How to Set Permissions for Calendar, Email and Tasks

You can configure your folders to provide varying levels of access to other users according to the types of tasks those users need to perform within the folders. For example, you might grant access to your Contacts folder to allow others to see and use your contacts list.

Granting permissions for folders is different from granting delegate access. Users with delegate access to your folders can send messages on your behalf, as explained in earlier sections. Users with access permissions for your folders do not have that ability. Use access permissions for your folders when you want to grant others certain levels of access to your folders but not the ability to send messages on your behalf.

Configuring Access Permissions

Several levels of permissions control what a user can and cannot do in your folders. The permissions include the following:

• Create Items. Users can post items to the folder.
• Read Items. Users can read items in the folder.
• Create Subfolders. Users can create additional folders inside the folder.
• Folder Owner. The owner has all permissions for the folder.
• Folder Contact. The folder contact receives automated messages from the folder such as replication conflict messages, requests from users for additional permissions, and other changes to the folder status.
• Folder Visible. Users can see the folder.
• Edit Items. Users can edit all items or only those items they own.
• Delete Items. Users can delete all items or only those items they own.

Outlook groups these permissions into several predefined levels as follows:

• Owner. The owner has all permissions and can edit and delete all items, including those he or she doesn't own.
• Publishing Editor. The Publishing Editor has all permissions and can edit and delete all items but does not own the folder.
• Editor. Users are granted all permissions except the ability to create subfolders or act as the folder's owner. Editors can edit and delete all items.
• Publishing Author. Users are granted all permissions except the ability to edit or delete items belonging to others and the ability to act as the folder's owner.
• Author. This level is the same as Publishing Author except Authors can't create subfolders.
• Nonediting Author. Users can create and read items and delete items they own, but they can't delete others' items or create subfolders.
• Reviewer. Users can view items but can't modify or delete items or create subfolders.
• Contributor. Users can create items but not view or modify existing ones.
• None. The folder is visible but users can't read, create, or modify any items in the folder.

Follow these steps to grant permissions for a specific folder:

1. Open Outlook, right-click (Mac users control-click) the folder whose permissions you want to set, and then choose Properties. (You can right-click the folder on the Outlook Bar or in the folders list.)
   
   
2. Click the Permissions tab
   
   
3. Click Default and then set the permissions you want users to have if they are not explicitly assigned permissions (if their names don't appear in the Name list.)
   
   
4. Click Add to add a user with explicit permissions. Select the name from the Add Users list, click Add, and then click OK.
   
   
5. In the Name list, select the user you just added and set permissions as you want.
   
   
6. Click OK to close the folder's dialog box.
   
   
7. In the Name list, select the user you just added and set permissions as you want.
   
   
8. Click OK to close the folder's dialog box.

Accessing Other Users' Folders

After you have been granted the necessary permissions for another user's folder, you can open the folder and perform actions according to your permissions. For example, if you have only read permission, you can read items but not add new ones. If you have been granted create permission, you can create items.

To open another user's folder, choose File > Open > Other User's Folder. Specify the user's name and the folder you want to open, and then click OK.