Outlook Web Access FAQ
Outlook Web Access (OWA) is available for both users of the STUDENT and ADMIN domains. Please note that it is necessary to use a modern web browser to access OWA, such as the latest version of Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox.
Overview
- How do I login to OWA?
- How do I change my Windows password using OWA?
- What happens if I enter my login information incorrectly?
- What should OWA look like after I login?
- Why can I read some messages from within Outlook, but not in OWA?
- How do I access someone's shared inbox or calendar from OWA?
- How do I access a departmental or group mailbox in OWA?
How do I login to OWA?
To login to Outlook Web Access (OWA) please visit https://exchange.wpi.edu. After visiting the web site and clicking on the large "Login to Outlook Web Access" link, you will be able to enter your login information. Your username should be entered using the "username@wpi.edu" format as shown below.
| Example of Internet Explorer Login: | Example of Firefox Login: |
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Note: Except on your personal machine, the CCC Helpdesk strongly discourages using password saving features.
How do I change my Windows password using OWA?
- NOTE: You must use Internet Explorer as your web browser. You must enter your username as 'STUDENT or ADMIN\username' within the username field during login. The password change will not work properly otherwise.
- Login to Outlook Web Access using your Windows credentials
- Click Options on the top right of the screen.
- Click Change Password from the list on the left side of the page.
- Enter your current password, & then your new password twice. Click Save from the top of the "Change Password" screen.
- If the password requirements were not followed, you will have to reenter your passwords. Please review the password requirements before proceeding.
If my password has expired?
- NOTE: You must use Internet Explorer as your web browser. You must enter your username as 'STUDENT or ADMIN\username' within the username field during login. The password change will not work properly otherwise.
- Using Internet Explorer, visit the Outlook Web Access webpage.
- Click Login to Outlook Web Acces.
- Type your username (STUDENT or ADMIN\janedoe) & password. Click OK.
- Enter your username, your current password, & then your new password twice. Click OK.
- If the password requirements were not followed, you will have to reenter your passwords. Please review the password requirements before proceeding.
What happens if I enter my login information incorrectly?
Since Outlook Web Access (OWA) authenticates with your Windows domain credentials, four failed access attempts will lock your account from use for 20-minutes -- unless it is manually unlocked.
Students can manually unlock their accounts by visiting the Account Maintenance web site and selecting the "Reset your WINDOWS password" link under "Modifying/Updating WPI User Accounts".
Users with ADMIN Domain Accounts should contact the CCC Helpdesk directly to have their accounts unlocked.
What should OWA look like after I login?
Outlook Web Access (OWA) is accessible from any modern web browser, but the functionality varies between Internet Explorer 6.x or greater and third party browsers.
From within Internet Explorer?
After logging into OWA using Internet Explorer 6.x or greater, you should be greeted with an interface that looks similar to the full Outlook client. The following image further illustrates what you will see.
From within another web browser?
Using another web browser, Mozilla Firefox in this case, and logging into OWA provides the OWA Light interface and should look similar to the image provided below.
OWA Light does not have all of the features of the full OWA interface, but users should be able to do most of the same things in both.
Why can I read some messages from within Outlook, but not in OWA?
Messages encrypted with S/MIME cannot be viewed unless the recipient's private key is available on the computer that is running OWA.
If you are unable to get to the full version of Outlook to open the message, it is the recommendation of the CCC Helpdesk that you contact the sender of the original message and request the message be re-sent without the offending character(s) in the subject line of the message.
How do I access someone's shared inbox or calendar from OWA?
With Exchange 2007, accessing a shared inbox or calendar has changed from the methods previously used. It is important to note that you must have been granted rights to the folder you are trying to access. You can share your calendar using these directions.
To view a shared inbox or calendar, please use the following links, replacing "username@wpi.edu" with the correct email address of the account you are trying to access.
Inbox:
https://exchange.wpi.edu/owa/username@wpi.edu/?cmd=contents&f=inbox
Calendar:
https://exchange.wpi.edu/owa/username@wpi.edu/?cmd=contents&f=calendar
How do I access a departmental or group mailbox in OWA?
If you have full permissions to an entire mailbox (Inbox, Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, etc) you may open it in OWA using the following steps.
In Internet Explorer 6.x or greater:
- Select your name from the top right of the screen and it will show a box
titled "Open Other Mailbox".
- Type the name of the mailbox you wish to open in the text box and click the "Open..." button. If you only used part of the name it will prompt you to select the correct name from the list of matching search results.
To manually open it in any browser (including Firefox and Internet Explorer) use the following URL
- https://exchange.wpi.edu/exchange/username@wpi.edu
Last modified: Nov 19, 2007, 15:54 EST
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