Recipient Configuration > Distribution Group (RTM)

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Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 will reach end of support on April 11, 2017. To stay supported, you will need to upgrade. For more information, see Resources to help you upgrade your Office 2007 servers and clients.

 

Applies to: Exchange Server 2007

Use the Distribution Group node under Recipient Configuration for a variety of distribution group management tasks. You can create new distribution groups (including security groups) and modify, remove, or disable existing distribution groups. To learn more information about managing distribution groups, see Managing Distribution Groups.

Note

To modify how recipient configuration objects are displayed in the Microsoft Management Console (MMC), click View in the action pane. For more information about view options, see Recipient Configuration (RTM).

There are two types of distribution groups: mail-enabled universal distribution groups and mail-enabled universal security groups. Mail-enabled universal distribution groups can be used only to distribute messages. Mail-enabled universal security groups can be used to grant access permissions to resources in Active Directory, and they can also be used to distribute messages.

A dynamic distribution group is a distribution group that uses recipient filters and conditions to derive its membership at the time the message is sent. For example, a dynamic distribution group might specify a recipient filter such as "users with external e-mail addresses and contacts with external e-mail addresses", and a condition such as "Recipient is in a company". When someone sends a message to this dynamic distribution group, Exchange queries Active Directory for all recipients that match the filter and conditions specified. Then Exchange returns a list of all external recipients that work for the company specified and sends the e-mail message to that list of recipients.

Distribution Group Objects in the Result Pane

When you select the Distribution Group node under Recipient Configuration, the result pane lists the distribution groups and dynamic distribution groups in your Exchange Server 2007 organization. When you select one of these distribution groups, the action pane displays the actions that you can perform for the selected group. The actions available for the group are listed under the group's name. For information about the actions available for a distribution group or a dynamic distribution group, see the following topics:

To focus on a set of distribution groups or dynamic distribution group that has specific attributes, you can use a variety of expressions to filter the list. For more information about filters, see How to Filter the Result Pane.

Managing Distribution Groups Using the Actions Pane

When you select the Distribution Group node under Recipient Configuration, the following distribution group-specific actions are available either by right-clicking Distribution Group or by using the action pane.

  • Modify the Maximum Number of Recipients to Display

    • Click Modify Maximum Number of Recipients to Display to open the Maximum Number of Recipients to Display dialog box. You can use this dialog box to set the maximum number of recipients to display in the result pane.

    • By default, a maximum of 1,000 recipients is displayed. Increasing this value can be beneficial in very large environments. However, increasing the value also increases the time it takes to display the results. Depending on the size of your organization, it may also have a performance impact on the domain controller to which you are connected.

    • For more information about this dialog box, see Recipient Configuration > Maximum Number of Recipients to Display (RTM).

  • New Distribution Group

    • Click New Distribution Group to open the New Distribution Group wizard. This wizard will help you create a new distribution group or security group.

    • For more information about managing distribution groups and security groups, see Managing Distribution Groups.

  • New Dynamic Distribution Group

    • Click New Dynamic Distribution Group to open the New Dynamic Distribution Group wizard.

    • For more information about managing dynamic distribution groups, see Managing Distribution Groups.

For More Information

To learn more about managing distribution groups, see Managing Distribution Groups.