Summary

Public folders are an efficient and effective way to share data among several people. Permissions, forms, rules, and views can be configured on public folders to create folder-based applications. Users can easily create public folders and perform certain management functions using Outlook.

Permissions enable a folder owner to specify who can access a folder and what users can do in that folder. Associating a form with a public folder assists users in submitting structured information into the folder. Rules on public folders can perform automated actions when the appropriate conditions are met. Public folders can hold a large quantity and variety of information, so views can be leveraged to display the pertinent items in a desired way.

Adding content to public folders is very easy. It can be done by posting directly to a public folder or by sending the public folder regular e-mail messages.

Public folders can also be created using the Exchange System Manager. In addition, Exchange System Manager offers many more management options than are available in Outlook. You can configure public folder ‚ related settings at the level of the Public Information Store for a server and at the level of the individual server. Settings made at the folder level typically override settings made at the Public Information Store level. As well, you can configure directory rights and administrative rights for public folders using the Exchange System Manager. Outlook allows the configuration of client permissions only on public folders.

Exchange Server 2003 offers the ability to use multiple public folder trees. The default tree in an organization, named All Public Folders, is also referred to as a MAPI top-level hierarchy. This public folder tree can be accessed by any type of client, including MAPI, NNTP, and HTTP. Additional public folder trees are referred to as general-purpose trees and may not be accessed by MAPI clients such as Outlook. They can be accessed by other types of clients .

Each public folder is created on a single Exchange server, but replicas of that folder can be created on other servers. Once replicas are created, replication of folder content happens according to a predetermined schedule. Public folder replication follows the multimaster replication model, in which every replica of a public folder is considered a master copy.