Northern Illinois University

Information Technology Services

Frequently Asked Questions


How do I get a GroupWise account?

All employees are automatically given an AccountID and GroupWise e-mail account by the PeopleSoft Human Resource Information System. Look up your AccountID at password.niu.edu > Look up or by using HRS PeopleSoft Tools. Allow 2 business days for processing information into the PeopleSoft system.

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What happens to my account when I transfer jobs within NIU?

Your current AccountID and GroupWise mailbox transfer with you to the new department.

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What happens to my account when I leave NIU?

The PeopleSoft Human Resources Information System updates employee information daily. When an employee terminates, the GroupWise e-mail account remains for 120 days, then disabled. At that point, any messages sent to that mailbox will be rejected and returned to the sender. After 30 days, the e-mail account will be deleted and purged from the network.

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How do I change my information?

To change your name, fill out the Personal Data Form on the Human Resources Forms page. It's the second form on the page. To change your phone number, fill out Update your Faculty/Staff directory information.

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Why can't I get into GroupWise?

You must have an Internet connection established to connect to GroupWise. If you can get to the Internet, you should be able to open GroupWise.

If you get an error message saying you are unable to connect to the TCP/IP address and you have an active Internet connection, the GroupWise Internet Protocol information is missing. A dialogue box may appear asking for a TCP/IP address and Port number. For TCP/IP,  type gw.niu.edu.  For Port  type 1677.

Do not confuse your Network password with your GroupWise password. Your network password allows you to get on to the NIU network and expires every 130 days. Your GroupWise password allows you to get into GroupWise and is permanent unless you change it.

Passwords are case sensitive. If your password is all lowercase, be sure the Caps Lock key is not on.

If you use America Online as your Internet Service Provider, when you try to open WebAccess, you may get a Logon Not Current error message. Minimize the AOL browser and then open Internet Explorer from your desktop first. 

Other possible reasons for not getting into GroupWise include the server being down or your GroupWise account being disabled. Contact the ITS Helpdesk for assistance.

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Why won't my password work?

The default GroupWise password is your date of birth in YYYYMMDD format. Passwords are case-sensitive. You are prompted for it each time you open GroupWise. If you forget your password, contact the ITS Helpdesk.

To change your password:

  1.   In the Main Window, click Tools, Options.
  2.   Double-click Security; click the Password tab.
  3.   Type in your old password. hit enter.
  4.   In the New Password text box, type the password.
  5.   In the Confirm New Password text box, type the password again. Click  OK, Close.

NOTE: It is recommended that you not check "Remember my password" or "No Password Required with NDS."

To change a password in WebAccess:

  1. In the main mailbox window, find the three picture toolbar near the top of the page. Click on the middle icon that reads "Options" when the mouse is placed over it. This will open the Options window which allows you to change your GroupWise password.
  2. Type in your old password, then your new password, then confirm the new password.

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What does the message "login not current" in WebAccess mean?

This usually occurs when the Internet Service Provider is America Online or Compuserve. A change on their back end results in this error message.

Minimize the AOL/Compuserve browser and then open Internet Explorer from your desktop. You will be able to use WebAccess.

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How do I keep GroupWise 7 WebAccess from timing out while composing a message?

The default time-out setting for GroupWise 7 WebAccess is 20 minutes of inactivity and is enabled as a security measure.

Install the root certificate for the two main NIU security certificates (NIUCA & NIUCA2) into your browser to avoid being timed out. Go to NIU Security Certificate page to download these certificates.

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What is the size of the basic GroupWise mailbox?

200MB.

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What is a resource?

A GroupWise e-mail account set up for a department, special project, conference room, or equipment is called a resource. Every resource is assigned an owner who controls access to the mailbox. Users proxy into a resource to read the mail.  A resource can be requested by filling out the Computer Access Request Form.

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How do I proxy into a mailbox?

    1. Choose File, Proxy.
    2. In the Proxy dialog box, click on the address book icon, located next to the OK button.
    3. Click on the person or resource from whom you have been granted proxy rights, then click OK.
    4. Click on this person or resource in the proxy list, then click OK. Your mailbox will now switch to that mailbox.
    5. To switch back to your own mailbox, or to another mailbox which has given you proxy rights, just click on the proxy icon in the bottom left corner of the mailbox window, and click on the name of the mailbox you want to access.

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What is an alias e-mail address?

Every employee at NIU who uses GroupWise is issued a System E-mail Address, which consists of the AccountID followed by @wpo.cso.niu.edu. Because this address is difficult to remember, we also provide you with a simplified version, known as the alias address. Go to the NIU On-Line Phone Book. Type in your name and hit Enter. Note the blue link next to your name. This is your alias address. Although both addresses will work, we recommend using the alias.

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How do I resend e-mail?

Use Resend to send an item a second time, perhaps with corrections. Resend lets you send an item without re-typing all the information. When you resend an item, you can retract the original item. Messages cannot be retracted if they've already been opened. Any items sent off campus or to an alias@niu.edu  can not be retracted.

To resend an item:

  1. Click the display settings drop-down list on the toolbar Sent Items.
  2. Right-click the item you want to resend, and click Resend.
  3. If the item was an auto-date item, click "This Instance" or "All Instances."
  4. Make any changes to the item, if necessary, then click Send.
  5. Click Yes to retract the original item--or--click No to leave the original item.

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What do these error messages mean: (1) ODMA; (2) MAPI32.DLL?

These problems may be due to third-party software installations or upgrades to your computer that are not compatible with GroupWise. These error messages typically say: "Cannot load PACKING.LST;" or mention "MAPI32.dll file" or"ODMA integration" problems. If you receive one of these error messages, contact the ITS Helpdesk.

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What happened to my address book?

In most instances, when a personal address book appears to be lost, it has only been accidentally closed or deleted. Closed books can be re-opened, deleted books cannot be retrieved.

To open an address book:

  1. Click on the Address Book icon on the main mailbox toolbar.
  2. Once in the Address Book, click File, Open Book.
  3. (NOTE: If all of your address books are open, Open Book is dimmed.)
  4. Click or Ctrl+click one or more address books. Click OK.

It is also possible that there are too many address books crowding the file tab line. Look for a double arrow to the right of the tab line. Press on these arrows to scroll right or left to view other address books. Another possibility is that a third-party software installation has overwritten your address book. If that is the case, call the ITS Helpdesk.

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How do I install GroupWise on my computer on campus?

See GroupWise E-Mail Client and Instant Messenger Client 

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How do I forward my mail to another e-mail program automatically?

To forward your mail, you must create a Rule. A Forwarding Rule forwards your all or some of your mail to one or more users under conditions you specify.

To create a rule:

  1. Click Tools, Rules, New.
  2. Type a name in the Rule Name box, such as "Forward Mail."
  3. Click the "When Event Is" pop-up list and click an event to trigger the rule.
  4. Click New Item. Click one or more sources for the item. For example, click Received and Posted.
  5. Click one or more types of items you want the rule to act on in the Item Types list. To further restrict the items affected by the rule, click Define Conditions. (If you want all of your GroupWise E-mail forwarded, it is not necessary to define conditions). Click the appropriate conditions, then OK.
  6. Click Add Action and select Forward. In the "To" box, type in the e-mail address to which you want the mail to forward. Click Save. The next piece of mail that matches the criteria will trigger the rule.

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Should I select "reply to all' when creating a Vacation Rule?

NO. This can send vacation rule messages to everyone on your listservs so it is not a good use of university resources. 

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How can I tell if my e-mail has been sent?

  1. Click or open the item for which you want to check the status.
  2. Click File, Properties.

You can also right-click an item in your Mailbox, then click Properties to see the status information.

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How do I change the font size in my mailbox?

For Windows-based versions:

To permanently change the font size you must change the Windows default settings. The following steps may vary according to the version of your operating system.

  1. Right click on the Windows desktop.
  2. Choose Properties.
  3. Select the Appearance tab.
  4. Go to the Item section and click on the picklist arrow.
  5. Select Message Box as the item.
  6. Go to the Font secton and select the Font and Size you want.
  7. Click on OK.

Please note that these font changes may also affect your desktop and other programs. If the font is too large, toolbar buttons may disappear off the screen.

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How do I include the header when printing messages?

The Header is the address and subject line portions of the e-mail message. To print a message with the header information:

  1. Open the message.
  2. Click on the Quick Viewer icon, (the toolbar button featuring a pair of glasses). The window will refresh and the header information will be included when you print the message.

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