How to Verify That a Query-Based Distribution Group Is Working Correctly
After you create a query-based distribution group, you can make sure that your query works the way that you intended it to work by using the preview feature. This feature is useful not only for query validation, but also to determine how long it takes a query to run. Based on this time, you can decide whether to divide the query into smaller queries for better performance and faster delivery times. This procedure describes how to verify that a query-based distribution group is working correctly.
Procedure
To verify that a query-based distribution group works correctly
In Active Directory Users and Computers, right-click the query-based distribution group that you just created, and then click Properties.
Select the Preview tab to view the query results, and verify that the correct recipients are included in the distribution group.
Note
The results that are displayed in the preview pane may vary from the actual results when the query is run, depending on permissions settings. The preview pane does not display the recipients that are in Active Directory containers to which you do not have read permissions. For example, assume that you have a query-based distribution group for all mailbox users in your organization that are stored in two separate organizational units (OUs): OU1 and OU2. If you have read access to only OU1 but not to OU2, the preview pane only displays the mailbox users in OU1. However, when a message is sent to the query-based distribution group, mailbox users in both OUs will receive the message.