Google Groups: Collaborative Inbox

You can set up a Google Group as a collaborative inbox to receive mail, and members can respond using a common address on behalf of the group. In addition, incoming messages can be assigned to group members or members can “take” messages that are assigned using either categories or tags (e.g., finance, billing, etc.).

After your Google Group has been created, to configure a collaborative group:

1. Log into Google Apps at UD (googleapps.udel.edu).
    
2. Select My Groups.
    
3. Select the Group you wish to manage.
    
4. Select Manage.
    
5. Navigate to Information/Advanced/Reset Group.
   1. From the Group Type drop-down menu, select Collaborative Inbox.
   2. Under Participants
      • Choose Owners of the Group/Managers of the group from the pull down menu. This allows owners/managers more control over participation in the group.
   3. Place a check in the box "Force reset of permissions and roles".
   4. Select Reset this Group.
   5. Confirm the change.
       
6. If you want to change permissions, navigate to Permissions/Basic.
   1. For Who can post, select Anyone.
   2. For Who can join, select Only invited Users.
   3. Save changes.
       
7. If you want to change posting permissions, navigate to Permissions/Posting permissions.
   1. For Who can post messages, select Public.
   2. For Post as the Group, select All Members of the Group.
   3.  
8. Add members directly to your Google Group
   1. Select Members.
   2. Choose Direct Add Members.

Note: Some settings are preconfigured when you change your group type, so be sure to check the different categories you manage whenever you make changes to your group.

To respond to or post a message that appears to come from the Google Group, you must use the drop-down arrow next to BY and choose Post on behalf of group name.

For more information on the types of Google Groups, see Select a Group Type in Google's Support pages.