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Configure Offline Address Book Properties

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Applies to: Exchange Server 2010 SP3, Exchange Server 2010 SP2

An offline address book (OAB) in Exchange Server 2010 is a copy of an address book that's been downloaded so that an Outlook user can access the information it contains while disconnected from the server. Exchange administrators can choose which address books are made available to users who work offline, and they can also configure the method by which the address books are distributed (Web-based distribution or public folder distribution).

Looking for other management tasks related to OABs? Check out Managing Offline Address Books.

What Do You Want to Do?

  • Use the EMC to configure OAB properties

  • Use the Shell to configure OAB properties

Use the EMC to configure OAB properties

You need to be assigned permissions before you can perform this procedure. To see what permissions you need, see the "Offline address books" entry in the Mailbox Permissions topic.

  1. In the console tree, navigate to Organization Configuration > Mailbox.

  2. In the result pane, click the Offline Address Book tab, and then select the offline address book that you want to configure.

  3. In the action pane, click Properties.

  4. Use the General tab to view OAB properties and to set the update interval for the OAB.

    • Name   This unlabeled box at the top of the tab displays the OAB name. You can modify this name.

    • Generation server   This read-only field displays the OAB generation server. The OAB generation server is the Mailbox server on which the OABs are generated. If you want to specify a different generation server, use the Move-OfflineAddressBook cmdlet with the Server parameter. For more information, see Move-OfflineAddressBook.

    • Default offline address book   This read-only field displays a True or False status to indicate whether the selected OAB is the default OAB. If this isn't the default OAB, and you want to set it as the default, right-click the OAB in the result pane, and then click Set as Default.

    • Modified   This read-only field displays the last date and time that the OAB was modified.

    • Update Schedule   This list displays the time and interval for the regularly scheduled update.

      To customize the schedule, select Use Custom Schedule from the list, and then click Customize to open the Schedule dialog box and specify the schedule you want.

  5. Use the Address Lists tab to select the address lists you want to include in the OAB. If you want to include a global address list (GAL) other than the default GAL, you must use the Shell.

    • Include the default Global Address List   Select this check box to include the default GAL in the OAB.

    • Include the following address lists   Select this check box to add address lists to or remove address lists from the OAB.

      Click Add to select one or more address lists to add to the OAB.

      Click Remove icon to remove the selected address list from the OAB.

  6. Use the Distribution tab to specify the client support and OAB distribution points for the OAB.

    Client Support   Select the OAB version that will be generated for the version of Outlook that is used by your Exchange organization. If you have more than one version of Outlook in your organization, you can select one or more of the following versions:

    • Outlook 98 SP1 or earlier (Version 2)

    • Outlook 98 SP2 or later (Version 3)

    • Outlook 2003 SP2 or later (Version 4)

    If you don't select one of the Client Support options, Version 4 will be generated.

    Distribution Points   OAB distribution is the method by which the OAB can be accessed by users when they are working remotely or over a dial-up connection. To distribute the OAB, administrators can use Web-based distribution, public folder distribution, or both. An OAB distribution point is the HTTP Web address or public folder where client computers can download an OAB.

    You can select one or both of the following check boxes:

    • Enable Web-based distribution   Select this check box to enable Web-based distribution. Web-based distribution is the distribution method by which Outlook 2007 or later clients that are working offline or through a dial-up connection access the OAB. With Web-based distribution, a Client Access server will contain an OAB virtual directory for Web distribution purposes.

      Click Add to specify the virtual directory or directories from which you want to distribute the OAB.

      Click Remove icon to remove the selected virtual directory from the OAB.

    • Enable public folder distribution Select this check box to enable public folder distribution. Public folder distribution is the distribution method by which Outlook 2003 or earlier clients that are working offline or through a dial-up connection access OABs.

Use the Shell to configure OAB properties

You need to be assigned permissions before you can perform this procedure. To see what permissions you need, see the "Offline address books" entry in the Mailbox Permissions topic.

This example modifies the time and date at which the OAB generation occurs for the OAB My OAB.

Set-OfflineAddressBook -Identity "My OAB" -Schedule "Sun.1:15 AM-Sun.1:30 AM"

Note

The Schedule parameter takes the following format and must include a range: Weekday.Hour:Minute[AM/PM]-Weekday.Hour:Minute[AM/PM].

For More Information

Understanding Offline Address Books

Configure Offline Address Book Distribution Properties

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