Working with Server-Side Distribution Lists

Using Outlook as a client for Exchange 2000 gives you access to address lists stored in Active Directory. These address lists enable you to send email to any valid user of Exchange 2000. They also give you access to distribution lists created on the Exchange 2000 Server.

Your Exchange administrator can create distribution lists on the Exchange 2000 Server in several ways. The easiest way to create an Exchange 2000 distribution list is to assign an email address to a security group or universal group. Your Exchange administrator can create a distribution list for each department, building, or division of the company. For example, in my organization, we have a distribution list for Sales, one for Customer Service, and one for the Shipping Department. These distribution lists enable all users in my Exchange organization to send email to an entire department using only one address.

Creating a Server-Side Distribution List

To assign an email address to a security group, use the following steps:

1. Open Active Directory Users and Computers.

   NOTE

   If you haven't used Active Directory Users and Computers before, it's probably best to contact your system administrator to have him help you with this task.

2. Select the security group to which you want to assign an address.

3. Right-click the group's name and choose Exchange Tasks to launch the Exchange Task Wizard.

4. Select Establish an Email Address from the list of available tasks and click Next to display Figure 28.1.

   Figure 28.1. You can assign an email address to a security group in Exchange 2000.

   

5. Enter an alias for the security group and click Next. IF you have multiple administrative groups on your Exchange 2000 Server, you must also choose the Associated Administrative group.

6. After you click Next, you'll see a progress screen that displays while the security group's attributes are updated. When the email address has been assigned, you will see a summary screen similar to Figure 28.2.

   Figure 28.2. Exchange 2000 displays a summary of the task completed.

   

In addition to assigning an email address to a security group (either global or universal), you can also create a distribution group. A distribution group is created simply by adding individual users to a simple group that isn't used for any security-related tasks.

To create a distribution group, use the following steps:

1. From Active Directory Users and Computers, right-click the Users container and select New, and then Group.

2. Enter a group name. The Group Name and the pre-Windows 2000 group name will generally be the same.

3. Choose a group scope and group type, as shown in Figure 28.3. For a large Active Directory implementation, it's usually best to choose a Universal Group; however, any group scope will work. If you intend to use the group for security roles, choose a Security group type. Otherwise, choose Distribution group as the group type. Click Next when finished with this step.

   Figure 28.3. You can choose a group name, scope, and type.

   

4. Check the box marked Create an Exchange Email Address. Enter the Exchange Alias for the group. If you have multiple Administrative groups on your Exchange Server, you must also select an Administrative group.

5. After you click Next, a summary screen is displayed to confirm the distribution group you've created.

6. Click Finish to close the dialog box and save your changes.

Now that you know how to create distribution lists on the Exchange Server, you can use those lists to send messages in Outlook 2003. Using an Exchange 2000 or Exchange 2003 distribution list is very easy. All you need to do is create a new email message. Click the To button to display Figure 28.4. You can add individual users and distribution groups to your message recipients. After you've added your recipients, you can send your mail as usual.

Figure 28.4. You can add individual users and distribution lists to your message recipients.