Often when migrating a client from on-premise Exchange server to the Office 365 platform, the company will have an Exchange pubic folder shared calendar or two that are used for various reasons. Here is the steps for creating the new kind of Office 365 shared calendars:

Creating a Public Folder Mailbox

1. Open the Office 365 portal with an administrative user
2. Open the Admin panel
3. Open the Exchange Admin panel
4. Click on Public Folders, then on the Public Folder Mailboxes
5. Click on the + symbol then give the new Public Folder Mailbox a name and click Save

Creating the Root Public Folder

1. Still in the Public Folders section click on Public Folders at the top
2. Click on the + symbol then give the new Public Folder Mailbox a name and click Save
3. Click on the new Public Folder then on the right hand side click on Manage under Folder permissions
4. Add all administrator users to the Folder Permissions

Creating the Shared Calendar Public Folder

1. Open Outlook on administrative users workstation who will be the "Owner" of the folder
2. Click on Folders at the bottom and expand into the new root Public Folder
3. Right click on the root and choose Add New Folder
4. Give it a name and choose Calendar Items under folder contains then click OK
5. Right click on the new Public Calendar click on Properties then on Permissions tab
6. Add all users who will be accessing the calendar and appropriate permissions for them

Adding the Calendar folder to Outlook

1. Open Outlook on each users workstation
2. Click on Folders at the bottom and expand into the new Public Calendar
3. Right click on the Public Calendar and choose Add to Favorites which then makes it listed under their calendar tab.

If your company is migrating from on-premise Exchange to Office 365 or are in need of an Office 365 Shared Calendars setup, then contact us for assistance.