What is PoliteMail?

IT Services provides the PoliteMail service to pre-approved organizations as a means to send emails to large and specialized campus mailing lists. PoliteMail is a plug-in application for Microsoft Outlook desktop clients and is easy to install. PoliteMail for Outlook allows you to create and send UChicago departmental-branded emails to your distribution group(s) using templates. It also has the ability to provide data analytics and metrics that include when an email is read, read-time, and click-through rates to help you improve the effectiveness of your communication.

Note: If you need access to Microsoft Outlook, you'll need to access it from the Microsoft 365 portal (portal.office.com).

Request PoliteMail

You may request and receive support for PoliteMail by submitting the PoliteMail Support request form.

Note: PoliteMail runs best on a computer running Windows 10. If you are a Mac user, you will need a virtual desktop machine (VDM) that can run Windows. Mac users, please contact IT Services to have PoliteMail installed onto a VDM.

Get Started

Once your account has been set up, you'll receive a welcome email message titled "Your PoliteMail account is ready." It will include the software download link, your account password, and a unique PoliteMail Server hostname. This information is needed also to register your PoliteMail license.

If PoliteMail is installed on your computer by an IT support team, follow the simple steps below. If you will be installing the PoliteMail plugin yourself, step-by-step instructions are provided in the PoliteMail Self-Installation Guide.

1. Log in to your Microsoft Outlook desktop application.
2. You should be prompted with this PoliteMail Registration dialog box where you will enter the following information:
   
   1. Email address: Enter your UChicago email address
   2. Password: Enter the password that you received in the welcome email
   3. PoliteMail Server: Enter [pm1.uchicago.edu]
   4. Send Email via: Enter PoliteMail Server (select this from the drop-down menu)
      
3. From the Outlook ribbon, select the PoliteMail tab to start sending messages ail through PoliteMail.
4. You may be prompted with a Change Password dialog box. If prompted, complete the following steps:
   
   1. Enter your current email address,
   2. Enter your new password,
   3. Enter your new password to confirm it,
   4. Select Change.
      
      You will receive a confirmation that you've successfully changed your PoliteMail password.
      
5. Now you are ready to use PoliteMail. Select PoliteMail on your Outlook ribbon.
   
6. You will be prompted to select the PoliteMail Server default setting. Select OK.

Troubleshooting

After Installation, you will see a PoliteMail tab on the Outlook ribbon when you open a new message. If the tabs aren't visible, restart Outlook. If the tabs disappear from Outlook, read this article PoliteMail missing or disappeared? PoliteMail toolbars gone? How to Enable the PoliteMail Add-in for assistance. You may also click on the Help (?) icon on the PoliteMail ribbon to access the complete PoliteMail Knowledge Base.