Public Folder Basics

[LEFT][LEFT][CODE]http://www.msexchange.org/tutorials/Public-Folder-Basics-Part1.html[/CODE][/LEFT]

[IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/headshot_75x1151110207781344.jpg[/IMG]
[B][B]Amit Zinman[/B][/B]

[LEFT][SIZE=3][B]PART-1[/B][/SIZE]
[/LEFT]

[B]What Are Public Folders?[/B]

For the administrator, public folders are a separate database.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0011153476416937.gif[/IMG]
[B]Figure 1[/B][/INDENT]This screenshot shows the Exchange databases on a single Exchange 2003 Standard server. The [B][I]priv1[/I][/B]database, composed of both an EDB and an STM file, contains the user mailboxes. The [B][I]pub1[/I][/B] database contains the public folders. Both databases in Exchange 2000 and in Exchange 2003 up to SP2 had a limit of 16GB. In the fast moving Internet days, 16GB is not much. However, most mail accumulates in user mailboxes, leaving the public folder database pretty empty. Later on I will show how public folders can be better used to even this out, so you get a smaller mailbox database and more room to grow.
Public Folders contain the same type of folders you can access using Outlook, and can hold mail, calendaring and task information. You can set security on these folders so that only specific people will have specific types of access to these folders.
[B]Creating Public Folders[/B]

Public folders can be created using Exchange System Manager or the Outlook client.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0031153476416953.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 2[/B][/INDENT]Outlook 2003 sort of hides the public folders, so you first have to access the Folder list, then on the right side, open the Public Folder List, All Public Folders and the select “New Folder…”
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0051153476416953.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 3[/B][/INDENT]Exchange System Manager can only create folders that hold mail items, such as your Inbox and Sent Items folders, while Outlook can also create other types of folders such as Calendar items.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0071153476547937.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 4[/B][/INDENT]You can also create Public Folders using Outlook Web Access.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0091153476547937.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 5[/B][/INDENT][INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0111153476547937.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 6[/B][/INDENT][B]Public Folders Security[/B]

Public Folders have two types of security mechanisms – administration and client access.
Public Folder Administration security can only be set by Exchange System Manager. It allows you to decide which of the Exchange administrators have the right to manage security for the public folder and administrate the database (also called information store).
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0131153476801296.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 7[/B][/INDENT]In most cases, in a small to medium company you would mostly need to set client permissions and not administrative rights. These can be set by the Outlook client and Exchange System Manager, but not the Outlook Web Access client.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0151153476801296.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 8[/B]
[B][IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0171153476801312.jpg[/IMG]
Figure 9[/B][/INDENT]The above screenshots show the default security settings for Public Folders. The owner of a public folder is the user who created it and gets full control of the folder. Authenticated users (designated here as Default) are granted the right to add items and delete their own items and anonymous users can add items but not read them.
When creating a new public folder that you want a user to administer, you can simply add the user to the permission list and change the permission level to Owner.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0191153477041765.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 10[/B][/INDENT]The owner would be able to create subfolders for the folder you created and set further permissions on it.
[B]Using a Public Folder as a Mail Repository[/B]

Collaboration in even a small company is very important. A lot of people like Outlook so much they use it as their primary work tool. If Chris wants to show Mark an e-mail or a movie, he can either invite over or forward the item. Exchange has single instance storage capabilities which means an item forwarded will only have one copy, but once you forward an item, it is changed, so single instance storage loses its edge. This means you have documents and other heavy mail items bouncing around, inflating your information store database.
Also while Mark is very efficient in storing and cataloging important e-mails, once he is on vacation or otherwise indisposed, he won’t be able to forward e-mails. This can cause all kinds of problems. Instead, you can have departmental or project related mail folders in the public folder repository.
Instead of moving mail items to folders in your own mailbox, you move them to a specified public folder.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0211153477041781.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 11[/B][/INDENT]This way the item becomes available to the relevant department personnel, if you set the right permissions.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0231153477041781.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 12[/B][/INDENT]If you are worried about mailbox limits you can also create public folders for “heavy users” and only grant them permissions on those folders. They can move large items to their private public folder, saving room.
[B]Company Contact Folder[/B]

While storing contacts in Active Directory can be a valid solution, it has a few shortcomings. You need to teach non technical personnel to use the Active Directory Users and Computers console and install it on Windows XP workstations. Alternatively you can use third party interfaces for managing contacts. However, since users are already accustomed to Outlook you can simply create a shared contacts public folder.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0251153477345953.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 13[/B][/INDENT]The downside of this approach is that each user has to add this folder to his or her own Outlook Address Book so that the contacts will appear there. This is done in the Outlook Address Book tab of each folder in Outlook.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0271153477345953.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 14[/B][/INDENT]After doing so the contacts appear in the address book.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0291153477345953.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 15[/B][/INDENT][B]Public Calendar[/B]

A public calendar is also a useful tool. It can also save you money, because unlike a dedicated mailbox, a public folder doesn’t require a license. You can have as many public folders as you like. So, instead of creating a mailbox enabled user in Active Directory for scheduling meetings in, say, a meeting room, you can simply create an accessible public calendar folder.
Unfortunately, public calendar folders are not published in the free/busy folder, so you can’t really do advanced scheduling with these folders.
[B]Public Folder Favorites[/B]

It is also beneficial to add the public contacts folder or any other public folder that you use frequently to your public folder favorites by dragging it there or by using the context menu using Right-click and choosing “Add to Favorites”. Be sure to also add sub-folders.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0311153477680078.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 16[/B][/INDENT]If you use Outlook 2003, after adding a folder to the public folder favorites you will be able to access it using the regular sections without the need to browse all the way to the folder list.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0331153477680093.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 17[/B][/INDENT]If you have public calendar favorites, you will be able view them side by side to determine which calendar is free and compare them to your own calendar.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0351153477680093.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 18[/B][/INDENT]You can also modify your Exchange account in Outlook 2003 Cache mode to download public folder favorites so they are automatically available offline. From the Outlook menu choose Tool > E-mail Accounts > Exchange Server Settings > More Settings > Advanced.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0371153477680093.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 19[/B][/INDENT][B]Conclusion[/B]

Public folders is a handy and powerful tool, not always the easiest to set up, but providing many benefits and granularity. If you know how to use it, it can also save you time and money.
This article covered the basic of the basics. Public Folders, like most features in Exchange, are full of hidden surprises. I will try to cover more of that in a future article
[/LEFT]

[LEFT][CODE]http://www.msexchange.org/tutorials/Public-Folder-Basics-Part2.html[/CODE]

[LEFT][SIZE=3][B]PART-2[/B][/SIZE]
[/LEFT]

Like mailboxes, public folders can also receive mail from the Internet. By default, public folders do not receive e-mail until you mail enable them.
This is how the property pages of a public folder look when they are not mail enabled.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0021157014683421.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 1[/B][/INDENT]A public folder is mail enabled by using the Exchange System Manager.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0041157014683421.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 2[/B][/INDENT]Once a public folder is mail enabled we get additional property tabs, similar to those you might recognize from mailbox enabled users.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0051157014683421.gif[/IMG]
[B]Figure 3[/B][/INDENT]You can change or add e-mail addresses to suit your needs by editing the SMTP address or adding a new one.
By going to the content tab of the public folder and entering an account with access to the folder you get a mini Outlook Web Access interface. I have sent an e-mail from the Internet to the public folder. Notice that instead of the envelope icon you get a post it icon, since Exchange treats e-mails sent to a public folder as posts.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0071157014821000.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 4[/B][/INDENT]This means you cannot reply or forward this e-mail. However, using the Outlook client, you can overcome this by using the Reply or Forward buttons in the toolbar without opening the post itself.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0091157014821015.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 5[/B][/INDENT][B]Folder Automation[/B]

While the word "automation" is generally associated with scripts and programming, Outlook and Exchange provide some surprisingly strong automation features that require no scripting at all.
The Administration property page of a public folder is where this magic happens. When you press "Folder Assistant" you will be presented with a few automation options that you can create by using rules.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0101157014821015.gif[/IMG]
[B]Figure 6[/B]
[IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0111157015038062.gif[/IMG]
[B]Figure 7[/B][/INDENT]If this looks familiar to you, you might have seen a similar dialog box for it in the Out of Office options.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0121157015038062.gif[/IMG]
[B]Figure 8[/B][/INDENT]Don't forget that you also have some Advanced options.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0131157015038062.gif[/IMG]
[B]Figure 9[/B][/INDENT]I've used the folder assistant many times in conjunction with other software automation. For example, a service on the Internet would send some data to the public folder and it would then, according to the subject, forward the information to the right person or group.
Another such scenario is a public folder which contains information that needs to be accessible to an outside contractor. Sure, you can set up some other forms of Internet access, or instead, simply forward relevant information to your outside contractor or field agents.
The "Reply with Template" option can be used in help desk scenarios where the customer needs to know that someone is taking care of him or her. Sure, this can also be done with a mailbox, but remember: public folders are cheaper and more accessible. Also, the rules run server-side even when Outlook is running.
Another way that this can be used is to help you better monitor backups. Most backup utilities will e-mail you the results. After a while, if you're a busy administrator, there's a chance you might start ignoring their sometimes cryptic messages which can get lost inside your mailbox, and sometimes even find their way to your Junk e-mail. Instead, why not set up a public folder for these messages, and have the folder just forward critical errors? On second thought, why stop there? Most applications these days will send you some kind of a notification, and monitoring applications, such as Microsoft Operations Manager, will send you even more. I find that using a public folder is more tidy while leaving you the option to forward important mail to your mailbox, or perhaps an Internet pager.
You might have noticed that a folder can also be moderated as well, by using the Moderated Folder button in the Administration tab of the public folder property pages. For more information about this you can read this excellent [URL="http://www.msexchange.org/articles/Creating-Using-Moderated-Public-Folders-Exchange-Server.html"][B]article[/B][/URL].
[B]Shortcuts[/B]

What happens if you wish to access a specific public folder?
Inside Office you can use a hyperlink to access your folder. The easiest way of constructing such a link is by using the web toolbar in Outlook. To enable this toolbar right click the toolbar area and choose “Web”.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0151157015385156.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 10[/B][/INDENT]On the web toolbar you will now see the link to whatever folder you are using at the moment.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0171157015385156.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 11[/B][/INDENT]You can insert these hyperlinks to an e-mail message or any other office document by using brackets.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0191157015385156.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 12[/B][/INDENT]After pressing “Enter” the hyperlink will be created. Such hyperlink will also work in Internet Explorer but you will have to replace Spaces with “%2520”. In our example the URL will become:
[INDENT] outlook://Public%2520Folders/All%2520Public%2520Folders/Test[/INDENT]You will probably also get some security warnings too, for trying to launch an application from Internet Explorer. Alternatively, you can use an Outlook Web Access URL such as this: [url]http://exchange/public/test[/url]. Unlike the Outlook client URLs, spaces are replaced by %20, like this: [url]http://exchange/public/Internet%20Newsgroups/[/url]
Make sure to replace, in the above examples, “exchange” with the name of your own Exchange server. You can also drag an Outlook folder to your desktop or any other folder on your hard drive to create a shortcut. The shortcut is a special Office file with extension XNK. It can be copied to other machines or moved to one of the shortcut toolbars.
I hate to leave without leaving a piece of coding, so here is a code for accessing a folder with VBScript (or VBA):
[INDENT] ‘ActiveateTempPublicFolder.vbs
Set myOlApp = CreateObject ("Outlook.Application")
Set myNameSpace = myOlApp.Application.GetNamespace("MAPI")
Set myfolder = myNameSpace.Folders("Public Folders").
Folders("All Public folders").Folders("Test")

Myfolder.display[/INDENT]You can use this code to create an Outlook button. First create an Outlook macro.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0211157015539703.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 13[/B]
[IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0231157015539703.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 14[/B][/INDENT]Then place the code into the Microsft Visual Basic Editor.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0251157015539703.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 15[/B][/INDENT]Now exit the editor and return to Outlook and choose Tools | Customize. From the list of categories select Macros.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0261157015665937.gif[/IMG]
[B]Figure 16[/B][/INDENT]Then drag our macro to a tool bar.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0281157015665937.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 17[/B][/INDENT]Rename the button to make it more readable by right clicking it and choosing “Name:”.
[INDENT] [IMG]http://www.msexchange.org/img/upl/image0301157015665968.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Figure 18[/B][/INDENT]Press “Close” button and now your button is ready to use. Please note that you can create your button in any Office application, not just Outlook.
[B]Conclusion[/B]

As you can see the more you dig, the more possibilities you have for using and accessing Public Folders. With very little effort you can maximize the use of your investment in Exchange and while at it, tailor your system for ease of use
[/LEFT]