Setting Up Servers to Support Offline Address Books

 

To create offline address books, Exchange Server 2003 must have access to at least one of each of the following server types:

  • Global catalog server   If you have multiple global catalog servers, make sure that Active Directory replication is functioning correctly so that Exchange retrieves accurate information regardless of which server it contacts. Also, be aware of the time that is required for Active Directory replication. A new account may not be immediately available on all of the global catalog servers. For more information about Active Directory replication, see Microsoft Windows Help.

  • Public folder server   This server is the Exchange server that supports the default Public Folders tree. If you have multiple public folder servers, and especially if you have multiple routing groups or administrative groups, for information about how to manage multiple instances of the offline address book folders, see "Offline Address Book Folders" later in this topic.

Language Locales and Public Folder Servers

You can set sort order and code page configurations at the server level. Exchange Server 2003 uses the locale settings of the offline address book server when generating the offline address book. The locale settings of the Outlook profile do not affect the offline address book. By default, when running in Cached Exchange Mode, Outlook uses the offline address book in place of the global address list, so users may observe differences in behavior between the two types of address books.

Differences Between the Offline Address Book and the Global Address List

Sometimes users may have different experiences with Outlook depending on whether they are working with an online address list (such as the global address list) or an offline address list.

When an Outlook user requests information from the global address list, Outlook requests that the information be provided using the locale information stored in the Outlook profile and in the Windows registry. The request goes to a global catalog server which, if correctly configured, returns the information to Outlook using the appropriate locale information. If the global catalog server does not support the requested language, it returns the information to Outlook using English locale information.

When an Outlook user requests information from the offline address book, Outlook uses the downloaded offline address book files to respond to the request. The locale information for these files is static. Exchange Server 2003 determines what locale information to use when it generates the offline address book files, and the files do not change when Outlook downloads them. Exchange Server 2003 only requests and generates the offline address book for one language.

When the user's computer and the offline address book server use the same locale information, this difference in behavior is not visible. However, if you have users who are configured to use a locale other than that of the offline address book server, these users may notice the difference. If you have users with this type of configuration, especially if they are using Cached Exchange Mode, you might need to warn them of the differences between the two types of address books.

The primary locale settings involved are the following:

Code page

The ANSI offline address book versions 1 and 2 are generated using the server's system-default ANSI code page.

For example, suppose that an English server generates an offline address book, and then that offline address book is downloaded by a Russian Outlook user. The offline address book still uses western European characters. If the Russian Outlook user is connected to the global address list, that address list would use Cyrillic characters.

Sort order

All offline address books generated on a particular server will use that server's sort order.

For example, suppose that an English server generates an offline address book, and then that offline address book is downloaded by a German Outlook user. The offline address book still uses the English sort order. If the German Outlook user is connected to the global address list, that address list would use the German sort order.

Verifying and Configuring the Default Offline Address Book Locale

Outlook users can verify the locale of the offline address book by checking the following registry keys on the computer running Outlook:

  • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Exchange\Exchange Provider\OAB Sort LocaleU   The Locale ID for the UNICODE offline address book in hex and stored as binary, for example, 09 04 00 00 for English (US).

  • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Exchange\Exchange Provider\OAB Sort Locale   The Locale ID for the ANSI offline address book in hex and stored as binary, for example, 09 04 00 00 for English (US).

    Important

    Do not attempt to modify these registry keys.

The offline address book uses the default locale of the offline address book server. You can change the default locale information, but remember that the server can only use one default locale at a time. The Locale value is a hexadecimal string, for example 00000409 for English (US). For more information about Locale ID values, see the Microsoft Windows Server 2003 documentation.

For detailed steps about how to change the default server locale, see How to Change the Default Server Locale.

Offline Address Book Folders

When Exchange Server 2003 generates offline address book files, it attaches the files to mail messages and places the messages in special public folders. Outlook retrieves the messages from the folder and downloads the attached files.

The offline address book messages are stored in subfolders of the OFFLINE ADDRESS BOOK folder, which is one of the system folders in the default Public Folders tree. This folder contains a subfolder for each administrative group (or site) in your topology. By default, a content replica of a specific administrative group folder resides on the first server that is installed in the administrative group (named the Site Folder Server).

For detailed steps about how to view system folders, see How to View the System Folder for a Public Folder Tree.

Note

The Site Folder Server is responsible for ensuring that site folders exist. If you need to remove the Site Folder Server from the site, first make sure that the site folders have been replicated to a new server that can take over as the Site Folder Server.

You can replicate system folders to additional servers if necessary. You can also configure individual offline address books to reside on specific servers. To support the offline address book folders, a server must have the default Public Folder Store. For more information about system folders, see "Managing Mailbox Stores and Public Folder Stores" in Exchange Server 2003 Administration Guide.

If a server in a mixed-mode environment is upgraded to Exchange Server 2003, you may have to create new folder replicas. For more information about creating new replicas of the offline address book folders, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 817377, "Offline Address Book Replication Does Not Work After You Upgrade to Exchange Server 2003."

Offline Address Book Files

When it generates an offline address book, Exchange Server 2003 produces several sets of files. With these files, Exchange Server 2003 can support several different formats for the offline address book:

  • OAB Version 1   If the offline address book is configured with the Exchange 4.0 and 5.0 compatibility option, Exchange generates a set of files in the offline address book version 1 format (OAB Version 1). These files are attached to messages in the root offline address book folder (usually /o=First Organization/cn=addrlists/cn=oabs/cn=Default Offline Address List). The DOS, Windows 16 bit, and Exchange 4.0 clients use OAB Version 1 information. This information is not used with Outlook clients.

  • OAB Version 2   For non-Unicode (ANSI) clients, Exchange generates files in the offline address book version 2 format (OAB Version 2). These files are attached to messages in the OAB Version 2 folder. All Outlook clients can use these files.

  • OAB Version 3a   For Unicode Outlook clients, Exchange generates files in the offline address book version 3a (OAB Version 3a) format. These files are attached to messages in the OAB Version 3a folder, as shown in the following figure. Outlook 2003 clients can use these files.

Messages in one of the offline address book folders

65c16e75-cd65-4b84-8e0d-0b315e4815c0

The following table lists the files that Exchange Server 2003 generates for the different offline address book formats.

Files generated by Exchange Server 2003 for offline address books

ANSI OAB Version 1 (root folder) ANSI OAB Version 2 Unicode OAB Version 3a Description

Browse.oab

Browse2.oab

Browse2_u.oab

This file is the centerpiece of the offline address book. This file keeps the pointers to the data in the other .oab files.

Details.oab

Details2.oab

Details2_u.oab

This file contains the details records. For a list of attributes contained in this file, see "User Attributes Stored in Offline Address Book Files" later in this topic. You cannot customize the attributes included in the details records.

Outlook users can specify whether to download the details file by selecting the Full Details option in Outlook. If the Outlook client is running in cached mode, it is recommended that you select Full Details. If the client has limited hard disk space, the user may choose to select No Details.

Rdndex.oab

Rdndex2.oab

Rdndex2_u.oab

Outlook uses this index when looking up distinguished names. Outlook builds the rdndex and pdndex files from this information.

Anrdex.oab

Anrdex.oab

Anrdex2_u.oab

Outlook uses this index file to help resolve ambiguous names.

Lngxxx.oab

Lngxxx.oab

Lngxxx.oab

These files contain the Display and Addressing template data for localized (language) information. Templates contain information about how Outlook displays the properties of the object. In the template, xxx is the locale ID, which is used to identify the language. Outlook renames this to Tmplts.oab at download time.

Macxxx.oab

Macxxx.oab

Macxxx.oab

This file contains the Display and Addressing template data for Macintosh information, where xxx is the code page. The client renames this to Tmplts.oab at download time. At the time of this guide's publication, the Macintosh clients, including Outlook 2001, use the non-Unicode offline address book. The Unicode file is created for possible future use.

Changes.oab

Changes.oab

Changes.oab

This file is also known as the diff (or difference) file. It contains the differences between the current offline address book and the previously generated offline address book. Outlook uses the information in this file to determine whether to download an update to its copy of the offline address book or a complete new offline address book.

This file is included as an attachment in a separate message.

User Certificates in the Offline Address Book Files

The details files in an offline address book include user certificates. However, in Exchange Server 2003, unnecessary certificates are filtered out. There are three different certificate attributes in Active Directory. Only some of these certificates are used for encrypting and signing e-mail messages. Therefore, Outlook uses these certificates but not the others. Certificates that are not used by Outlook, such as Encrypted File System and 802.1x authentication, are filtered out of the offline address book. Expired certificates are also filtered out of the offline address book.

For detailed steps about how to disable certificate filtering, see How to Disable Certificate Filtering in the Offline Address Book Files.

User Attributes Stored in Offline Address Book Files

With Outlook, users can view address attributes of other users when using the offline address book. The attributes that are available depend on the Outlook configuration.

To view the attribute settings, in the Outlook Tools menu, point to Send/Receive, and then click Download online address book. Outlook provides two options:

  • **Full Details   **Outlook downloads all address attributes.

  • **No Details   **Outlook downloads a subset of the address attributes.

The following table lists the address attributes that are included in the offline address book, including whether they are downloaded as part of the No Details version of the offline address book.

Address attributes in the offline address book, organized by Address Book tab

Tab Display name Attribute name No Details Full Details

Not applicable

Not applicable

PR_OBJECT TYPE

X

X

 

 

PR_ENTRYID

X

X

 

 

PR_DISPLAY_TYPE

X

X

 

 

PR_SEND_RICH_INFO

X

X

 

 

PR_USER_CERTIFICATE

 

X

 

 

PR_USER_X509_CERTIFICATE

 

X

 

 

PR_EMS_AB_X509_CERT

 

X

 

 

PR_EMS_AB_HOME_MDB_A

 

X *

General

First

PR_GIVEN_NAME_A

 

X

 

Initials

PR_INITIALS_A

 

X

 

Last

PR_SURNAME_A

X

X

 

Display

PR_DISPLAY_NAME_A

X

X

 

Alias

PR_ACCOUNT_A

X

X

 

Address

PR_STREET_ADDRESS_A

 

X

 

City

PR_LOCALITY_A

 

X

 

State

PR_STATE_OR_PROVINCE_A

 

X

 

Zip code

PR_POSTAL_CODE_A

 

X

 

Country/Region

PR_COUNTRY_A

 

X

 

Title

PR_TITLE_A

 

X

 

Company

PR_COMPANY_NAME_A

 

X

 

Assistant

PR_ASSISTANT_A

 

X

 

Department

PR_DEPARTMENT_NAME_A

 

X

 

Office

PR_OFFICE_LOCATION

X

X

 

Phone

PR_BUSINESS_TELEPHONE_NUMBER_A

 

X

Phone/ Notes:

Business

PR_BUSINESS_TELEPHONE_NUMBER_A

 

X

 

Business 2

PR_BUSINESS2_TELEPHONE_NUMBER_A

 

X **

 

Fax

PR_PRIMARY_FAX_NUMBER_A

 

X

 

Assistant

PR_ASSISTANT_TELEPHONE_NUMBER_A

 

X

 

Home

PR_HOME_TELEPHONE_NUMBER_A

 

X

 

Home 2

PR_HOME2_TELEPHONE_NUMBER_A

 

X **

 

Mobile

PR_MOBILE_TELEPHONE_NUMBER_A

 

X

 

Pager

PR_PAGER_TELEPHONE_NUMBER_A

 

X

 

Notes

PR_COMMENT_A

 

X

E-Mail Addresses

Not applicable

PR_ADDRTYPE_A

X

X

 

Not applicable

PR_EMAIL_ADDRESS_A

X

X

 

Not applicable

PR_SMTP_ADDRESS_A

X

X

 

Not applicable

PR_EMS_AB_PROXY_ADDRESSES

 

X

 

Not applicable

PR_EMS_AB_TARGET_ADDRESS

 

X *

* V3 represents offline address book version 3a. Currently this is available only with Exchange Server 2003 and Outlook 2003.

** Business2 and Home2 are available as a single value in Microsoft Exchange Server version 5.5 and as a multi-value in Exchange Server 2003 V3 only. These values are not available in Exchange Server 2003 ANSI (V2) or Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server.

The following table lists attributes that are not included in either the No Details or Full Details version of the offline address book.

Attributes not available in the offline address book

Tab Display name Attribute name

Organization

Direct Reports

directReports

Member of

Group Membership

groupMembershipSAM

Not applicable

Custom Attributes

Not applicable