Outlook Web Access (OWA) FAQ
- What is Outlook Web Access (OWA)?
- What is TMail / What is the address for the OWA website?
- When should I use OWA / TMail?
- Is OWA secure?
- How do I log in?
- How do I check another user's Inbox/Calendar/Tasks/etc. that I have been given delegate access to by the owner?
- How do I manage my Tmail account online?
- What are the differences between OWA and Outlook 2003?
- When using OWA, sometimes I have more features - the preview pane, an expandable folder tree, Rules, pop-up notifications, monthly calendar view, etc. - and sometimes I don't. Why? (What is the difference between "Premium" OWA and "Basic"?)
- When I try to send a message with an attachment, my message won't deliver (BANNED FILENAME).
- I get an out of space error when trying to add addresses to the blocked senders list in OWA. Is there a limit on the number of blocked addresses?
- What is Outlook Web Access (OWA)?
Outlook Web Access is a browser-based email client accessible from the web. It allows you to check your email from computers that do not have an email client (such as Outlook 2003) installed. It works from most modern browsers on Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and UNIX computers.
- What is TMail / What is the address for the OWA website?
TMail is the name of UT's OWA website. The address is https://tmail.utk.edu/.
- When should I use OWA / TMail?
You should use the TMail OWA site to access your email from any computer that does not have an email client installed. OWA is ideal for accessing your email from home, from a UT computer lab, or from a friend's computer. When accessing your email from a computer that others have access to be sure you log out after you have finished.
- Is OWA secure?
OWA and the TMail site in particular uses the secure HTTP protocol, which means that the information that it passes over the Internet is as secure as an online transaction can be.
When using OWA (or when you are involved in any online transaction) you should always be conscious of the security of the computer that you're using. Who owns the computer? Is the operating system up to date? Is an up to date antivirus product installed and running? Is the computer showing symptoms of spyware infection? Did you remember to log out of OWA when you were done?
- How do I log in?
- Point your browser to the address: https://tmail.utk.edu/
- In the Domain\username field type utk\your-username where your-username is your NetID/Exchange username
- Enter your Exchange password in the password box.
- If you are using Internet Explorer 6 or 7 on Windows, you can use the "Premium" Client (which has more features). If you are not using IE 6 this option will not appear.
- Under Security, check the type of computer you are using. Do not check Private if other users have access to the computer you are using.
- How do I check another user's Inbox/Calendar/Tasks/etc. that I have been given delegate access to by the owner?
Point your browser to https://tmail.utk.edu/exchange/netid/folder where netid is the NetID of the user who has granted your delegate rights and folder is the folder that to which they have granted you rights. For example, if you had access to John Doe's (NetID: jdoe) Calendar, the address would be
- https://tmail.utk.edu/exchange/jdoe/calendar
Or, if you had access to his Inbox, it would be
- https://tmail.utk.edu/exchange/jdoe/inbox
Note that the "s" in https is required.
- How do I manage my Tmail account online?
To manage your account online (check quota, etc.) go to:
- What are the differences between OWA and Outlook 2003?
The following is a list of features that are available in Outlook 2003 that are not available in OWA (Premium):
- Outlook Today
- Newsgroups
- Opening other accounts (e.g. IMAP and POP accounts)
- Searching external directories (e.g. UT's LDAP Directory - use http://directory.utk.edu/ instead)
- Archives
- Access to and storing of local mail, contacts, calendars, etc. (i.e. on the local computer)
- Send a message "Later" (timed delay)
- Surveys
- Recalling a message
- Granting delegate access
- Using multiple signatures (single signatures are available)
- Attaching a vCard to your signature
Most other features are available in OWA. To check the online documentation, log in to OWA and click "Help".
- When using OWA, sometimes I have more features - the preview pane, an expandable folder tree, Rules, pop-up notifications, monthly calendar view, etc. - and sometimes I don't. Why? (What is the difference between "Premium" OWA and "Basic"?)
- There are two different versions of OWA, "Premium" and "Basic". Premium has more features and resembles the Outlook client more. Basic has less features but is faster
- If you are using Internet Explorer on a Windows PC, then you are given the choice between the two. If you are using a different browser, only Basic OWA is available (you are not given a choice).
- When I try to send a message with an attachment, my message won't deliver (BANNED FILENAME).
Your problem probably falls into one of two categories:
- Your extension is not allowed. Some file types are prohibited from being sent from Outlook Web Access entirely.
These include those file types with the following extensions:
- ade, adp, app, asx, bas, bat, chm, cmd, com, cpl, crt, csh, exe, fxp, hlp, hta, inf, ins, isp, js, jse, ksh, lnk, mda, mdb, mde, mdt, mdw, mdz, msc, msi, msp, mst, ops, pcd, pif, prf, prg, reg, scf, scr, sct, shb, shs, url, vb, vbe, vbs, wsc, wsf, wsh
If your file falls into this category, you cannot send the file as-is. You can either rename the file (i.e. change the extension), send it, and then ask the recipient to rename it to change the extension back, or compress the file into a zip or rar archive before you send it.
- Your extension is allowed, but only if you save a copy on your file system (i.e. on your computer) first. These include
those file types with the following extensions:
- htm, html, htc, mht, mhtml, shtm, shtml, stm, url, xml, dir, dcr, plg, spl, swf
If your file falls into this category, make sure that you save a copy of the file to your computer before sending (e.g. if you are trying to forward an attachment).
- Your extension is not allowed. Some file types are prohibited from being sent from Outlook Web Access entirely.
These include those file types with the following extensions:
- I get an out of space error when trying to add addresses to the blocked senders list in OWA. Is there a limit on the number of blocked addresses?
The limit on the number of addresses in the OWA blocked senders list is 1024 addresses. If you try to add more than this number, you will get an error message.