We are using Exchange 2007 SP2 Standard on a Windows 2008 server. I'm trying to create a managed folder policy to delete the contents of a SPAM folder that is created in each user's mailbox by GFI Mail Essentials. We have named this folder SPAM, and GFI forwards all email that is filtered to the SPAM folder in each user's mailbox. What I need to do is create a policy that deletes any messages in this folder that are more than 21 days old. I have read and re-read and tried to test doing this using Managed Folders and creating a managed folder content policy. The problem is that this is not a default folder, it is created after the mailbox is already in place. When I create a new default folder named SPAM and try to manage it, what happens is that the messages in the Inbox are deleted instead of the messages in the SPAM folder. According to what I'm reading in the explanations of how managed folders work, this is by design. So, how can I create a managed folder and a policy to delete the contents just like I could in Exchange 2003 using mailbox management policies?Deb

Have you created a managed custom folder? Managed folders only work for regular folders. First, create a managed content setting. Set it to delete All mailbox items after the retention period (i.e. 21 days). Then, create a custom managed folder, name it Spam. After that, create a policy which applies the created managed content setting to the Spam custom managed folder. Finally, apply the policy to mailboxes. Step by step: http://www.msexchange.org/articles_tutorials/exchange-server-2007/compliance-policies-archiving/exchange-2007-messaging-records-management-part1.html http://www.msexchange.org/articles_tutorials/exchange-server-2007/compliance-policies-archiving/exchange-2007-messaging-records-management-part2.html Note that managed custom folders requires an Enterprise CAL.Michel de Rooij, MCITP Ent.Msg | MCTS W2008, E2k7Conf | MCSE+Msg2k3 | MCSE+Inet2k3 | Prince2 Fnd | ITIL

So, just to confirm, the two key elements here are:1. I have to use a managed custom folder, not a managed default folder.2. I have to have Enterprise CALs for all my users for this one purpose only.This does not make me happy, nor is it going to make my customer happy when they find out they have to pay an extra $40 or so per user to get this capability that was built in to Exchange 2003.Deb

It depends and Yes. Managed folders / content was not present in Exchange 2003 and earlier. A suggestion, why not have GFI put spam in the Junk E-Mail folder? That's a default folder which can be managed by using managed folders (i.e. not custom).Michel de Rooij, MCITP Ent.Msg | MCTS W2008, E2k7Conf | MCSE+Msg2k3 | MCSE+Inet2k3 | Prince2 Fnd | ITIL

Thanks for the suggestion, but unfortunately we need to have two separate folders in the user's mailbox for managing their spam. So, using the Junk Email folder won't work in this situation. I guess I will have to discuss this with my client or find an alternate way of managing these folders.Deb

Michel, I have tried your suggestion about creating a custom folder management policy. The problem with this is that what Exchange does is to create a separate folder within the user's mailbox called "Managed Folders" and then creates a folder inside that called "SPAM." It is not managing the SPAM folder that already exists within the mailbox. IMO, this is not an improvement over the Exchange 2003 mailbox management policies!I know that I can set up archiving for every user and set that to delete the items in the folder, however, that is a lot of work and costly for my customer. Do you have any other suggestions? Do you know of any 3rd party tools that might do what I need to get done?Deb

No sorry, I'm not aware of any 3rd party mailbox management tool with the same functionality.Michel de Rooij, MCITP Ent.Msg | MCTS W2008, E2k7Conf | MCSE+Msg2k3 | MCSE+Inet2k3 | Prince2 Fnd | ITIL http://twitter.com/mderooij