XCCC: The "From" Field Is Not Populated in Posts to Public Folders from a Separate Forest (311845)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server

This article was previously published under Q311845
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

SYMPTOMS

If a user in one (trusted) Active Directory forest posts an item to public folders in another Active Directory forest, useful From field and e-mail address information may not be stored with the post to the public folders.

CAUSE

This issue occurs because the only information that is available about such a user is the user's Microsoft Windows NT Security Identifier (SID). By definition, that SID does not match the objectSid attribute of any user object in the forest where the public folders are located.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, an administrator can add the ResolveForeignUsers registry key on servers in the forest where the public folders are located. If the ResolveForeignUsers registry key is set, Exchange 2000 attempts to find a matching Contact object in the forest where the public folders are located. A matching Contact has an alias (mail nickname) that matches the "user" portion of the Security Accounts Manager (SAM) account name. If Exchange 2000 finds a matching Contact object, the display name and e-mail address of that Contact are used when the user posts an item to a public folder. This change enables users from other forests to fully participate in the type of collaboration that public folders make possible.

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

To add the ResolveForeignUsers registry key:
  1. Start Registry Editor (Regedt32.exe).
  2. Locate and click the following key in the registry:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeWEB\OWA

  3. On the Edit menu, click Add Value, and then add the following registry value:

    Value name: ResolveForeignUsers
    Data type: REG_DWORD
    Radix: Decimal
    Value data: 1

  4. Quit Registry Editor.
This ResolveForeignUsers key is not present by default. You must add the ResolveForeignUsers key on each server where you want to enable this feature. After you implement this registry value, posts from users in the other forests contain domain\user_name in the From field as expected.

If Exchange 2000 does not find a Contact in the local Active Directory, the post display name is set to "domain\user." The e-mail address is not set.

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:4/21/2005
Keywords:kbprb KB311845