How to manage Distribution or Security Groups – IT Services - University of Derby

This guide will go through the procedure for managing (adding or removing staff and more) within a distribution group that you are the owner of.

Working from home: This process will only work if you are connected via VPN on a university-provided laptop from home. It will take slightly longer for permissions to apply/synchronise from off-campus, please allow 5 to 10 minutes before the account is fully-added to the group.

To manage the staff in a security/distribution group, please initially raise a ticket with the IT Service Centre, stating the full name of the group, so we can set your account as the owner.

Once we have confirmed the group is setup, you can use the 'Search Distribution Groups' tool (in the link at the bottom of this article) that will list all security groups. Please save the attachment in the link we send you to your desktop (or location of your choice) and run from there.

The image below shows what the tool looks like when first opened.

You can enter the name of the security group in the Name field, or re-organise the list into alphabetical order by clicking the 'Name' column and and select it from there.

To amend the members of a security/distribution group please follow the steps below:

Adding member(s) of staff

1. Double click the security group in the list, this will show a screen similar to the one show below;

2. Select Add;

3. This will open a window similar to the one shown below. To add a member of staff to the group, enter their username into the 'Enter the object names to select' text box (highlighted in the image below). Multiple accounts can be added by separating the usernames with a semi colon.

4. Click Check Names which should resolve the usernames and underline them if found in the directory. If the username cannot be found, please double check the username in the Outlook address book;

5. If all names have resolved (they are underlined), click OK;

6. The usernames should now show in the 'Members' list, click OK.

Please note: it may take a few minutes before the member of staff can gain access to the folder(s) / mailboxes the security group allows access to.

It could take over night for the list in the address book (in Outlook) to update.

Removing member(s) of staff

1. Double click the security group in the list;

2. Select the name in the list;

3. Click Remove;

4. Click Yes to confirm.

NOTE: if the above does not allow you to find the distribution group, please try the steps in this guide.

Download the 'Search Distribution Groups' tool below