FAQ - Email
GDPR
Automatic deletion of emails
You can set up a number of functions that will automatically delete emails – e.g. those over a month old. This can help you comply with GDPR.
Backing up emails
How far back does email backup go?
Traditionally there’s no backup. Individual emails can be restored for 180 days. It’s not possible to restore the folder structure.
How far back can deleted emails be restored?
Deleted emails remain in ‘Restore deleted emails’ for 30 days. From there you can restore them yourself. After 30 days emails can only be restored by AU IT. For up to 180 days after deletion emails can be restored from ‘Restore deleted emails’.
In Outlook select the ‘Folder’ tab and the ‘Restore deleted emails’ function. You can find the emails to be restored here.
How to use ‘Restore deleted emails’
.pst files
Outlook on PCs supports use of .pst files, whereby emails are stored locally in a file on your PC. This type of file can be used if you need to export emails to be archived and deleted from Exchange.
.pst files can also be used as an active archive, which is used as an extra visible folder in Outlook, whereby emails are simply placed in a file on your PC. This is not recommended, as there will be a high risk of data loss because we cannot ensure backup of this file or emails in the file.
The file can technically be placed on a network drive, where there is a backup, but this is not supported by Microsoft. .pst files must not be confused with the copy of the email box that Outlook typically creates on the PC (.ost file), which is a clean copy of the email box on the server.
If you need to transfer items to archives (e.g. so they aren’t synced with the PC, in order to limit the size of the .ost file), we offer archives in Exchange Online.
Contact your local IT Support if you need an archive in Exchange Online.
Email programs and access
Which email program can I use?
PC with Windows: you must use Microsoft Office Outlook 2016 as your email program. Older versions of Outlook are not supported.
Mac: We recommend Outlook 2016 for Mac. Older versions of Outlook are not supported.
Webmail is accessible from all platforms (https://webmail.au.dk)
Other platforms: If there are no email programs that support ActiveSync or MAPI over HTTP, thenhttps://webmail.au.dk is the only option.
I can’t get Outlook to work. What should I do?
Contact your local IT Support, and they will help you as quickly as possible. In the meantime you can use webmail, which you will find here: https://webmail.au.dk.
We use Unix workstations with control systems such as Fedora, Ubuntu and RedHat, which don’t feature Outlook. What should we do?
If there are no email programs that support ActiveSync or MAPI over HTTP, then https://webmail.au.dk is the only option.
Calendar
Why can’t Mac users open other people’s calendars without approval?
Unfortunately AU IT can’t change the selected default settings for calendar rights. If we were to grant Mac users rights to ‘open’ another user’s calendars we would also be granting rights for everyone to see the contents of invitations to meetings. We don’t want that.
Please note, however, that Mac users still have access to all the information to which everyone else has access if they use the planning assistant.
Email address
Am I only allowed one sender address?
Yes, Exchange can handle one sender address per email account, and a person can only have one email account.
All emails are sent using the allocated email address, but you can receive emails at a number of email aliases linked to your devices. To set this up please contact AU IT Support. Please note that as an Outlook user you can set up and select from various automatic signatures, which are inserted at the bottom of the email.
The domain name in my email address is incorrect. Can I change my email address?
You can indeed change your email address, but only the local part (i.e. before the @). You can change your username and thus your email address if you logon to your staff profile on staff.au.dk at the top right. Choose profile settings in the menu.
If you wish to change the domain name (i.e. the part after the @) in your email address, you should contact your line manager. You can’t change it yourself. It is your line manager who decides on your primary domain name, on which the email address is based.
Where can I see my secondary email address(es)?
- Open Outlook.
- Click on the Address Index on the home page.
- Enter your name in the search field.
- Double-click on your name.
- Select the Email Addresses tab.
Your primary email address is written here in upper case, and your secondary email address(es) is/are in lower case.
Attachments to emails
Why are there some types of file I can’t attach when sending emails?
There are some types of file that cannot be received as attachments in Outlook, e.g. .exe files, as they may infect your computer with a virus. This is to protect your computer.
How can I send large files?
Are Zip files scanned, and how does antivirus software react to damaged or encrypted language files?
Zip files are scanned. Damaged compressed files will be removed, whilst encrypted compressed files are allowed to pass through the filter.
Antivirus software will block all executable files.
I receive emails containing winmail.dat files instead of the files (e.g. Excel) that are actually attached. Why?
This is an old and familiar problem in the Microsoft world.
It’s not the Exchange configuration that’s the problem, but rather the sender’s Outlook settings.
Outlook is set up to send files in RTF format, which Exchange converts into winmail.dat files. The recipient’s Exchange can unpack the file, but no-one else can.
The solution is simple: the sender must go into Outlook and select Settings. When choosing email settings there are three options: HTML (recommended), RTF and Plain Text. Select HTML.
Profile image in Outlook
When you add a profile photo in Outlook, this image will appear at the top of your emails. This has the advantage that recipients of your emails can see who you are, as well as people being generally more inclined to be civil if they can see the other person’s face.
Other
How do I report an email as spam?
- Find information here on how to report an email as spam
How do I use a digital signature/encrypted emails?
Outlook supports the use of digital signatures to sign and/or encrypt emails. Some employees use this together with their digital employee signatures to encrypt emails containing sensitive or confidential information. See more here.
In order to send an encrypted email you have to know the recipient’s digital signature. The easiest way is to get the recipient to send a digitally signed email.