Megha Sharma | Updated On - 29 Dec 2020 |

Read time 6 min

Groups, Distribution Lists, Shared Mailboxes, etc. are some advanced features provided by Microsoft in the Office 365 platform. Each of these amenities allows multiple users to collaborate and communicate easily. Talking about the Distribution List, let us know about this and its features.

Distribution Lists – Feature

• Utilizes a single email address to send emails to all members of the group
• Can be managed through EAC as well as PowerShell cmdlets
• Allows any user (external or internal) to send emails to the members of the group
• Dynamic membership is available through Dynamic Distribution Groups
• Free or Paid AAD subscription works as a license

So, the Distribution List helps to create a central communication platform for multiple users to share their work, ideas, crucial information, urgent message, etc. An Office 365 user with global administrator rights can easily create a Distribution List in Office 365.

Create an Office 365 Distribution List

If you want to create a Distribution List in Office 365, perform the following procedure step-wise.

1. Open Office 365 admin center and then navigate to Groups>Groups.
   
2. Then click + Add a group option to add a Distribution List.
   
3. New Group page will get open. Here under Add a group, select Distribution List option from the Type drop-down.
   

Note: Users can click on the +Distributions list tab on the Home>Groups page to add Distribution List directly.


4. Add a Group name, Group email address, Description (optional), drag the option to On/Off to allow/disallow external users (outside from the organization) to send emails to this group. Read the instructions given below and click Add.
   
5. A message will be displayed that the Group was added. Click Close.
   
6. Select your newly created Distribution List and double-click on it. You can anytime edit the Group name, Owners, Members and Exchange Settings using the respective Edit options.
   
7. Click Edit against Owners to add the Group owners. Click + Add owners, search them using the option and add them. After adding desired owners, click Close.
   Note: Group Owners need not be members of the distribution group. By default, the user who is creating the group is the owner. However, he can add more owners to the group.
   
8. To add members in the Distribution List, click Edit against Members option. Then click + Add members to search and add the members from the users’ list. Add the desired members and click Close.
   
9. You can also change the Exchange Settings by clicking the Edit Exchange Settings option against Exchange Settings. Different Exchange Settings categories like ownership, membership, membership approval, delivery management, message approval, email options, MailTip, group designation are available. Users can change the settings as per the need and click Save to save it.
   
10. You can manage the senders of the emails whether from inside organization only or both inside and outside the organization by clicking the delivery management category within the Exchange Settings option. Select the desired radio button and click Save to save this setting.
    
    Therefore, the Distribution Lists group in Office 365 is successfully created along with desired members and settings. Similarly, users can create Office 365 Groups.

Some users need to backup Office 365 data to Outlook due to many reasons. For such users, we recommend Kernel Office 365 Backup & Restore software which swiftly backups the complete Office data including mailboxes, groups, distribution lists, etc. to PST format which can be opened within Outlook application later on. This software can restore or import the PST files to Office 365 too. Download the tool for free (Trial version) to try its features.



Conclusion

In Office 365, groups and distribution lists can be created to communicate through a single email address to multiple members. The procedure to create distribution lists is discussed here. However, users can try the automated Kernel Office 365 Backup and Restore software, if they need to backup Office 365 to PST.