Mail Delegation, a feature that allows Gmail users to provide access to their University email account with co-workers, now is available in Google Apps for the University of Minnesota.

Mail Delegation can be useful for people who want others to have access to read or respond to mail on their behalf. For example, you can delegate email rights to up to 10 others, such as administrative and executive assistants, in your unit. This feature is recommended primarily to access a supervisor's email in order to complete correspondence on their behalf. For privacy and security reasons, it is not recommended for general use at the University.

The delegate also has access to the the other person's contacts. However, users won't be able to give delegates permission to change their account password or settings, or chat on the user's behalf.

Any messages sent by a delegate from another's account will include both names, and will show the sender as Your Name (sent by Delegate Name). Each account will open in a different browser tab or window so you can view both accounts simultaneously, all while signed into your primary account.

To grant access to another account, click Settings in the top right corner of Gmail. On the Accounts tab, you'll see a new section where you can Grant access to your account. The account added will receive a verification email with links to accept or deny access. Once the account accepts and you've refreshed your browser or logged in and out again, you'll see a small down arrow beside the email address at the top right corner of Gmail which can be used to toggle between accounts.

If someone has granted access to their account to you, you can access it by clicking the down-arrow next to your email address in the upper-left corner. Select your delegate's email address from the drop-down menu.

Signing out of any one of the accounts will sign you out of all the accounts you're currently viewing. You can revoke a delegate's access at any time.

Instructional information and a short how-to video on setting up Gmail delegation are available at the Google Help Center. For further questions or information, contact the technology helpline at (612) 301-4357 (1-HELP on campus), or via Live Help.