Creating and Managing Exchange Contacts

In many situations, organizations are required to communicate with non-native Microsoft mail systems, non-Exchange mail recipients, and external SMTP addresses. These situations are ideal for an Exchange Server 2003 recipient type called contacts.

Known as custom recipients in previous Exchange versions, contacts are created in Active Directory and viewed in the Global Catalog in the same manner as a mail-enabled user object. Each contact can be assigned an SMTP address in the domain where the contact resides. This allows the contact to receive internal and external mail using the same email domain as mail-enabled users.

Creating Exchange Contacts

To create a contact in Exchange Server 2003, begin by opening the Active Directory Users and Computers management console. Select the Organizational Unit where the contact will be created and follow these steps for creating a contacts list:

1. From the Action menu, select New and Contact.

2. Enter the information to identify the contact in Active Directory.

   For example:

   First name = John

   Middle initial = M

   Last name = Doe

   Display name = John Doe

3. Select Next to continue.

4. On the Email page, enter the alias name for the contact being created.

5. To create an email address for the contact, ensure that the Create an Exchange Email Address check box is selected.

6. Click the Modify button to begin creating an email address for the contact.

7. Select the SMTP Address option to create a contact address that will forward messages to an external Internet email account.

   Enter the fully qualified Internet email address to be use for the contact; for example: [e-mail] .

   Use the Advanced tab to configure and override the default Internet mail message formats.

8. Click OK when done, validate the email address, and then select Next, Finish. This completes the process of creating a new contact.

Mail-Forwarding Options with Contacts

The primary function of contacts is to forward internal Exchange messages to external mail recipients. This function allows contacts to accept messages using the same domain name as all mail-enabled objects in Active Directory and to send these messages to a mail system outside the Exchange organization.

To create a contact to forward mail to an external SMTP email address, follow these steps:

1. Open the Active Directory Users and Computers management console, and select the Organizational Unit where the contact will be created.

2. From the Action menu, select New, Contact.

3. Enter the name of the contact and display name that will be used when viewing the contact in the Active Directory Global Catalog. Click the Next button to continue.

4. On the New Object page, ensure that Create an Exchange Email Address is selected. Click the Modify button to create the external SMTP email address where messages will be forwarded. Click Next when complete.

5. Review the information in the Summary page and click Finish when done.

Contact Email Address Types

Exchange contacts can be configured to communicate with multiple types of mail systems. Using the built-in address types of Exchange Server 2003 contacts, contacts and mail addresses can be configured to provide coexistence between mail systems or to communicate with other mail systems. Built into Exchange Server 2003, multiple email types are readily available as contact email options. In addition to the built-in mail address types shown in Table 18.1, other mail addresses types can be configured. Types can also be configured using the Custom Address option.

Table 18.1. Contact Address Types

X.400 Address	Microsoft Mail Address
SMTP Address	cc:Mail Address
Lotus Notes Address	Novell GroupWise Address

Additional Contact Address Types

In addition to these types of addresses, other contact addresses types can be configured using the Custom Address option. This option allows contacts to be mail-enabled with address types not listed in the New Email Address Type options tab.

Using Custom Email options can allow contacts to communicate with other types of mail systems when configuring other types of addresses for use with contacts; the administrator must configure the email address and mail system type. Additional configuration might be required when using this option, to allow Exchange Server 2003 to communicate with nonstandard mail system types.

Modifying and Adding Contact Email Addresses

When managing users and contacts, administrators are often required to modify addresses and address types. To accomplish this, administrators can simply modify the contact address by opening the Active Directory Users and Computers management console.

Select the contact that will be modified by expanding the domain tree and selecting the Organizational Unit where the contact resides.

Finding Contacts and Recipients

An additional method of finding contacts and other Active Directory objects is to use the Find Users, Contacts, and Groups tool built into the Active Directory Users and Computers management console. Properties of Active Directory objects can then be accessed by highlighting and right-clicking the Active Directory object.

Contact attributes can be modified by opening the properties page of the contact and modifying the desired attribute or email address.