Applies to: Exchange Server 2010 SP3, Exchange Server 2010 SP2

Topic Last Modified: 2012-11-21

A mailbox export request is a process of exporting mailbox or archive data to a .pst file. You can create more than one mailbox export request per mailbox, and each request must have a unique name. Microsoft Exchange automatically generates up to 10 unique names for a mailbox. To create more than 10 export requests for a mailbox, you must specify a unique name when you create the request.

Note:
Although you can create multiple export requests per mailbox at one time, you can create only one request at a time per .pst file. This is because the .pst file is locked as in-use when the request begins to run.

Alternatively, you can remove existing export requests by using the Remove-MailboxExportRequest cmdlet, and then start the new request by using MailboxExportX as the default value for the Name parameter (where X equals 0–9). For more information, see Remove a Mailbox Export Request.

Note:
You can't use the Exchange Management Console (EMC) to create a mailbox export request. You must use the Exchange Management Shell.

Looking for other management tasks related to mailbox import or export requests? Check out Managing Mailbox Import and Export Requests.

Note:
When you use the New-MailboxExportRequest cmdlet to export a mailbox to a .pst file, the .pst file can be opened only by using Microsoft Outlook 2010 or a later version.

Prerequisites

To export a mailbox or archive, you must first create a network shared folder. You need to grant read/write permission to the group Exchange Trusted Subsystem to the network share where you'll export or import mailboxes. If you don't grant this permission, you'll receive an error message stating that Exchange is unable to establish a connection to the target mailbox. For more information, see Set Permissions for Shared Folders.

Use the Shell to export a user's primary mailbox to a .pst file

You need to be assigned permissions before you can perform this procedure. To see what permissions you need, see the "Import Export" entry in the Mailbox Permissions topic.

You need to grant read/write permission to the group Exchange Trusted Subsystem to the network share where you'll export or import mailboxes. If you don't grant this permission, you'll receive an error message stating that Exchange is unable to establish a connection to the target mailbox.

This example exports Ayla Kol's primary mailbox to a .pst file on the network shared folder PSTFileShare on server MBX-01.

Note:
The command doesn't create directories. If you specify a directory that doesn't exist, the command fails.
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New-MailboxExportRequest -Mailbox AylaKol -FilePath \\MBX-01\PSTFileShare\Ayla_Recovered.pst

For detailed syntax and parameter information, see New-MailboxExportRequest.

Use the Shell to export a user's personal archive to a .pst file

You need to be assigned permissions before you can perform this procedure. To see what permissions you need, see the "Import Export" entry in the Mailbox Permissions topic.

You need to grant read/write permission to the group Exchange Trusted Subsystem to the network share where you'll export or import mailboxes. If you don't grant this permission, you'll receive an error message stating that Exchange is unable to establish a connection to the target mailbox.

This example exports Kweku's archive to a .pst file on the network shared folder PSTFileShare.

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New-MailboxExportRequest -Mailbox Kweku -IsArchive -FilePath "\\SERVER01\PSTFileShare\Kweku_Archive.pst"

For detailed syntax and parameter information, see New-MailboxExportRequest.

Use the Shell to export data from a user's mailbox

You need to be assigned permissions before you can perform this procedure. To see what permissions you need, see the "Import Export" entry in the Mailbox Permissions topic.

You need to grant read/write permission to the group Exchange Trusted Subsystem to the network share where you'll export or import mailboxes. If you don't grant this permission, you'll receive an error message stating that Exchange is unable to establish a connection to the target mailbox.

This example exports Tony's messages that were received before January 1, 2010, and contain the words "company" and "profit" in the message body.

For more information about how to use the ContentFilter parameter, see Filterable Properties for the -ContentFilter Parameter.

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New-MailboxExportRequest -Mailbox Tony -ContentFilter {(body -like "*company*") -and (body -like "*profit*") -and (Received -lt "01/01/2010")} -FilePath "\\SERVER\PSTFileShare\Tony_CompanyProfits.pst"

For detailed syntax and parameter information, see New-MailboxExportRequest.

Use the Shell to export data from a well-known folder

Well-known folders are mailbox folders known by a specific name, regardless of the folder's name in another language. For example, #Inbox# denotes the Inbox folder even if it's localized in Turkish as Gelen Kutusu. Well-known folders include the following types:

  • Inbox

  • SentItems

  • DeletedItems

  • Calendar

  • Contacts

  • Drafts

  • Journal

  • Tasks

  • Notes

  • JunkEmail

  • CommunicationHistory

  • Voicemail

  • Fax

  • Conflicts

  • SyncIssues

  • LocalFailures

  • ServerFailures

You need to be assigned permissions before you can perform this procedure. To see what permissions you need, see the "Import Export" entry in the Mailbox Permissions topic.

You need to grant read/write permission to the group Exchange Trusted Subsystem to the network share where you'll export or import mailboxes. If you don't grant this permission, you'll receive an error message stating that Exchange is unable to establish a connection to the target mailbox.

This example exports all messages from Kweku's Inbox to the .pst file LitigationHold.

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New-MailboxExportRequest -Mailbox Kweku -IncludeFolders "#Inbox#" -FilePath \\PSTFileShare\Kweku\LitigationHold.pst

For detailed syntax and parameter information, see New-MailboxExportRequest.

Other Tasks

After you export mailboxes or archives, you may also want to: