Difference between sending emails as mailing list and group

Creating a mailing list or a group can simplify the management of your emails. A mailing list is ideal for sending an email to a group of users, both internal and external. On the other hand, a group is designed to facilitate collaboration among users of a single domain or server.

In this article, we will explain how to create a mailing list and a group and what is the difference between them.

Mailing list

A mailing list is used to inform a group of users about corporate events, news, updates, etc., without revealing the recipients to each other. Mailing list can be used to create a regular newsletter to the accounts both on your domain or on the external domain.

How to create a mailing list

The mailing lists can be created not only by the administrators in WebAdmin or Remote Console but also by users in WebClient. 

To create a mailing list in Remote Console:

1. Click > Mailing List.
2. Fill in an alias, description, the owner account and add members.

Check Mailing List to learn more.

To create a mailing list in WebAdmin:

1. Click > New mailing list.
2. Enter an alias and add members who can use the list.
3. In the mailing list settings, you can manage general details, security and members.

Check Mailing List Settings to learn more.

It is possible to create a mailing list in WebClient. However, it will be visible only to the owner, and it cannot be customized.

To add a mailing list in WebClient:

1. Click > Distribution List
2. Enter the title and add members.
3. Click OK to save it. You can find the newly created mailing list in Contacts .

How to email to the mailing list

If you created your own mailing list, it will be visible in the To: field of the New Message window immediately. Thanks to the Autocomplete function that suggests accounts stored in your Contacts, Global Address List (GAL), or the Sent folder.

However, if the mailing list was created in Remote Console or WebAdmin, it has to be added to your contacts through GAL list.

1. Go to Remote Console > Management node > GAL > select Members tab > click Add
2. In the Select Item window, expand the dropdown and select Mailing List.
3. Select the new mailing list and click Select Account to add it.
4. Go to Groupware node > General.
5. Click Synchronize all GAL folders now.
6. Restart WebClient to see the changes.
7. The mailing list will appear in your list of Contacts and you can select it in the To: field of the New Message window.

Group

Group is used for collaboration between members of an internal team. For example, the company receives requests for support and they need to be handled by the Support Team. Creating a group for the Support Team lets its members see requests in a shared folder and reply to the customers from a single account. 

How to create a group

Group can be created by the administrator in Remote Console or WebAdmin.

To create a group in Remote Console:

1. Click > Group.
2. Fill in the group alias, add description and name.
3. To create a public folder, check the relevant checkbox and enter the folder name.
4. To receive the emails to a shared folder, check Deliver mail to shared folder. Otherwise, the emails will come to each member individually.
5. If you need a TeamChat for collaboration, check Create TeamChat.

Check Group to learn more.

To create a group in WebAdmin:

1. Click > New group.
2. Enter a group name and alias.
3. In the group settings, enable Create a public folder to customize your collaboration settings.

Check Group Settings to learn more.

How to email on behalf of the group

You will see your group Inbox folder in your Inbox > Public tab. Only the Inbox folder is added by default. If you need other folders, for example, Sent, you will have to add them manually. The folders added by the group members are visible to the whole group.

To be able to send emails on behalf of the group and see the group account in the From: field, the administrator has to add the group to the list of accounts for all members of the group.

1. In WebClient, click you avatar and go to Administrator Options.
2. In the Mail tab > click Groups
3. Click Add to add a group and enter the group's alias (email account).
4. Click OK. The group will be immediately added to the list of accounts available in the From: field (for the group members only).

Otherwise, the group members have to add the group account individually. Check How to add shared account to learn more.

To see all messages sent by the group members in the Sent folder of the group, add Sent folder to the group account. Only Inbox folder is created by default.

1. Go to your Inbox > click the Public tab.
2. Right-click the group > select Add Folder.
3. Enter Sent as the name of the folder.
4. In the Options > Mail > Aliases.
5. Select Sent folder that you created as a Sent Folder of the group.