Specifying the Resolution Method with PR_RESOLVE_METHOD

Microsoft Exchange Server handles message conflicts in one of three ways, as determined by the value of the PR_RESOLVE_METHOD property. This behavior is the same for message conflicts of any type, even if the message is controlled by a custom form. The values of PR_RESOLVE_METHOD are defined in the EDKMDB.H file.

Because PR_RESOLVE_METHOD is not initialized on folder creation, it may not be present on a given folder. In this case, the information store’s default behavior is RESOLVE_METHOD_DEFAULT.

Microsoft Exchange Server handles message conflicts in three ways:

• Default conflict resolution
• Last writer wins
• No conflict notification

Default Conflict Resolution

If PR_RESOLVE_METHOD is set to RESOLVE_METHOD_DEFAULT, Microsoft Exchange Server does the following:

• Saves the newer message into the public folder.
• Sets the MSGSTATUS_IN_CONFLICT bit in the PR_MSG_STATUS property of the newer message.
• Attaches a copy of each conflicted version (including the newest version and all older versions) of the message to the newest message.
• Attaches older messages to the newer message because there may be more than two messages in the case of a complex conflict.
• Sets to TRUE the PR_IN_CONFLICT property on the attached messages.
• Notifies both the modifiers of the message and the contacts defined on the folder by sending a conflict notification message. This message is of the message class IPM.Conflict.Message, which displays as a standard conflict notification form at the client. This form displays a button that, if pressed, displays and opens the conflict message for the user. The conflict message is only sent from the server computer on which the folder was created. Until the conflict replication reaches that computer, no notifications are sent.

Last Writer Wins

If PR_RESOLVE_METHOD is set to RESOLVE_METHOD_ LAST_WRITER_WINS, Microsoft Exchange Server saves the newer message.

No Conflict Notification

If PR_RESOLVE_METHOD is set to RESOLVE_METHOD_ NO_CONFLICT_NOTIFICATION, Microsoft Exchange Server performs the same steps as if the RESOLVE_METHOD_DEFAULT flag is set, except that it does not notify the contacts defined on the folder and the modifiers of the message.

Note The PR_RESOLVE_METHOD property determines the resolution method only for conflicts on messages in the folder’s contents table. Conflicts on the contents of the folder associated information (FAI) table are always resolved with the Last Writer Wins method.