Import-TransportRuleCollection

This cmdlet is available only in on-premises Exchange.

Use the Import-TransportRuleCollection cmdlet to import a transport rule collection. You can import a rule collection you previously exported as a backup, or import rules that you've exported from an older version of Exchange.

Note: For replacement import functionality in Exchange Online using a PowerShell script, see Import or export a mail flow rule collection in Exchange Online.

For information about the parameter sets in the Syntax section below, see Exchange cmdlet syntax.

Syntax

Import-TransportRuleCollection
      [[-Identity] <RuleIdParameter>]
      [-FileData] <Byte[]>
      [-Confirm]
      [-DomainController <Fqdn>]
      [-Force]
      [-WhatIf]
      [<CommonParameters>]

Description

Importing a transport rule collection from an XML file removes or overwrites all pre-existing transport rules that were defined in your organization. Make sure that you have a backup of your current transport rule collection before you import and overwrite your current transport rules.

For information about how to export a transport rule collection to an XML file, see Export-TransportRuleCollection.

You need to be assigned permissions before you can run this cmdlet. Although this topic lists all parameters for the cmdlet, you may not have access to some parameters if they're not included in the permissions assigned to you. To find the permissions required to run any cmdlet or parameter in your organization, see Find the permissions required to run any Exchange cmdlet.

Examples

Example 1

Import-TransportRuleCollection -FileData ([System.IO.File]::ReadAllBytes('C:\TransportRules\ExportedRules.xml'))

This example imports a transport rule collection from the XML file named ExportedRules.xml in the C:\TransportRules folder.

Parameters

-Confirm

The Confirm switch specifies whether to show or hide the confirmation prompt. How this switch affects the cmdlet depends on if the cmdlet requires confirmation before proceeding.

  • Destructive cmdlets (for example, Remove-* cmdlets) have a built-in pause that forces you to acknowledge the command before proceeding. For these cmdlets, you can skip the confirmation prompt by using this exact syntax: -Confirm:$false.
  • Most other cmdlets (for example, New-* and Set-* cmdlets) don't have a built-in pause. For these cmdlets, specifying the Confirm switch without a value introduces a pause that forces you acknowledge the command before proceeding.
Type:SwitchParameter
Aliases:cf
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False
Applies to:Exchange Server 2010, Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2019

-DomainController

The DomainController parameter specifies the domain controller that's used by this cmdlet to read data from or write data to Active Directory. You identify the domain controller by its fully qualified domain name (FQDN). For example, dc01.contoso.com.

The DomainController parameter isn't supported on Edge Transport servers. An Edge Transport server uses the local instance of Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS) to read and write data.

Type:Fqdn
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False
Applies to:Exchange Server 2010, Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2019

-FileData

The FileData parameter specifies the XML file that contains the exported transport rule collection from the Export-TransportRuleCollection cmdlet.

A valid value for this parameter requires you to read the file to a byte-encoded object using the following syntax: ([System.IO.File]::ReadAllBytes('<Path>\<FileName>')). You can use this command as the parameter value, or you can write the output to a variable ($data = [System.IO.File]::ReadAllBytes('<Path>\<FileName>')) and use the variable as the parameter value ($data).

Type:Byte[]
Position:1
Default value:None
Required:True
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False
Applies to:Exchange Server 2010, Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2019

-Force

The Force switch hides warning or confirmation messages. You don't need to specify a value with this switch.

You can use this switch to run tasks programmatically where prompting for administrative input is inappropriate.

Type:SwitchParameter
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False
Applies to:Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2019

-Identity

This parameter is functional only in Exchange Server 2010.

The Identity parameter specifies the transport rule that you want to import. You can use any value that uniquely identifies the rule. For example:

  • Name
  • Distinguished name (DN)
  • GUID
Type:RuleIdParameter
Position:1
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:True
Accept wildcard characters:False
Applies to:Exchange Server 2010, Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2019

-WhatIf

The WhatIf switch simulates the actions of the command. You can use this switch to view the changes that would occur without actually applying those changes. You don't need to specify a value with this switch.

Type:SwitchParameter
Aliases:wi
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False
Applies to:Exchange Server 2010, Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2019

Inputs

Input types

To see the input types that this cmdlet accepts, see Cmdlet Input and Output Types. If the Input Type field for a cmdlet is blank, the cmdlet doesn't accept input data.

Outputs

Output types

To see the return types, which are also known as output types, that this cmdlet accepts, see Cmdlet Input and Output Types. If the Output Type field is blank, the cmdlet doesn't return data.