How to grant permission to use Outlook Mobile Access to specific users of Exchange Server 2003

By default, when you install Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, the option to permit all users to use Microsoft Outlook Mobile Access is turned on in Active Directory Users and Computers. By default, the Outlook Mobile Access option is turned off in the Mobile Services setting under Global Settings in Exchange System Manager.

If you have many users and if you want to grant permission to use Outlook Mobile Access to only some of the users, it can be a huge task to turn off Outlook Mobile Access for each user whom you do not want to have access. This article describes a method that you can use to make this task easier. In this method, you use a script to turn off access for all users, and then you turn on access for the few users whom you want to have access.

To turn off access for all users and then to turn on access for particular users, follow these steps:

1. Use the following script to turn off Outlook Mobile Access for all the users in Active Directory Users and Computers. To do this, open a new text file in Notepad, copy and paste the script into the Notepad file, and then save the file by using a .vbs extension. Run the .vbs file on a domain controller.

   On Error Resume Next
   Set objRootDSE = GetObject("LDAP://rootDSE")
   Set objUsers = GetObject("LDAP://cn=Users," & objRootDSE.Get("defaultNamingContext"))
   ' set msExchOmaAdminWirelessEnable to 7 if currently null
   For Each objUser In objUsers
               strname = objUser.Get("name")
   '            WScript.Echo "name: " & strname
               strWirelessEnabled = objUser.Get("msExchOmaAdminWirelessEnable")
               If strWirelessEnabled = "" Then
                           objUser.Put "msExchOmaAdminWirelessEnable", "7"
                           objUser.setinfo
               End If
               strWirelessEnabled = objUser.Get("msExchOmaAdminWirelessEnable")          
   Next
   WScript.Echo "Mobile Services disabled for all users"

2. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Exchange, and then click System Manager.
3. Expand Global Settings, right-click Mobile Services, and then click Properties.
4. Under Outlook Mobile Access, click to select the Enable Outlook Mobile Access check box.
5. Click Apply, click OK, and then close System Manager.
6. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Users and Computers.
7. Expand Your_Domain, and then click Users.
8. In the right pane, right-click the name of the user whom you want to have access to Outlook Mobile Access, and then click Properties.
9. Click the Exchange Features tab.
10. In the Features list, click Outlook Mobile Access, and then click Enable.
11. Click Apply, and then click OK.
12. Repeat steps 8 to 11 for each user whom you want to have access to Outlook Mobile Access.