Exchange Distribution Lists
Exchange Distribution Lists are a convenient way to communicate by email with groups of people at
KU. KU offers two different list serving methods: Exchange Distribution
lists and ListProc. Click on "Choosing
a mailing list at KU" for an explanation of the differences between
these two choices. If you need to include people in your mailing list who are
not at KU, or need to have users self-subscribe, ListProc
will be a better choice for you.
- What is an Exchange
Distribution List?
- How is an
Exchange Distribution List different from my personal distribution list?
- How do I request
a list?
- How do I request a change to an Exchange distribution list?
- How do I use a
list?
- How do I know who
is on a list?
- Some people
on the list say they are not receiving list mail.What is causing this?
- What do I
do if I am having problems?
- What is an Exchange Distribution List?
An Exchange Distribution List is a list of email addresses
that can be generated for groups using staff or student information. For example:
all of the faculty and staff employed in a certain department, all the students
enrolled in a certain class, etc. As information changes in Human Resources
and Student Records, the lists update automatically so they will always match
the most current data.
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- How is an Exchange Distribution List different from my personal distribution list?
An Exchange Distribution List is hosted on the server. It differs from a "personal
distribution list" in your own Contacts folder in a couple of important ways.
- The Exchange
Distribution list can be accessible to others through the Global Address
Book
- The membership of the Exchange
Distribution list will be updated automatically on a nightly basis.
- The Exchange
Distribution list can be used to assign permissions to a Public Folder.
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- How do I request an Exchange Distribution list?
You can request a course
related Exchange Distribution List online, others can be requested by
sending an email to dlist@mail.ku.edu.
To request an Exchange Distribution list by email you will need to include:
- What name you want assigned to the list.
- Who you want included in the list (e.g., everyone in a department, all students with major code 0000, etc.),
- Who can send to the list.
- If the list of recipients should be visible to other Outlook users.
There are restrictions on who can request certain lists. Course related
distribution lists can only be requested by the instructor of record for
that class. A request for a list of all staff in a department would have
to be approved by the department chair. Some requests for student and staff
lists have to be approved by the Registrar's Office or the Provost's Office.
You will be informed if you request a list that needs additional approval.
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-
How do I request a change to an Exchange distribution list?
The membership of courserelated Exchange Distribution list will be updated automatically on a nightly basis. To request changes to be made to an Exchange list, send an email to the Exchange Distribution List Administrator at dlist@ku.edu with:
- The name of the Exchange list.
- The names and email addresses of people you want to add or remove from the Exchange list.
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How do I use a list?
First, you must have permission to use a particular list. The majority
of Exchange Distribution Lists are restricted to the members of the list,
or to a few individuals (like the professor or GTAs for a course). You will
receive an error message if you attempt to send to a list without having
the correct permissions. If you don't know if you have permission to use
a list, go
view the lists you are on, After you log in, click on an individual
list to see who is allowed to send to the group and if the members are visible
or not. You will also see the full display name and email address of the
list, and information about how often the list is updated.
Outlook Users:
If you use Outlook, you can select the list from the global address book just
like you would any other individual listing. All Exchange Distribution Lists
appear with a "- DL" after the name to indicate that it is a distribution
list. Display names for course lists will look like this: "CLAS101 (12345)
Sp05 - DL". This indicates that the course name is CLAS 101, the line
number is 12345, and the course is offered in Spring 2005. Non-course lists
will appear with the display name requested, e.g. "CC Staff - DL".
Other email programs:
If you use another email program, you will need to send messages directly
to the email address assigned to the list. For the CLAS101 example the email
address would be: "clas101_12345sp05_dl@mail.ku.edu". For the CC
Staff list the email address is "ccstaff_dl@mail.ku.edu". More
information
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- How do I know who is on a list?
If the owner requested that members of the list be visible, you can view their names in the global address book
if you use Outlook. [Go to the global address book, enter the list name in
the search field. When the list name is displayed, right-click on it and select
Properties.] If the members of the list are hidden (all class members are
hidden by default), then you will not be able to view members unless you own
that list. If you own or are on the list, go
view the lists you are on or own, After you log in, click on an individual
list name to see if the members are visible or not. If the members are visible,
you will see a list of all the names and email addresses on the list. More
information.
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- Some people on the list say they are not receiving list mail. What is causing this?
The most common reasons are: the person has not registered an email address
with KU; has failed to respond to the registered email signup; or has a
KU email address but registered a non-KU address. More
information.
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- What do I do if I am having problems with an Exchange Distribution List?
Send a description of the problem by email to the Exchange Distribution List
Administrator at dlist@ku.edu.
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