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

Topic Last Modified: 2011-04-28

Public folders are designed for shared access and provide an easy and effective way to collect, organize, and share information with other people in your workgroup or organization. Public folders are hierarchically organized, stored in dedicated databases, and can be replicated between Exchange servers.

When you create a public folder, the only required attribute is the folder name. After the folder has been created, you can edit the public folder to configure other folder properties. For more information, see Configure Public Folder Properties.

Caution:
By default, a public folder inherits the settings of its parent folder, including the permissions settings.

Looking for other management tasks related to public folders? Check out Managing Public Folders.

Prerequisite

You can't create public folders until you have created a public folder database. For detailed instructions, see Create a Public Folder Database.

What Do You Want to Do?

Note:
You can also create public folders by using a client program such as Outlook.

Use the EMC to create a public folder

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

  1. In the console tree, click Toolbox.

  2. In the result pane, double-click Public Folder Management Console.

  3. In the public folder tree of the Public Folder Management Console, navigate to Default Public Folders, and then select the parent public folder for the public folder you want to create.

  4. In the action pane, click New Public Folder.

  5. On the Introduction page, complete the following fields:

    • Name   Use this box to type the name of the new public folder.

    • Path   Use this read-only box to verify the path to the public folder. If this box displays a backslash (\), the public folder that you are creating will be a top-level public folder.

      Note:
      To change the path, close the wizard, and then, in the Public Folder Management Console, select the public folder under which you want to create this public folder, and start the wizard again.
  6. On the Completion page, review the following, and then click Finish to close the wizard:

    • A status of Completed indicates that the wizard completed the task successfully.

    • A status of Failed indicates that the task wasn't completed. If the task fails, review the summary for an explanation, and then click Back to make any configuration changes.

  7. Click Finish to close the wizard.

Use the Shell to create a public folder

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

This example creates a public folder in the root of the public folder tree on the closest Mailbox server that has a public folder database.

Copy Code 
New-PublicFolder -Name "My Public Folder"
Note:
If you don't specify a server, the cmdlet checks if the local server is an Exchange 2007 or later Mailbox server that has a public folder database. If it is, the public folder is created locally. If it isn't, Exchange finds the closest (by site cost) Exchange 2007 or later Mailbox server that has a public folder database on which to create the public folder.

This example creates the public folder Pending in the existing public folder Legal on the Mailbox server My Server.

Copy Code 
New-PublicFolder -Name "Pending" -Path \Legal -Server "My Server"

For syntax and parameter information, see New-PublicFolder.

Other Tasks

After you create a public folder, you may also want to:

For More Information