How to set Public Folder permission on Windows Exchange Server 2016

Question

Created a public folder in the Exchange server 2016 and only set staff A,B C able to access into this folder.

However, we found that Staff X, Y, Z can access into this folder. And we checked that under folder permission only showed staff A, B,C.

How to fix this problem?

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hi @CC,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A platform!

Based on your description, there may be an issue with permissions not being applied or replicated correctly. Here are some steps you can take to troubleshoot and resolve this issue:

1. Use PowerShell to check the current permissions on the public folder. Run the following command to view the permissions on the folder:

Get-PublicFolderClientPermission -Identity "\PublicFolderName" 

Make sure only employees A, B, and C have the appropriate permissions listed.

2. Verify that the public folder mailbox assigned to the user is correct. Run:

Get-Mailbox -PublicFolder | Format-List Name,PrimarySmtpAddress 

Make sure permissions are replicated to the correct public folder mailbox.

3. If permissions are not applied correctly, you can update them manually. Update permissions using the following command:

Update-PublicFolderMailbox -Identity "PublicFolderMailboxName" -InvokeSynchronizer 

4. If the issue persists, make sure permissions are propagated correctly to all subfolders. Sometimes permissions set in the Exchange Admin Center (EAC) don't propagate correctly. Use PowerShell to recursively apply permissions:

.\Update-PublicFolderPermissions.ps1 -IncludeFolders "\PublicFolderName" -AccessRights "Owner" -Users "StaffA","StaffB","StaffC" -Recurse -Confirm:$false 

5. After making changes, verify permissions again to ensure they were applied correctly:

Get-PublicFolderClientPermission -Identity "\PublicFolderName"

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Please feel free to contact me for any updates. And if this helps, don't forget to mark it as an answer.

Best,

Jake Zhang