Using LDIFDE to Manipulate Mailbox Attributes

The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) Data Interchange Format (LDIF) directory export tool (LDIFDE) is installed by default in every Microsoft Windows® Server installation. LDIFDE provides bulk export and import capabilities using the LDIF file format, and it accepts standard LDAP queries for filtering data exported from LDAP directories.

LDIFDE can be used to create, modify, and delete Active Directory® directory service objects from computers running Windows Server™ 2003 or Windows XP Professional. You can also use LDIFDE to extend the schema, export Active Directory user and group information to other applications or services, and populate Active Directory with data from other directory services. Except when creating a new object that does not already exist in the directory, the export and import formats for an LDIF file are significantly different from each other.

LDIFDE can also be used to re-home mailboxes as part of an advanced recovery strategy. For more information about how you can use LDIFDE to re-home mailboxes, see How to Re-Home Exchange Mailbox Accounts. For more information about using LDIFDE to import and export Active Directory objects, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 237677, "Using LDIFDE to Import and Export Directory Objects to Active Directory".

For More Information

For more information about other methods you can use to enable, disable, and re-home mailboxes, see Using Active Directory Attributes to Enable, Disable, and Re-Home Mailboxes.