailbox. Here's how: Change Mailbox Properties and Reset a User's Password.

Evict the Windows Live ID

When you evict the Windows Live ID, the Windows Live ID and all of its existing settings, including the password, Xbox Live points, or Zune points are preserved. However, the Windows Live ID is placed in a forced rename state. The user can sign in using the Windows Live ID and its password, but they're immediately asked to rename the Windows Live ID. They must specify an e-mail address that's outside of your Outlook Live domain.

When should you evict an unmanaged Windows Live ID? Whenever you don't know who owns the Windows Live ID. The owner of the evicted Windows Live ID can still sign in to the Windows Live ID, but they must rename the Windows Live ID using an e-mail address that isn't associated with Outlook Live.

What happens when you evict the Windows Live ID from your domain? You can create a new Windows Live ID with the same name, but the password must be longer or shorter than the password of the evicted Windows Live ID.

Tip Use a password that is 16-characters in length (the maximum length) because it's unlikely the user made it this long. Then require the user to change it on the next logon. If you encounter errors when you evict the Windows Live ID, try again using a shorter password.

What's next?

After you create a mailbox, you can make changes and set additional properties by selecting the mailbox from the Mailbox list, and clicking Details. Here's how: Change Mailbox Properties.