XADM: Extracting Public Folder Permissions Using PFADMIN

This article describes how to extract the client permissions associated with Exchange Server public folders into a file that you can then use to automatically import these permissions.

This procedure may be useful in cases where the client permissions are lost because the public folders are accidentally re-homed and you must extract the public folder permissions from a backup. You can run this procedure regularly to back up the public folder client permissions.

Pfinfo.exe and Pfadmin.exe are utilities that are available in the Microsoft BackOffice Resource Kit, Second Edition.

You can use Pfinfo.exe (version 3.0.6 or later) to extract information about the public folders in a Microsoft Exchange site. You can then save this information to a delimited file that you can view in a spreadsheet by using Microsoft Excel or any other spreadsheet program. You can then work with the data in any way.

When you use Pfinfo.exe, a file generates that contains information on public folder permissions and replicas that you can use in conjunction with the PFAdmin.exe utility.

You can use Pfadmin.exe (version 1.3 or later) to import public folder permissions. For a full list of functions, type the PFAdmin.exe /? command at a command prompt.

To extract the public folders client permissions:

1. On another server or workstation, install the Microsoft Exchange Administrator Program, and then copy the Pfadmin.exe, Pfinfo.exe, Pfinfo.ini and Aclcls.dll files to the local hard disk.
   
   Note Microsoft strongly recommends that you do not install Microsoft Outlook 2000 or later and Exchange 2000 Server (including Exchange System Manager) or Exchange Server 5.5 on the same computer. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
   266418� Microsoft does not support installing Exchange Server and Outlook on the same computer
2. Create a new mailbox on the Exchange Server computer named TestMailbox, and then make sure that the primary Microsoft Windows NT account associated with this mailbox has Service Account administrative credentials on the Exchange Server Organization, Site, and Configuration containers.
3. Install the Exchange Server client or Outlook on the computer used in step 1.
4. Create an Exchange client or Outlook MAPI profile named "PFProfile," and then add the Exchange Server service to the profile.
5. Remove all other services including Outlook Address Book, and then type the server name and a mailbox (for example, TestMailbox) that exists on the server specified.
6. Start Pfinfo.exe.
7. Click to select the Create file for use with Pfadmin.exe check box. Microsoft recommends that you leave the Separator in the output file at TAB. Do not click to select Only extract data for public folders homed in the current site.
8. Click Options, and then click Public Folder Permissions and then verify that the option to include Public Folder Permissions is selected. Click OK.
9. Click OK, and then Start.

After Pfinfo finishes the extraction, the SET commands that are required to import the permissions are listed in the Pfadmdat.txt file. The Options menu references these commands.

To import the public folders client permissions, follow these steps.

Note If you must change permissions, modify the Pfadmdat.txt by using Microsoft Notepad or any other text editor, before you import the permissions.

1. Save the Pfadmdat.txt file in the same folder as the PFAdmin tool.
2. Type the following command from this folder:
   pfadmin pfprofile < pfadmdat.txt
3. If the profile name contains spaces, enclose the profile name in straight quotation marks. This is required. For example, when you use the profile with the name "pfprofile account", use the following syntax:
   pfadmin "pfprofile account" < pfadmdat.txt
   Note In this scenario, the quotation marks are required.