Overview of identities in Entourage for Mac

This article describes how to use the Identity feature to allow multiple users access to Entourage features.

The Identity feature allows multiple users to access their e-mail messages, Calendar and Task items, and Contact information in a separate and uniquely configured environment.

Use the Identity feature in the following situations:

• When there are different users that have different mail accounts and personal information that use the same computer. This scenario is most common for users who share a single Apple Macintosh computer that is running Mac OS 9.2.2 and earlier versions.
• When one user wants to separate their personal e-mail messages, their schedule, their task, and their contact items from items that are associated with work.

How to create a new identity

Follow these steps to create a new identity in Microsoft Entourage 2001:

1. Click Switch Identities on the File menu.
2. When you are prompted to close all connections and windows for the current identity, click Switch.
3. In the Select an Identity dialog box, click New.
4. In the Identity Name box, type a name for your identity, and then click OK
5. Click the Base Initial Settings On box to select a current identity to use for your new identity or use the default settings, and then click OK.

The Set Up Assistant appears to help you with account information such as e-mail addresses and server names for your new identity.

Follow these steps to create a new identity in Microsoft Entourage versions X and 2004:

1. Click Switch Identity on the Entourage menu.
2. In the message box warning you that Entourage will close all connections and windows for the current identity, click Switch.
3. In the Select an Identity dialog box, click New.
4. In the Identity Name box, type a name for your identity, and then click OK.

The Entourage Setup Assistant appears to help you with account information such as e-mail addresses and server names for your new identity.

How to switch to your new identity

Entourage uses the "Main Identity" by default. To switch to a different identity, follow the steps in the "How to Create a New Identity" section. In the Select an Identity dialog box, click the identity that you created, and then click OK.

Entourage creates a unique folder structure for you to store user information for your new identity. For additional information about storage locations for user data in Entourage, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: