How to View or Configure the Settings of Mail-Enabled Public Folders

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, Exchange Server 2007 SP1, Exchange Server 2007 SP2, Exchange Server 2007 SP3

This topic explains how to use the Exchange Management Console or the Exchange Management Shell to view and configure the settings of a mail-enabled public folder. Mail-enabled public folders have additional settings than public folders that are not mail-enabled (known as mail-disabled public folders). To configure the settings of a mail-disabled public folder, see How to View or Configure the Settings of Public Folders.

Before You Begin

Before you perform the following procedure, you must perform the actions in one of the following sections based on whether you are working with the release to manufacturing (RTM) version of Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 or Exchange 2007 Service Pack 1 (SP1).

For more information about permissions, delegating roles, and the rights that are required to administer Exchange 2007, see Permission Considerations.

Permissions and Prerequisites for Exchange 2007 SP1

To configure mail-enabled public folder settings in the SP1 version of Exchange 2007, the account you use must be delegated the following:

• Exchange Public Folder Administrator role and local Administrators group for the target server

To view mail-enabled public folder settings, the account you use must be delegated the following:

• Exchange View-Only Administrator role and local Administrators group for the target server

Permissions and Prerequisites for the RTM Version of Exchange 2007

To configure mail-enabled public folder settings in the RTM version of Exchange 2007, the account you use must be delegated the following:

• Exchange Server Administrator role and local Administrators group for the target server

To view mail-enabled public folder settings, the account you use must be delegated the following:

• Exchange View-Only Administrator role and local Administrators group for the target server

Also, before you perform this procedure, be aware of the following:

• In Exchange 2007 RTM, you can manage public folders only in the Exchange Management Shell. You cannot use the Exchange Management Console.

Procedure

Exchange Server SP1

To use the Exchange Management Console to view or configure the settings of a public folder

1. Start the Exchange Management Console.

2. In the console tree, click Toolbox.

3. In the result pane, click Public Folder Management Console, and then in the action pane, click Open Tool. The Public Folder Management Console appears.

4. In the public folder tree, click or expand Default Public Folders, and then click the parent folder of the public folder that you want to configure.

5. In the result pane, click the public folder that you want to configure.

6. In the action pane, click Properties.

7. Use the General tab to configure the following fields:

   • Name   Use this text box to view or modify the display name for the public folder.

   • Maintain per-user read and unread information for this folder   Select this check box to enable the user to see if a public folder message has been read in Microsoft Outlook.

8. Use the Replication tab to view and set the content replication schedule and to specify the databases on which the public folder content will be replicated. The following fields are available:

   • Add   Click this button to open the Select Public Folder Database dialog box. Use this dialog box to add a public folder database to the replica list.

   •    To remove a public folder database from the replication list, select a database from the list, and then click this button.

   • Use public folder database replication schedule   Select this check box to use the replication schedule that is set on the public folder database. This check box is selected by default. To manually set the replication schedule, clear this check box and use the settings in the corresponding list.

     If you select Use Custom Schedule from the list, click Customize to open the Schedule dialog box, and then specify the times that you want replication to occur.

   • Local replica age limit (days)   Use this text box to specify the age limit for items in this public folder. Items that have reached the age limit are deleted.

9. Use the Limits tab to view or configure storage quotas, deleted item retention, and age limits for the public folder. The following fields are available:

   • Use database quota defaults   Select this check box to use the public folder database quota limits on which the public folder resides. If you do not select this check box, the Issue warning at (KB), Prohibit post at (KB), and Maximum item size (KB) check boxes are made available.

   • Issue warning at (KB)   Select this check box to automatically warn public folder owners that the public folder is approaching its storage limit. To specify this limit, select the check box, and then specify the size of the public folder in kilobytes (KB) at which you want to provide the warning message. You can enter a value between 0 and 2,147,483,647 KB (2.1 terabytes).

   • Prohibit post at (KB)   Select this check box to prevent posting to the public folder after the size of the folder reaches the specified limit. To specify this limit, select the check box, and then specify the size of the public folder in KB at which you want to prohibit posting. You can enter a value between 0 and 2,147,483,647 KB (2.1 terabytes).

   • Maximum item size (KB)   Select this check box to limit the maximum size of items that users can post to the public folder. To specify the size, select the check box, and then specify the maximum size of items in KB that users can post to the public folders. You can enter a value between 0 and 2,097,151 KB.

   • Use database retention defaults   Select this check box to use the public folder database item retention limits on which this public folder resides. If you do not select this check box, the Retain deleted items for (days) check box is made available.

   • Retain deleted items for (days)   Select this check box to set the number of days that deleted items are retained in a public folder. You can enter a value between 0 and 24,855 days.

   • Use database age defaults   Select this check box to use the public folder database age limits on which this public folder resides. If you do not select this check box, the Age limit for replicas (days) check box is made available.

   • Age limit for replicas (days)   Select this check box to limit the age of the public folder. Use the corresponding text box to specify the age limit in days. Replicas of this public folder are automatically deleted when the age limit is exceeded. You can enter a value between 0 and 24,855 days.

10. Use the Exchange General tab to view and configure the general settings of a mail-enabled public folder. The following fields are available:

    • Alias   Use this text box to view or modify the alias for the mail-enabled public folder.

    • Display name   Use this text box to view or modify the display name for the public folder. This is the name that the public folder displays in the global address list (GAL).

    • Simple display name   Use this text box to view or modify the simple display name for the mail-enabled public folder.

      In Exchange 2007, the Display name field can contain Unicode characters. Third-party applications and older client applications may not support Unicode characters. If the system that is displaying the public folder does not support Unicode characters, the simple display name can be used. For more information about Unicode characters, see Unicode.

      The Simple display name field accepts only ASCII characters.

    • Hide from Exchange address list   Select this check box to hide the public folder from address lists.

    • Custom Attributes   Click Custom Attributes to open the Custom Attributes dialog box. Use this dialog box to view and modify the custom attributes for the mail-enabled public folder. You can specify up to 15 custom attributes for the public folder.

11. Use the E-Mail Addresses tab to configure the e-mail addresses for the mail-enabled public folder. You can modify the existing addresses or create additional addresses. Each mail-enabled public folder must have at least one primary Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) address.

    Note

    By default, each mail-enabled public folder has e-mail addresses based on the e-mail address policies that are defined in your Exchange organization. For more information about e-mail address policies, see Managing E-Mail Address Policies.

    The following fields are available:

    • Add   Click this button to add a new e-mail address for this mail-enabled public folder. Use the drop-down box to select an SMTP e-mail address (default) or a custom e-mail address. Depending on the type of address you select, the SMTP E-Mail Address or the Custom Address dialog box appears.

      In Exchange 2007, all addresses that are not SMTP addresses are considered to be custom addresses. Exchange 2007 does not provide unique dialog boxes or property pages for X400, GroupWise, or Lotus Notes e-mail address types.

      If you add a custom address, you must have appropriate dynamic-link library (DLL) files installed. If you do not have the appropriate DLL files, you are not able to create a customized e-mail address policy. The following error is logged in Event Viewer:

      "The e-mail address description object in the Microsoft Exchange directory for the 'Address Type' address type on 'Machine Type' machines is missing."

    • Edit   Click this button to modify the selected e-mail address. Depending on the type of address you select, the SMTP E-Mail Address or the Custom Address dialog box appears.

    •    Click this button to delete the selected e-mail address.

      Note

      You cannot use this button to remove the primary SMTP address for a recipient. To remove a primary SMTP address, you must first designate a new or existing SMTP address as primary.

    • Set as Reply   Click this button to set your selected address as the reply to address. When the mail-enabled public folder sends an e-mail message, this is the e-mail address that is seen by other users and is the address to which they reply.

      A mail-enabled public folder can have multiple e-mail addresses for a specific address type. This allows the mail-enabled public folder to receive messages that are addressed to any one of these e-mail addresses. However, a single address must be designated as the reply to address for each address type. An e-mail address that is designated as the reply to address is also considered the primary address for the specific address type.

      This button is available only when an address other than the primary address is selected. Primary addresses for each address type are displayed in bold type.

      Note

      If an e-mail address policy in your Exchange organization applies to this mailbox, the Set as Reply setting is controlled by that policy. To change the primary address for a specific address type, you must clear the Automatically update e-mail addresses based on e-mail address policy check box.

12. Automatically update e-mail addresses based on e-mail address policy   Select this check box to have the mail-enabled public folder's e-mail addresses automatically updated based on changes made to e-mail address policies in your organization. This box is selected by default.

13. Use the Member Of tab to view a list of distribution groups that includes this mail-enabled public folder. You cannot use this tab to modify membership information. To add this mail-enabled public folder to a distribution group or to remove it from a distribution group, you must use the property pages of that distribution group. For more information about how to create or delete distribution groups, see Managing Distribution Groups.

    Note

    The public folder may match the criteria for one or more dynamic distribution groups in your organization. However, dynamic distribution groups are not displayed on this tab because their membership is calculated each time they are used.

    Note

    This tab displays all groups that include this public folder, some of which may not be mail-enabled. Mail-enabled groups have an envelope icon next to them.

    The following fields are available:

    • Display Name   Displays the name of the group.

    • Organizational Unit   Displays the organizational unit (OU) that contains the group.

14. Use the Mail Flow Settings tab to configure delivery options, message size restrictions, and message delivery restrictions for mail-enabled public folders. To view or change a mail flow setting, select the setting from the list, and then click Properties.

    • Delivery Options   Select this setting, and then click Properties to open the Delivery Options dialog box. Use this dialog box to control the delegated permissions and forwarding options for this mail-enabled public folder.

    • Message Size Restrictions   Select this setting, and then click Properties to open the Message Size Restrictions dialog box. Use this dialog box to configure the maximum message size in KB that this mail-enabled public folder is allowed to send or receive.

    • Message Delivery Restrictions   Select this setting, and then click Properties to open the Message Delivery Restrictions dialog box. Use this dialog box to specify which senders can send e-mail messages to this mail-enabled public folder.

To use the Exchange Management Shell to view mail-enabled public folder settings

• To get the names of all mail-enabled public folders, run the following command.

  Get-PublicFolder "\" -Recurse -ResultSize Unlimited | Get-MailPublicFolder -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Format-List Name
  

  Note

  Setting the ErrorAction parameter to SilentlyContinue stops errors from displaying when folders that are not mail-enabled are encountered by the command.

• To get mail-related information about a mail-enabled public folder, run the following command.

  Get-MailPublicFolder -Identity "\My Mail-Enabled Public Folder"
  

• To get mail-related information about the mail-enabled public folder named Pending Cases that is contained in the folder named Legal, run the following command.

  Get-MailPublicFolder -Identity "\Legal\Pending Cases"
  

• To get mail-related information about a mail-enabled public folder and specify the domain controller to which to connect, run the following command.

  Get-MailPublicFolder -Identity "\My Mail-Enabled Public Folder" -DomainController "My DomainController" 
  

For detailed syntax and parameter information, see the Get-MailPublicFolder reference topic.

To use the Exchange Management Shell to configure the settings of a mail-enabled public folder

• To set the primary SMTP address of the public folder named Sales to MyMailPublicFolder@contoso.com, run the following command.

  Set-MailPublicFolder -Identity "\Sales" -PrimarySmtpAddress MyMailPublicFolder@contoso.com
  

  Note

  You cannot change the primary SMTP e-mail address if the EmailAddressEnabled parameter is set to true.

• To disable the e-mail address policy of the mail-enabled public folder named Sales, run the following command.

  Set-MailPublicFolder -Identity "\Sales" -EmailAddressEnabled $False
  

• To assign a value (string) to the first custom attribute of the mail-enabled public folder named Sales, run the following command.

  Set-MailPublicFolder -Identity "\Sales" -CustomAttribute1 "This string is the value of custom attribute one."
  

• To set a 200 megabyte (MB) size limit for the mail-enabled public folder named Sales, after which the folder can no longer send e-mail messages, run the following command.

  Set-MailPublicFolder -Identity "\Sales" -SendStorageQuota 200MB
  

For detailed syntax and parameter information, see the Set-MailPublicFolder reference topic.

Exchange Server RTM

To use the Exchange Management Shell to view mail-enabled public folder settings

• To get the names of all mail-enabled public folders, run the following command.

  Get-PublicFolder "\" -Recurse -ResultSize Unlimited | Get-MailPublicFolder -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Format-List Name
  

  Note

  Setting the ErrorAction parameter to SilentlyContinue suppresses the display of errors when folders that are not mail-enabled are encountered by the command.

• To get mail-related information about a mail-enabled public folder, run the following command.

  Get-MailPublicFolder -Identity "\My Mail-Enabled Public Folder"
  

• To get mail-related information about the mail-enabled public folder named Pending Cases contained in the folder named Legal, run the following command.

  Get-MailPublicFolder -Identity "\Legal\Pending Cases"
  

• To get mail-related information about a mail-enabled public folder and specify the domain controller to which to connect, run the following command.

  Get-MailPublicFolder -Identity "\My Mail-Enabled Public Folder" -DomainController "My DomainController" 
  

For detailed syntax and parameter information, see the Get-MailPublicFolder (RTM) reference topic.

To use the Exchange Management Shell to configure the settings of a mail-enabled public folder

• To set the primary SMTP address of the public folder named Sales to MyMailPublicFolder@contoso.com, run the following command.

  Set-MailPublicFolder -Identity "\Sales" -PrimarySmtpAddress MyMailPublicFolder@contoso.com
  

  Note

  You cannot change the primary SMTP e-mail address if the EmailAddressEnabled parameter is set to true.

• To disable the e-mail address policy of the mail-enabled public folder named Sales, run the following command.

  Set-MailPublicFolder -Identity "\Sales" -EmailAddressPolicyEnabled $False
  

• To assign a value (string) to the first custom attribute of the mail-enabled public folder named Sales, run the following command.

  Set-MailPublicFolder -Identity "\Sales" -CustomAttribute1 "This string is the value of custom attribute one."
  

• To set a 200 MB size limit for the mail-enabled public folder named Sales, after which the folder can no longer send e-mail messages, run the following command.

  Set-MailPublicFolder -Identity "\Sales" -SendStorageQuota 200MB
  

For detailed syntax and parameter information, see the Set-MailPublicFolder (RTM) reference topic.

For More Information

To learn more about public folders, see Understanding Public Folders.

For more information about managing public folders, see Managing Public Folders.

For more information about using the Exchange Management Shell, see Using the Exchange Management Shell.