Frequently Asked Questions
General Migration Questions
How long with it take to move the entire university?
It will take approximately 5 weeks to move the entire University. However, each department will have specific days when their accounts are being migrated, and it is unlikely those migrations will take more than a few days.
When will branch (extension) campuses be moved?
Please check the Migration Dates section of this website for information on when your department/location is moving. Local administrators will provide on-site support the day after the office has been migrated. If you have additional questions please contact the ITS Help Desk for additional assistance.
Will my email address or password change?
No. Your email address and password will remain the same.
Will Outlook behave the same?
For the most part the features of Outlook will function as they did on the old Exchange 2003 service. You will see additional features such as Lync become available after the migration.
Has the Email Retention Policy changed with the migration?
Currently email retention policies have not been set on Office 365. As such ITS will not be removing any email during the migration.
Will off campus performance change?
Since this is a cloud service, performance is entirely determined by the connection bandwidth available at the location the service is accessed.
How will this move affect my delagates?
When some delegates open calendar invitations in their role as a delegate, their email client may become unresponsive for 1-3 minutes. The issue is known to occur with Outlook 2010 and Outlook Web App. The issue is affecting some, not all, delegates.
How will the migration effect Honored Staff and Retirees?
Retirees will be migrated in the same way all other staff/faculty will be migrated. The only difference is that retiree accounts will be migrated prior to the 1st of April.
Will the migration include group email accounts?
All accounts will be migrated during the owner’s departmental migration date.
With the Office Web Apps, will ITS still provide Microsoft Office for board-appointed employees?
The move of email accounts to Office 365 will not affect your ability to acquire and use Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) through our site license and home-use programs for board appointed individuals.
Will I need to leave my computer the night my account is migrated?
No. All changes will be done on UI servers and cloud servers. There are not any changes required on the client until after the account has been migrated.
Will ITS update the Automatic Profile Setup Tool for Exchange?
The Profile Setup Tool will no longer be necessary to configure Outlook. After your account is migrated you can utilize the Outlook Auto-Discover, or automatic setup to configure your account, which requires only your full email address and password.
Will the move include group accounts
Yes, Functional accounts, resource calendars, and mail-enabled groups will all be migrated to the new system.
Will sub folders on my mailbox migrate as well?
Yes. All data in your account will be migrated, and your current file structure will be maintained.
Office 365 Questions
Will junk/spam email reporting change with Office 365?
Yes! Office 365 included its own e-mail security service called the Microsoft Forefront Online Protection for Exchange (FOPE). Because of this hosted solution, it will no longer be required to send in spam messages. Instead, simply moving the folders into the Junk email folder will let the system know such messages may or may not be spam. As more people mark spam messages as such, FOPE will learn to block the messages outright.
If you are an Outlook user, you can speed this process up by installing the Microsoft Junk Email Reporting tools and reporting the emails directly. You can find the small plug-in for Outlook on our Software Download page.
What are some differences I will see once your account is in Office 365?
- Larger mailbox: 25 GB instead of 1 GB
- Deleted Items folder: Messages remain in your Deleted Items folder for 30 days and are then automatically deleted.
(For example, when you click Delete on a message, or when you respond to a calendar invitation, it is automatically placed in your Deleted Items folder. Thirty days later, the message will be removed from your Deleted Items folder. If you're likely to want the message longer than 30 days, you should keep it in your Inbox or another folder instead of clicking Delete.)
- New URL for Outlook Web App: http://owa.uidaho.edu
- You will need to use your full email address to log in.
Will Office 365 work with Mac?
Office 365 uses Exchange servers, which is what we use on campus today, but you can expect enhanced functionality. Supported clients on Macs include Mail.App, Outlook 2011, Outlook Web App, and Thunderbird.
Will Office 365 be available for off-campus locations?
Yes. Office 365 is available to UIdaho users through any standard web browser.
Will Office 365 work with my mobile device?
Yes, but you will need to reconfigure your settings if you already have an account set up. After your account is migrated your phone will need to be re-setup. There are instructions at http://www.uidaho.edu/its/office365migration/support-documentation.
What limitations will my account have if my migrated account interacts with a non-migrated one or vice versa?
If you view people's free/busy time or have shared calendars:
You may not be able to see free/busy, or view shared calendars if the person or shared calendar you wish to view is not on the same system as you (i.e. migrated vs. not migrated).
If you manage other people's calendars:
You'll only be able to manage the calendars of people whose accounts on the same system as you (i.e. migrated vs. not migrated).
If you use Functional Accounts:
You'll only be able to use Functional Accounts that on the same system as you (i.e. migrated vs. not migrated). Functional Accounts you own should be migrated at the same time as your normal account.
If you are a delegate or have delegates:
You can only utilize your delegate permissions if the account you are working with is on the same system as your own (i.e. migrated vs. not migrated).
Is archiving recommended?
While archiving is a good way to clean out your mailbox, we recommend discussing this with your local support personnel so data is backed up and stored in a secure location.
What are the new message attachment limits?
The new attachment size limit is 25 MB. However, ITS recommends keeping attachments closer to 20 MB as 25 MB is the limit for the entire message, including text.
People from outside UI who send messages to UI that exceed the 25 MB limit receive a "message bounced" alert. The notification that the message was too large will be in the headers. The intended recipient is not notified.
For people within UI:
- With Outlook or Outlook Web App, they will get an immediate warning that the message is too large to send.
- With Apple Mail, they will get a delayed popup that the message was too large.
- With Thunderbird, they will get a popup when they try to send saying that the message was too large and was not sent, and a suggestion to reduce the message size and try again.
- Other email programs will either refuse to send the message, or the sender will receive a “message bounced” alert. The notification that the message was too large will be in the headers.
What will happen to messages more than 25mb in size in my inbox?
If you have messages over 25 MB in your mailbox when your account is up for migration, it will be extracted from the server and placed in on your U drive as an EML file. This will allow you to open the message in Outlook, but you will not be able to add it back to the server.
Lync Questions
Are Lync conversations retained / recorded?
Lync text conversations can be saved in rich text format by either party. When someone saves the conversation, the other conversation members are not notified.
Are Lync video sessions recorded?
Video sessions can be recorded. Unlike text conversations, there will be an indicator which lets you know the conversation is being recorded.
| How long with it take to move the entire university? |
It will take approximately 5 weeks to move the entire University. However, each department will have specific days when their accounts are being migrated, and it is unlikely those migrations will take more than a few days.
| When will branch (extension) campuses be moved? |
Please check the Migration Dates section of this website for information on when your department/location is moving. Local administrators will provide on-site support the day after the office has been migrated. If you have additional questions please contact the ITS Help Desk for additional assistance.
| Will my email address or password change? |
No. Your email address and password will remain the same.
| Will Outlook behave the same? |
For the most part the features of Outlook will function as they did on the old Exchange 2003 service. You will see additional features such as Lync become available after the migration.
| Has the Email Retention Policy changed with the migration? |
Currently email retention policies have not been set on Office 365. As such ITS will not be removing any email during the migration.
| Will off campus performance change? |
Since this is a cloud service, performance is entirely determined by the connection bandwidth available at the location the service is accessed.
| How will this move affect my delagates? |
When some delegates open calendar invitations in their role as a delegate, their email client may become unresponsive for 1-3 minutes. The issue is known to occur with Outlook 2010 and Outlook Web App. The issue is affecting some, not all, delegates.
| How will the migration effect Honored Staff and Retirees? |
Retirees will be migrated in the same way all other staff/faculty will be migrated. The only difference is that retiree accounts will be migrated prior to the 1st of April.
| Will the migration include group email accounts? |
All accounts will be migrated during the owner’s departmental migration date.
| With the Office Web Apps, will ITS still provide Microsoft Office for board-appointed employees? |
The move of email accounts to Office 365 will not affect your ability to acquire and use Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) through our site license and home-use programs for board appointed individuals.
| Will I need to leave my computer the night my account is migrated? |
No. All changes will be done on UI servers and cloud servers. There are not any changes required on the client until after the account has been migrated.
| Will ITS update the Automatic Profile Setup Tool for Exchange? |
The Profile Setup Tool will no longer be necessary to configure Outlook. After your account is migrated you can utilize the Outlook Auto-Discover, or automatic setup to configure your account, which requires only your full email address and password.
| Will the move include group accounts |
Yes, Functional accounts, resource calendars, and mail-enabled groups will all be migrated to the new system.
| Will sub folders on my mailbox migrate as well? |
Yes. All data in your account will be migrated, and your current file structure will be maintained.
| Will junk/spam email reporting change with Office 365? |
Yes! Office 365 included its own e-mail security service called the Microsoft Forefront Online Protection for Exchange (FOPE). Because of this hosted solution, it will no longer be required to send in spam messages. Instead, simply moving the folders into the Junk email folder will let the system know such messages may or may not be spam. As more people mark spam messages as such, FOPE will learn to block the messages outright.
If you are an Outlook user, you can speed this process up by installing the Microsoft Junk Email Reporting tools and reporting the emails directly. You can find the small plug-in for Outlook on our Software Download page.
If you are an Outlook user, you can speed this process up by installing the Microsoft Junk Email Reporting tools and reporting the emails directly. You can find the small plug-in for Outlook on our Software Download page.
| What are some differences I will see once your account is in Office 365? |
- Larger mailbox: 25 GB instead of 1 GB
- Deleted Items folder: Messages remain in your Deleted Items folder for 30 days and are then automatically deleted.
(For example, when you click Delete on a message, or when you respond to a calendar invitation, it is automatically placed in your Deleted Items folder. Thirty days later, the message will be removed from your Deleted Items folder. If you're likely to want the message longer than 30 days, you should keep it in your Inbox or another folder instead of clicking Delete.) - New URL for Outlook Web App: http://owa.uidaho.edu
- You will need to use your full email address to log in.
| Will Office 365 work with Mac? |
Office 365 uses Exchange servers, which is what we use on campus today, but you can expect enhanced functionality. Supported clients on Macs include Mail.App, Outlook 2011, Outlook Web App, and Thunderbird.
| Will Office 365 be available for off-campus locations? |
Yes. Office 365 is available to UIdaho users through any standard web browser.
| Will Office 365 work with my mobile device? |
Yes, but you will need to reconfigure your settings if you already have an account set up. After your account is migrated your phone will need to be re-setup. There are instructions at http://www.uidaho.edu/its/office365migration/support-documentation.
| What limitations will my account have if my migrated account interacts with a non-migrated one or vice versa? |
If you view people's free/busy time or have shared calendars:
If you manage other people's calendars:
If you use Functional Accounts:
If you are a delegate or have delegates:
You may not be able to see free/busy, or view shared calendars if the person or shared calendar you wish to view is not on the same system as you (i.e. migrated vs. not migrated).
If you manage other people's calendars:
You'll only be able to manage the calendars of people whose accounts on the same system as you (i.e. migrated vs. not migrated).
If you use Functional Accounts:
You'll only be able to use Functional Accounts that on the same system as you (i.e. migrated vs. not migrated). Functional Accounts you own should be migrated at the same time as your normal account.
If you are a delegate or have delegates:
You can only utilize your delegate permissions if the account you are working with is on the same system as your own (i.e. migrated vs. not migrated).
| Is archiving recommended? |
While archiving is a good way to clean out your mailbox, we recommend discussing this with your local support personnel so data is backed up and stored in a secure location.
| What are the new message attachment limits? |
The new attachment size limit is 25 MB. However, ITS recommends keeping attachments closer to 20 MB as 25 MB is the limit for the entire message, including text.
People from outside UI who send messages to UI that exceed the 25 MB limit receive a "message bounced" alert. The notification that the message was too large will be in the headers. The intended recipient is not notified.
For people within UI:
People from outside UI who send messages to UI that exceed the 25 MB limit receive a "message bounced" alert. The notification that the message was too large will be in the headers. The intended recipient is not notified.
For people within UI:
- With Outlook or Outlook Web App, they will get an immediate warning that the message is too large to send.
- With Apple Mail, they will get a delayed popup that the message was too large.
- With Thunderbird, they will get a popup when they try to send saying that the message was too large and was not sent, and a suggestion to reduce the message size and try again.
- Other email programs will either refuse to send the message, or the sender will receive a “message bounced” alert. The notification that the message was too large will be in the headers.
| What will happen to messages more than 25mb in size in my inbox? |
If you have messages over 25 MB in your mailbox when your account is up for migration, it will be extracted from the server and placed in on your U drive as an EML file. This will allow you to open the message in Outlook, but you will not be able to add it back to the server.
| Are Lync conversations retained / recorded? |
Lync text conversations can be saved in rich text format by either party. When someone saves the conversation, the other conversation members are not notified.
| Are Lync video sessions recorded? |
Video sessions can be recorded. Unlike text conversations, there will be an indicator which lets you know the conversation is being recorded.