Questions and information on the guidelines for using the Exchange groupware (Rectorate resolution of 02.10.2024)

Background
The use of the Exchange groupware was defined in a directive (PDF) for all employees from 21.11.2024. This means that all staff will automatically receive an Exchange mailbox. The aim is to create a standardized and secure communication infrastructure that meets the high requirements for data protection and data security while improving administrative efficiency.

What does this mean for me?
First of all: You do not have to do anything and can continue to access your e-mails as usual. All Exchange account setups and forwarding have been implemented by CIT as follows.

• You already had an Exchange account:
  • If you have set incoming emails to be delivered to your Exchange mailbox in the IT portal under “Email > Email delivery”, there will be no change for you. This option is recommended and can be selected at any time.
  • If you had set up in the IT portal under “Email > Email delivery” that incoming emails are delivered to your default mailbox “universityID@uni-muenster.de”, a forwarding from the Exchange mailbox to the default mailbox was automatically set up for you on 25.11.2024 - if you had not yet set this up.
• You did not yet have an Exchange account: You received an Exchange account on 25.11.2024. Forwarding of incoming emails to the default mailbox “universityID@uni-muenster.de” was automatically set up for you.

We recommend that you access Exchange via an email program (Outlook, MacOS, iOS, Android Mail) or the Outlook Web App (OWA) and use it to manage emails, appointments (calendar) and tasks. You can find instructions on how to do this on our email website: Manual: Accessing the Exchange mailbox. The Outlook training course from the training program provides a detailed introduction to the Exchange functions.

Who does the guideline apply to?
The Rectorate decision applies to all current and future employees of the University of Münster.

Does the policy require me to use the Exchange account? Is the use of the standard mailbox now prohibited?
No, of course not. You just have to make sure that the e-mails sent to you in Exchange are also processed. But you may very well use your standard mailbox for this purpose.
In the IT portal, you can set where all e-mails should be delivered. If you adjust the setting there, it will then apply to both Exchange-internal and other emails.

I previously only had a standard mailbox, do I now also have to integrate the Exchange mailbox into my mail program?
No, if you did NOT previously have an Exchange mailbox, you will receive a new Exchange mailbox and at the same time a forwarding function that automatically forwards all emails addressed to your Exchange mailbox to your existing standard mailbox.

I also have an Exchange mailbox, but only use it for out-of-office messages. What exactly has been changed as part of the implementation of the directive?
If you previously had both a standard and an Exchange mailbox and had NOT set up mutual forwarding (i.e. neither standard to Exchange nor Exchange to standard), you will also be forwarded from Exchange to the standard mailbox, i.e. you will continue to retrieve the mails with your standard mailbox.

This was precisely the problem in the past: there are many people who had set up an Exchange mailbox, but no mutual forwarding, and who did not think about the fact that they would then have to process two separate mailboxes. As a result, many emails have gone unread in the past, which is why this change has now been decided.

General information on e-mail at the University of Münster

Size limits for e-mails
What are the size limits for the University of Münster's email system? We have summarized the most important figures and tips for “large customers”.

• A single e-mail may not be larger than 25 MB, i.e. it can contain a maximum of around 18 MB of files as attachments. Our mail servers refuse to accept larger emails.
• The maximum inbox size is 1.5 GB. Emails exceeding this size will be returned to the sender as undeliverable (does not apply to Exchange).
• Other email folders can be as large as you like (but large folders are slower). You can create as many folders as you like; there is no disk space quota.

Sending and receiving large files
Sending files larger than 5 MB via conventional e-mail is often problematic; most e-mail providers stop at 20 MB at the latest. This may be enough in most cases, but there are always situations in which you would like to send or receive larger files. In this case, we have the following solutions for you:

• Sending with the university cloud sciebo: Our cloud storage sciebo makes it easy for you to share large files or entire folders with others - either as a download link or, if the other party is also a sciebo user, also via shares.
• Receiving with the university cloud sciebo: If you want to receive large files, you can use a so-called FileDrop. To do this, create a folder in Sciebo and click on “Share”. Select the option “public links” and send this link to the person you are expecting files from. If you select the “Download / View / Upload” settings, anyone with this link can share files by uploading them to the folder. To ensure that only authorized persons have access to the folder, you should select a password under “Password” and set an expiration date for the link (e.g. after a submission deadline). You can also send the link to the folder directly to the target person(s) by entering their email address(es) under “Send link as email” and then clicking on “Share”.
• Sending with perMail: While sending from the university address normally only works with attachments up to a maximum of 18 MB, our webmail program perMail offers a practical alternative here. It automatically switches to deposit, i.e. the recipient receives an e-mail with a download link, just as in the procedure described above. A maximum size of 512 MB also applies here.

Standard mailbox / IMAP / perMail

Can I retrieve my e-mails with a mail program?
Absolutely. You can find instructions on how to integrate the standard mailbox for various mail apps on our e-mail page.

Can I use any available mail app?
A clear NO! There is a whole list of unauthorized mail apps that must not be used due to security-related problems. You can find more information on this on the information security pages: Note on unauthorized e-mail apps

Can I also access my mailbox via an Internet browser?
Yes, you can access your standard mailbox at any time via our perMail webmailer. We recommend using Chrome or Firefox for this.

My inbox in the standard mailbox is full, can I get more storage space there?
No. For technical reasons, the inbox size is limited to a maximum of 1.5 GB. However, this only applies to the inbox, the subfolders are not limited in size.
TIP: Use the nightly filtering function (IT portal / e-mail / nightly filtering) to have e-mails automatically sorted into annual folders, for example.

I only have a standard mailbox, can I set up out-of-office notes there?
No, our standard mail system does not offer the out-of-office note function. This is only possible in the Exchange mailbox. Exchange is only available to university employees under license law.

I have always used the local copy in the IT portal to be able to set absence notes. This no longer works, how can I now set out-of-office notes?
In the past, the local copy option has repeatedly led to problems with mails not being retrieved and mailboxes filling up, which is why the local copy function (mail delivery in both the standard and Exchange mailboxes) has been abolished.

The most sensible procedure for using out-of-office notes is as follows:

• Set up delivery in the Exchange mailbox before the absence (IT portal / email delivery)
• Activate the out-of-office message in Exchange (in Outlook: File / Automatic replies; in OWA: Cogwheel top right / Automatic replies)
• After the absence, set the delivery in the standard mailbox (IT portal / Email delivery).
• To move the emails received in the Exchange mailbox to the default mailbox, you can use an IMAP-capable email program and set up both the default mailbox according to our instructions and the Exchange mailbox (IMAP server owa.wwu.de port 993, SSL/TLS active, normal password control, no advanced settings).
  Attention: This access to the Exchange system has many errors and is neither supported by the manufacturer nor by us. It should therefore never be used for normal e-mail processing, but only for moving e-mails from the Exchange mailbox to the standard mailbox.

Mails are no longer arriving in my standard mailbox. What can I do?
If you have recently set up an Exchange mailbox and configured that all incoming mails are sent to the Exchange mailbox, they will only arrive there. See Manual: Retrieving the Exchange mailbox.

I often receive large emails, how can I prevent them from always clogging up my inbox?
(These tips only apply to the standard mailbox, not the Exchange mailbox).

• In our “IT portal” in the “E-mail” section, activate “Nightly filtering” and select “Read e-mails into quarterly folders”. (If you receive several hundred MB per month, you may even want to use monthly folders).
• In your e-mail programs, make sure that copies of sent e-mails are not stored in your Sent folder (“Sent items” or similar), but in your inbox (perMail users can find this under “Settings” | “New e-mail page”).

This ensures that perMail is called up automatically once every night and that all emails read from the inbox are filed in folders on a quarterly (monthly) basis, sorted by time of receipt. You should be able to find your e-mails relatively easily in the automatically created quarterly (monthly) folders, even after a long time.

If you follow these instructions, all your e-mails will be permanently stored in folders on the central e-mail servers. In this case, you do not need to worry about data backup and can access all your e-mails at any time with any IMAP-capable e-mail program or with our webmailer perMail.

Exchange / OWA

Can I enter the Exchange address (@exchange.wwu.de) as the contact address?
No, you should not do this. The @uni-muenster.de addresses are the official addresses of the University of Münster. The @exchange.wwu.de addresses should not be exposed to the outside world and will therefore be changed to @uni-muenster.de before leaving our e-mail servers.

As a student, can I also apply for the Exchange mailbox in the IT portal?
No. Exchange (@exchange.wwu.de) is only available to employees of the University of Münster for licensing purposes. There are currently no plans to introduce Exchange for students due to the costs and other dependencies and requirements.

Can I retrieve my e-mails with a mail program?
Absolutely. You can find instructions on how to integrate the Exchange mailbox for various mail apps on our e-mail page.

Can I use any available mail app?
A clear NO! There is a whole list of unauthorized mail apps that must not be used due to security-related problems. You can find more information on this on the information security pages: Note on unauthorized e-mail apps

Can I also access my Exchange mailbox via an Internet browser?
Yes, you can access your Exchange mailbox at any time via Outlook Web Access (OWA).

I would like to set up an out-of-office note in my Exchange mailbox, where can I do this?
If you use the Outlook program, you can set up an out-of-office note via File / “Automatic replies”.
Via the Outlook Web Access (OWA) webmailer, you can set up an out-of-office note by clicking on the cogwheel in the top right-hand corner and selecting “Automatic replies”.
Please note that this only works for mails that arrive in the Exchange mailbox, so the mails should be redirected to the Exchange mailbox during your absence (if they are not already).

Does using Exchange have a practical benefit for me?
Definitely. The advantages of groupware are

• Shared address book
• Calendar function with free/booked times
• Notes
• Tasks
• Shared mailboxes for function identifiers
• Out of office note

Why is the abbreviation wwu still used?
For technical reasons, we will have to continue using the abbreviation within the university or e-mail server for a few more decades because it is technically impossible to change the name of the Active Directory domain “WWU” with the address “wwu.de” and the Exchange address “exchange.wwu.de” - we will only be able to change this when the Active Directory domain is replaced by something else in a few decades' time. An accelerated changeover would tie up far too many human resources, which would then be lacking in other important areas.