How to Change the From Address in Microsoft Outlook 2023

Several users have more than one email id. This is the bare minimum where one is used for work while the other for personal reasons. Seeing how most of us struggle to balance both lives simultaneously, it makes sense to log into Microsoft Outlook from both accounts. Sending emails becomes easier if you can change the From address in Microsoft Outlook on the fly.

Change sender address in Microsoft Outlook

This makes it easier to access the inbox of different email addresses and change the name of the email sender in Outlook. Note that you can add any email address in Outlook desktop apps like Gmail or ProtonMail.

Let’s start.

Add an email account to Outlook Web App

First I’ll show you how to add a new email ID on Outlook or OWA web app.

Step 1: Open Outlook.com in your preferred browser and click on the gear icon to select the “ Show all Outlook settings ” option.

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2nd step: You can add new email accounts under the Sync emails option in the left sidebar. There is a separate option for Gmail.

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Change address in Outlook Web App

It’s really easy to choose another Outlook email address to send email on the fly. Just click the From button to bring up a drop-down menu with all the email IDs you’ve added. The From button is only visible when there are other email identifiers to choose from.

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Select the one you want to use to send the email and compose your email as usual. The From address field will reflect the change in real time.

There are a few things to keep in mind. You cannot add more than 20 accounts in the From field in Outlook. Adding more than the upper limit will make any added email IDs unnecessary. This means that you will not be able to send emails from any of them. To remedy this, remove some of them to reach the threshold limit.

Change address in Outlook desktop app

The desktop version works differently from OWA.

Step 1: Open Outlook and compose an email as you normally would. The From field is not visible by default and is hidden in the Options menu. First click on it and then select From to make the option visible in the compose section of an email.

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2nd step: Click the newly visible From Address button to quickly change the send email address on the fly.

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Adding a new email id on the fly is also pretty easy. Click the From field again and this time click the Alternate Email Address option. Simply enter the new email id and follow the onscreen instructions to add it quickly. You can always set it up later, just like other email IDs.

What happens when you change your address in Outlook

Three main policies or frameworks have been developed to deal with such situations. These are the Sender Policy Framework (SPF), Domain-Based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Compliance (DMARC), and Domain Key Identified Messaging (DKIM).

One of the functions of these frameworks is to protect users from email spoofing, which means sending emails from an address that is not owned by the sender. Although we own the address, it is not our primary email id. An example can be using a Gmail ID to send emails from an Outlook app.

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Here’s how Google will handle the situation. It will not filter the email or block it. Gmail will ignore the new sender address and display the original Outlook email ID in the From field.

Things work a little differently for Microsoft Exchange servers. Emails will be sent normally if the servers are configured to send emails from a different email address. As long as you have access to the email address and are authorized to use it. This is true even if you have not yet added the email ID to Outlook. The email address “[email protected]” is an example where this could happen. Most companies have this email id where certain replies are sent when the conditions are met. You do not have to add it to the From address field of your Outlook client. This is commonly referred to as an auto responder.

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Not everyone has their e-mail address connected to the exchange server. In the case of a regular email id, the email will not be sent. Instead, you will receive a delivery failure notification which will say something like “This message could not be sent.” You are not authorized to send the message on behalf of the specified user ‘.

Set a Default Email ID

Users with multiple email IDs added to their Outlook account are known to send emails from the wrong email ID. One way to resolve this issue is to set a default email ID in your settings. The option was added in Outlook 2016.

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You’ll find the option under Settings> Mail. Simply activate the option “Always use the default account when composing new messages”.

Balancing Act

The ability to send emails from different addresses in Outlook is a blessing. A feature that you will find yourself using almost every day. It is quite easy to use and works like a charm. Just make sure you have selected the correct email id before clicking the submit button.

Let us know if you have any questions in the comments section below.

Then:

The Outlook email app is a pleasure to use with the built-in keyboard shortcuts. Read the following article to find the 15 best keyboard shortcuts for Outlook on Windows and Mac.

Last updated Oct 16, 2020

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