In previous lessons, we were gone through the process of creating new Managed Default Folders and Custom Folders, as well as Content Settings. In this lesson, we will put it together in a new mailbox policy.

To create a new mailbox policy, select the mailbox node at the Organization Configuration work center. Click on the “New Managed Folder Mailbox Policy…” link on the Actions pane to launch the wizard. Name this first mailbox policy as “First MB Policy,” and then click on “Add…” to specify the managed folders that we want to link to this policy. Select “DeletedItems2” that was created previously, and click “Ok.” Repeat the process to add “Inbox” and “Old Faxes” managed custom folder to have everything rolled into one policy. Click “New” to create the new mailbox policy, and “Finish” when done.

If desired, it is possible to delete the policy by clicking on “Remove” or by going into the properties of the policy. Items can be removed from there, or other modifications made. Multiple instances can also be set up by creating new Managed Default Folders, creating Managed Custom Folders and having Content Settings applied. Do note that the policy is still worthless as it hasn’t been applied to any users yet. This will be demonstrated in a future lesson.

To create a new Managed Customs Folder, click on the “New Managed Custom Folder…” link to launch the wizard. Assign a name of “Old Faxes,” and if so desired a storage limit for this folder and its subfolders. A comment can also be added that will appear in Outlook, with an additional option of not allowing it to be minimized. Next, click on “New” to create an “Old Faxes” folder that users will see in their mailbox.

Do note that an Enterprise client access license (CAL) is required to use the Managed Custom Folders option, and that the above process does not actually result in the creation of any rules to manage the faxes.

To actually create the rules to have the faxes automatically moved into this folder, click on “Inbox” and launch the “New Managed Content Settings…” wizard on the Actions pane. Name it “Moving Faxes,” select the down arrow and select “Faxes” as the message type. Set the length of retention period to 30 days from “When it was delivered…” and “Move it to a “Managed Customs Folder.” Finally, click on “Browse…” and select “Old Faxes” as the destination.

To delete old faxes in the “Old Faxes” folder after a predetermined number of days, create a new Managed Content Settings and name it “Old Faxes.” Select the option for permanent deletion in this instance, though it may be desirable to create a journal copy in this instance.

Note that while a couple of different content settings were created above, they do not have any effect as they are yet to be applied on mailboxes. Before that can happen, they must first be put together in a mailbox policy – a process to be outlined in the next lesson.

Click on the “New Managed Default Folder…” to launch the wizard for the creation of a new instance of a default folder upon which to add a new Managed Content Settings over. Name the New Managed Default Folder “DeletedItems2,” and under the Default Folder Type select “Deleted Items” from the drop down box. A comment can also be configured when the folder is viewed in Outlook, and which users can be disallowed from minimizing. Finally, click on “New” to create the new DeletedItems2 managed folder.

The next step in the process is to create the actual Managed Content Settings, which will be configured to ensure the automatic deletion of voicemails from the Deleted folder after 60 days. This can be done by selecting “DeletedItems2” under the “Managed Default Folders” tab, and then clicking on the “New Managed Content Settings…” link on the Actions panel. Assign “VoicemailRemoval” as a name, and select “Voice Mail” under the Message type option. Next, click on the “Length of retention period (days)” checkbox, being sure to key “60” in the textbox on the right. Opt for “When item is moved to the folder” under the retention period start setting. Finally, select “Permanently Delete” in the last option, and click on “Next” and “New” to create the new Managed Content Setting.

To make adjustments to the above settings you have just created, click on “+” sign and select the “VoicemailRemoval” Managed Content Setting when it appears under DeletedItem2. Do note that the setting is not applied to a user until they are added into a mailbox policy.

When discussing Managed Content Settings, it is important to understand their real-world applications before you actually learn the steps involved to create them. With deleted items, sent messages, voicemails, faxes, RSS feeds and task items, it is easy for mailboxes to get out of control. One of the ways to alleviate this problem for users is by the creation of policies that will affect their default folders.

For example, this may entail the creation of a policy that automatically purges a deleted item after a period of time if users do not pay attention to them – such as voicemails and faxes that have been deleted. Moreover, multiple policies can be created to move specific items after a certain period of time too. Another example would be the creation of a custom “Fax” folder that is pushed out by policy to all users, and which faxes will be moved into after a certain period of time.

In a nutshell, managed content settings can be used to manipulate the default folders of users to help them be more organized, and keep the clutter down. The latter will go a long way towards preserving the storage capacity of the Exchange server. Future lessons will cover the steps on how to make use of managed content settings to perform the above-mentioned tasks.

Creating additional offline address books is a waste of time if they are not assigned to users; this will only result in everyone continuing with the default offline address book. Where desired, it is possible to assign the offline address book to clients at both the database level and on the individual mailbox level.

From the Exchange Management Console, look for the desired mailbox database under “Server Configuration.” Go into its properties and click on the “Client Settings” tab. Change the default offline address book by clicking on the “Browse…” button in order to switch to the new offline address book for the entire database. In order to configure the offline address book for individual recipients, simply use the Set-Mailbox cmdlet from the Exchange Management Shell.

In summary, there are actually two different ways to deploy a new offline address book. The first is by editing the database properties which is outlined above, while the other is by using the Exchange Management Shell and applying the Set-Mailbox cmdlet directly to all recipients.