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Anybody likes a time-saving trick or two—we all have a few in our handbag. For instance, you might need a contract group or distribution list to send the same e-mail to multiple recipients. Instead of entering all those e-mail addresses manually, you enter only the name of the group or list. A list is older technology but is essentially the same as a contact group in newer versions. You use both to send email to multiple people.

There's another group though, Microsoft 365 Groups, and they're about collaborating. Earlier nosotros go to the real how-to, nosotros'll discuss the differences briefly.

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I'm using Microsoft 365 on a Windows 10 64-bit system, but you can utilise older versions. There'south no demonstration file; you won't need one. This article doesn't apply to Mail.

Terminology

If you've been around a long time, you know that a distribution listing is used to send or forward the same message to a grouping of recipients. The group members might be all of the people on your project team, all managers, or all of the people in your book club. Microsoft 365 totally supports lists, but calls the contact groups. Microsoft 365 Groups are dissimilar, and I don't desire you to confuse them. The terms list and contact grouping are used interchangeably. Microsoft 365 Groups are nearly collaborating with members of your own organization. While we're on the subject, there's no divergence between Microsoft 365 Groups and Office 365 Groups. The former is but a new proper noun for the product.

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Outlook'south collaboration features are now the driving forcefulness backside new features, and that'due south where lists and groups part ways. ; Microsoft 365 Groups requite you a lot of sharing functionality and options: A shared mailbox and agenda and collaboration options with SharePoint library, OneNote, Teams, Yammer, Planner, and PowerBI.

Furthermore, you can ascertain a 365 Group as public or individual: Anyone can see the conversations in a public group, and anyone can join that group. Private groups are limited to those in the group, and anyone joining the group needs blessing from the grouping possessor. You can't join a distribution listing or contact group. You might never need whatever of the new collaborative options, but you should know they exist, but they've noting to exercise with distributive lists or contact groups.

Now that we have that out of the way, let's add a new contact group then nosotros tin transport the aforementioned email to multiple people.

How to create a contract group

Contract groups are handy whether you're creating i for your family unit or a project at work. Let'due south create a grouping that we'll name Softball Squad, equally follows:

  1. Click Contacts in the Navigation bar.
  2. Once you're in the Contacts view (window), click New Contact Group in the New group on the Dwelling tab.
  3. In the resulting dialog, enter Softball Team in the Proper name control.
  4. To add members to the group, click Add together Members in the Members group and and so choose the right source, Outlook Contacts, Address Book, or a new e-mail contact (Figure A). The first two will populate the bottom pane with members in the source. Employ email contact when the person isn't in an existing source. You can add the email to the grouping and the source at the same time, or you tin can choose non to add the email accost to the source. We won't use this option in our instance.
  5. Double-click the members yous want to add to the Softball Team grouping. Doing so will add them to the Members command at the lesser.
  6. When you've added all the members, click OK.
  7. Click Relieve & Close.

Figure A

Take yous always wondered about the different sources (mentioned in Step four)? Nearly of us have at least ii: Contacts and Accost Book. If you're operating lone, there's really no difference, unless you implement one on purpose. When an organization is on Exchange, the Address Book (usually) contains in-firm contact information and Contacts is personal to yous, normally containing data about contacts outside of your system.

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At this point, we have a new contact grouping named Softball Team. Allow'south put it to use.

How to use the contract group

As we discussed in the first office of this article, you lot tin can use a group for a lot of tasks, simply we're going to ship an email—that's what groups have in common with distribution lists. To practise so, click the Post icon in the Navigation bar to render to the Mail view. In the New grouping on the Home tab, click New Electronic mail. In the resulting message window, enter due south, o, f—as many characters every bit necessary to force the AutoComplete listing to display Softball Team, as shown in Figure B. In my case, I only had to blazon s! (AutoComplete won't work if yous add members through the email contact selection.) Enter a subject, a message, and click Ship. Outlook sends the bulletin to anybody in the group.

Figure B

Now, allow'south suppose there'south a person or ii in that group who shouldn't become the message. What can you exercise?

Earlier sending the email, right-click the grouping proper name in the To control and choose Edit Contact. Doing so will open the member list. Select the fellow member(due south) and printing Delete. And so, close the dialog and send the electronic mail.

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Now, go back to the Contacts view and check the Softball Squad grouping. Oops… you lot deleted that member from the group! Editing the contact is a done deal—yous can't remove members that way unless y'all intend to also delete them from the group, so exist careful!

Adding or deleting members from an existing list is similarly easy. Only open up the Softball Team contact in the Contacts view, select names, press Delete, and save.

Alarm

When using a contact group created in a local source (Contacts most likely), the group volition e'er expand when sending the email. That means all recipients will see anybody in the group. Groups created in Substitution Server don't behave this way, but you'll need administrative permission to create a group in Exchange.

There'due south a quick and easy fix for this though. In the To command, enter your own address, or the address you're sending the group mail from. Then, enter the contract group'south name in the Bcc control. If the control isn't visible, check it on the View tab. Recipients in the Bcc command volition all receive the same email, simply they will not see each other'south addresses.