Create an Offline Address Book

  • Article

[This topic is in progress.]  

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 has 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 create an OAB

  • Use the Shell to create an OAB with web-based distribution

  • Use the Shell to create an OAB with public folder distribution

Use the EMC to create an OAB

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 action pane, click New Offline Address Book.

  3. On the Introduction page, complete the following fields:

    • Name   Use this box to provide a name for the OAB.

    • Offline address book generation server   Click Browse to specify the location where the OAB generation server will be located. The OAB generation server is the Mailbox server on which the OABs are generated.

    • Include the default Global Address List   The OAB is a snapshot of the Active Directory information that's available in the GAL. 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 open the Select Address List dialog box. Use this dialog box to select one or more address lists to add to the OAB.

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

  4. On the Distribution Points page, complete the following fields:

    • Enable Web-based distribution   Select this check box to distribute the OAB from selected virtual directories. 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 OABs. Clients will download the OAB over HTTPS from the virtual directory you specify.

      Click Add to open the Select OAB Virtual Directory dialog box. Use this dialog box to add virtual directories from which to distribute the OAB.

      Click Remove icon to delete the Web-based distribution point.

    • 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.

  5. On the New Offline Address Book page, review your configuration settings. Click New to create the OAB or click Back to make changes. Click Cancel to close the wizard without creating a new OAB.

  6. On the Completion page, review the following, and then click Finish to close the wizard:

    • A status of Completed indicates that the wizard completed the task successfully.

    • A status of Failed indicates that the task wasn't completed. If the task fails, review the summary for an explanation, and then click Back to make any configuration changes.

  7. Click Finish the close the wizard.

Use the Shell to create an OAB with web-based distribution

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 creates the OAB New OAB that uses Web-based distribution for Outlook 2007 or later clients on SERVER01 by using the default virtual directory.

New-OfflineAddressBook -Name "New OAB" -AddressLists "\Default Global Address List" -Server SERVER01 -VirtualDirectories "SERVER01\OAB (Default Web Site)"

Use the Shell to create an OAB with public folder distribution

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 creates the OAB Legacy OAB that uses public folder distribution for Outlook 2003 SP1 and Outlook 98 Service Pack 2 (SP2) clients on SERVER01.

New-OfflineAddressBook -Name "Legacy OAB" -AddressLists "Default Global Address List" -Server SERVER01 -PublicFolderDatabase "PFDatabase" -PublicFolderDistributionEnabled $true -Versions Version3,Version4

Note

If you configure OABs to use public folder distribution, but your organization doesn't have any public folder infrastructure, an error will be returned. For more information, see Managing Public Folders.
For detailed syntax and parameter information, see New-OfflineAddressBook.

For More Information

Understanding Offline Address Books

Configure Offline Address Book Properties

Configure Offline Address Book Distribution Properties

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