Hi people, I have a question, as i am new with Exchange 2007. When i make a new user in the active directory and exchange it comes correctly in the GAL this is good and this does not have to change. But now i made some Flex users without any mail adresses, and they can be found in the GAL also while they do not have a exchange mail box. How can i remove these users fromt he GAL? Ofcourse i have searched the internet first but i could not find anything. Cause i really do not want to mess with my GAL and mess it up.

Hi, Could you post the Recipient Filter of the GAL you are talking about ? You can get Exchange GAL Filter using following powerShell command get-globalAddressList YourGALName |fl *filter* GAL is formed using the recipient filter criteria, and any AD object which meets this criteria becomes the part of the GAL. Also does Flex sets some Extension attribute of the AD user? Regards, Laeeq Qazi|Team Lead(Exchange + Sharepoint + BES + DynamicsCRM) www.HostingController.com

How does this 'flex' product set these users up? If they are somehow mail or mailbox enabled or set as contacts they will show in the GAL. You can hide them from the Address Book however using either the Management Console or Powershell.OliverOliver Moazzezi | Exchange MVP, MCSA:M, MCTS:Exchange 2010, BA (Hons) Anim | http://www.exchange2007.com | http://www.exchange2010.com | http://www.cobweb.com |

It is not a product i just made new users in AD And call them Flex01 etcetera. After that they show up in the GAL.

Hi, Simple AD users dont show up in GAL. You might have set up some properties of those users so that they could meet the criteria for Recipient Filter of the GAL. Can u post Recipient Filter of the GAL u are talking about. For it goto Exchange server and open "Exchange Management Shell" and run this command get-globalAddressList YourGALName |fl *filter* and then show the result here. Also how u create users in AD?Do u do something special or are u using some script to create AD users who show up in GAL? Do u modify some properties of those users after creating in AD? Post some details to understand the problem. Regards,Laeeq Qazi|Team Lead(Exchange + Sharepoint + BES + DynamicsCRM) www.HostingController.com

Output: RecipientFilter : LdapRecipientFilter : (& (mailnickname=*) (| (&(objectCategory=person)(objectClass=user)(!(homeMDB=*))(!(msExchHomeServerName=*)))(&(objectCat egory=person)(objectClass=user)(|(homeMDB=*)(msExchHomeServerName=*)))(&(objectCategory=person)(objectClass=contact))(ob jectCategory=group)(objectCategory=publicFolder)(objectCategory=msExchDynamicDistributionList) )) LastUpdatedRecipientFilter : RecipientFilterApplied : False RecipientFilterType : Legacy We do not use a script to add users, i just do this manually cause it is mostly 1 or 2 users we need to add. Sometimes i do a copy of a certain user that does have mailbox, is this the cause of my problem? I do a copy but than i do not make a mail address on the exchange server.

Hi, Yes this copy is making those users available in the GAL becuase these users have some values in exchange properties which are exchange specific like mailnickname (this is also called Alias in Exchange) homeMDB (this is also called Database in Exchange) and msExchHomeServerName You can check these attributes, there must be some values in them. To hide these users from GAL just clear these properties manually, only if they are just simple AD users, using ADSIEdit.msc (AD tool) or some other tool u know. Regards,Laeeq Qazi|Team Lead(Exchange + Sharepoint + BES + DynamicsCRM) www.HostingController.com

Output: RecipientFilter : LdapRecipientFilter : (& (mailnickname=*) (| (&(objectCategory=person)(objectClass=user)(!(homeMDB=*))(!(msExchHomeServerName=*)))(&(objectCat egory=person)(objectClass=user)(|(homeMDB=*)(msExchHomeServerName=*)))(&(objectCategory=person)(objectClass=contact))(ob jectCategory=group)(objectCategory=publicFolder)(objectCategory=msExchDynamicDistributionList) )) LastUpdatedRecipientFilter : RecipientFilterApplied : False RecipientFilterType : Legacy We do not use a script to add users, i just do this manually cause it is mostly 1 or 2 users we need to add. Sometimes i do a copy of a certain user that does have mailbox, is this the cause of my problem? I do a copy but than i do not make a mail address on the exchange server. Hello,Copying a user that has a mailbox will give the new user a mailbox.So if that user doesn't need the mailbox just remove the mail from the account using the Exchange Management Console. Alternatively if you don't care about the Exchange CAL used for the user, you can just hide them from the Address Book, performed on the user under Recipient ConfigurationOliverOliver Moazzezi | Exchange MVP, MCSA:M, MCTS:Exchange 2010, BA (Hons) Anim | http://www.exchange2007.com | http://www.exchange2010.com | http://www.cobweb.com |

Hi, Yes this copy is making those users available in the GAL becuase these users have some values in exchange properties which are exchange specific like mailnickname (this is also called Alias in Exchange) homeMDB (this is also called Database in Exchange) and msExchHomeServerName You can check these attributes, there must be some values in them. To hide these users from GAL just clear these properties manually, only if they are just simple AD users, using ADSIEdit.msc (AD tool) or some other tool u know. Regards, Laeeq Qazi|Team Lead(Exchange + Sharepoint + BES + DynamicsCRM) www.HostingController.com Do not remove the attributes manually, not knowing exactly what you are doing will almost certainly leave attributes with invalid data. Remove the mailbox using the Exchange Management Console, this is what it's there for. Alternatively as previously stated hide the user from Addres Lists.OliverOliver Moazzezi | Exchange MVP, MCSA:M, MCTS:Exchange 2010, BA (Hons) Anim | http://www.exchange2007.com | http://www.exchange2010.com | http://www.cobweb.com |

Ok i cleared the options to <not set> in the attribute editor. I also checked for more Attributes and i found one more msExchUserAccountControl this is set to 0 i did not changed this. mailnickname (this is also called Alias in Exchange) homeMDB (this is also called Database in Exchange) and msExchHomeServerName Are cleared but still the users showing up in the GAL. Does this take a bit of time until they disappear? Cause i know that Exch. 2007 updates the GAL automatically. Ps. I really appreciate your help guys! I am still learning and hope to learn even more from you and of course by myself :).

I should note, you may have to add the user via EMC before removing the mailbox, which will then strip all attributes cleanly.OliverOliver Moazzezi | Exchange MVP, MCSA:M, MCTS:Exchange 2010, BA (Hons) Anim | http://www.exchange2007.com | http://www.exchange2010.com | http://www.cobweb.com |

Hi, To update the GAL run this command in EMS Update-GlobalAddressList yourGALName and if you are using OAB then upadate-addressList OABAddressList OR Update-GlobalAddressList OABGlobalAddressList and then Update-OfflineAddressBook OABName Regards, Laeeq Qazi|Team Lead(Exchange + Sharepoint + BES + DynamicsCRM) www.HostingController.com

Ok i cleared the options to <not set> in the attribute editor. I also checked for more Attributes and i found one more msExchUserAccountControl this is set to 0 i did not changed this. mailnickname (this is also called Alias in Exchange) homeMDB (this is also called Database in Exchange) and msExchHomeServerName Are cleared but still the users showing up in the GAL. Does this take a bit of time until they disappear? Cause i know that Exch. 2007 updates the GAL automatically.Ps. I really appreciate your help guys! I am still learning and hope to learn even more from you and of course by myself :). Try it my way, Add the user in EMC | Recipient Configuration if they don't already show, and then remove the mailbox from the same Management Console.This will clean all necessary attributes, and is the cleanest method possible. Also if you are using cached Exchange mode you will need to update the Offline Address Book.Oliver Oliver Moazzezi | Exchange MVP, MCSA:M, MCTS:Exchange 2010, BA (Hons) Anim | http://www.exchange2007.com | http://www.exchange2010.com | http://www.cobweb.com |

Hi, No copying a mailbox user in AD doesnt create a mailbox in Exchange 2007/2010. I have just verified. I asked to remove those attributes directly into AD because the O.P has told in initial post that they are just simple AD users which are showing in GAL incorrectly. IF O.P had said that these were mailbox users then I would have definitely asked him to Hide this user from Exchange Management Shell or Console. Regards,Laeeq Qazi|Team Lead(Exchange + Sharepoint + BES + DynamicsCRM) www.HostingController.com

Ok i just wanted to tell you that i solved this, but you guys already posted the same solutions here. I just made a new mailbox and connected it to the user i wanted to get rid of in the GAL, than i disabled the mailbox in EMC and guess what the user is gone in the GAL! Thanks for all the responses! People in the GAL without mail addresses where annoying my boss so he is happy once again.

Hi, No copying a mailbox user in AD doesnt create a mailbox in Exchange 2007/2010. I have just verified. I asked to remove those attributes directly into AD because the O.P has told in initial post that they are just simple AD users which are showing in GAL incorrectly. IF O.P had said that these were mailbox users then I would have definitely asked him to Hide this user from Exchange Management Shell or Console. Regards, Laeeq Qazi|Team Lead(Exchange + Sharepoint + BES + DynamicsCRM) www.HostingController.com No it does not make a mailbox when you copy a user who does have a mailbox, but it copies certain attributes that makes the user without mailbox show up in your GAL.

Hi, No copying a mailbox user in AD doesnt create a mailbox in Exchange 2007/2010. I have just verified. I asked to remove those attributes directly into AD because the O.P has told in initial post that they are just simple AD users which are showing in GAL incorrectly. IF O.P had said that these were mailbox users then I would have definitely asked him to Hide this user from Exchange Management Shell or Console. Regards, Laeeq Qazi|Team Lead(Exchange + Sharepoint + BES + DynamicsCRM) www.HostingController.com No it does not make a mailbox when you copy a user who does have a mailbox, but it copies certain attributes that makes the user without mailbox show up in your GAL. Thats what I said in my reply :) Glad to know that u have resolved your issue. Regards,Laeeq Qazi|Team Lead(Exchange + Sharepoint + BES + DynamicsCRM) www.HostingController.com