XADM: Bulk Import/Export FAQ

• Microsoft Exchange Server, version 4.0

SUMMARY

The Microsoft Exchange Administrator program has the ability to import and export mailboxes, custom recipients, and Distribution Lists (DLs). This article covers the most frequently raised issues related to Bulk Import and Export.

MORE INFORMATION

Exporting mailbox data does not export all data fields

   By default, the Microsoft Exchange Administrator program does not export
   all of the data fields associated with a mailbox, custom recipient, or
   DL. If you need a particular field that is not exported by default, the
   following are your two available methods:

   1. Create a header file that contains all of the headers that you want
      to export. You can do this in the following two ways:

      A. Use the Header.exe program in the Microsoft Exchange Resource Kit
         to create a file with the data field names that you want to
         export.
      B. Manually create a file with the data fields you want to export.

   2. To export all of the data fields associated with an object, instead
      of creating a header file with all the data field names, use one of
      the sample header files available on the Microsoft Exchange Server CD
      in the Support\Samples\Csvs directory. There are subdirectories that
      contain header files for mailboxes, custom recipients, and DLs. Copy
      the relevant .CSV file from the CD to your hard drive, remove the
      Read-Only attribute on the file, and then run the Export command from
      the Microsoft Exchange Administrator program, specifying the file
      that you copied from the CD. The Export command will read all the
      headers in the file specified and will export those attributes.

   You can use the Bulk Import program to modify attributes associated with
   mailboxes, custom recipients, and DLs. To modify the value of an
   attribute, export the existing data to a .CSV file, change the value of
   the attributes in the data file, and import the file. All existing
   objects will be modified with the new values.

   Each mailbox, custom recipient, and DL has 10 Custom Attributes that the
   administrator can use to specify custom data. These Custom Attributes
   can also be modified using the Directory Import program. There are 10
   Custom Attributes which are named "Custom Attribute 1" through "Custom
   Attribute 10".

   To change the value of a particular Custom Attribute for mailboxes,
   follow these steps (for Custom Attribute 1):

      1. Use Header.exe to create a header file (Cust.csv) with the
         required fields. Custom Attribute 1 should be included.
      2. From the Microsoft Exchange Administrator program, run the
         Directory Export command specifying the header file created in
         step 1. This will populate the header file with data.
      3. Edit the modified header file using a spreadsheet like Microsoft
         Excel. Modify the values in the Custom Attribute 1 column.
      4. From the Microsoft Exchange Administrator program, run the
         Directory Import command specifying the header file modified in
         step 3. This will modify the Custom Attribute 1 field for all the
         objects that were exported in step 2.

   When you import data into a Custom Attribute, the following error is
   received:

      The attribute Custom Attribute 1 is unknown

   This error might be received if the Custom Attribute 1 has been renamed.

   To determine what the Custom Attribute names currently are, follow these
   steps:

      1. In the Microsoft Exchange Administrator program, double click on
         the Configuration container.
      2. Get Properties of the DS Site Configuration object.
      3. Select the Custom Attributes page.
      4. The Custom Attributes names should be displayed. The names can
         also be renamed on this page.

   Please refer to the following Microsoft Knowledge Base articles:

      ARTICLE-ID: Q152854
      TITLE: XADM: Using Bulk Import to Remove Data

      ARTICLE-ID: Q152727
      TITLE: XADM: Importing Blank Value Won't Modify Mailbox Value

   By default, the Secondary E-mail (Proxy) addresses are not exported. For
   information about how to export these addresses, please refer to the
   following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

      ARTICLE-ID: Q153028
      TITLE: XADM: How to Export Multiple (Secondary) E-mail Addresses

   The following Microsoft Knowledge Base article describes how to
   associate more than one E-mail address with a mailbox:

      ARTICLE-ID: Q148339
      TITLE: XADM: How to Import Multiple SMTP Addresses

   The following Microsoft Knowledge Base article describes a possible
   reason why the export only contains header fields:

      ARTICLE-ID: Q147854
      TITLE: XADM: Custom Recipients DIR Export Creates Headers-Only CSV

   The directory import/export can be run from the command line and,
   therefore, can be run as part of a batch process. For more information
   on running import/export from the command line, please refer to
   Microsoft Exchange Administrator's Guide, pages 479-487.

   Please refer to the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

      ARTICLE-ID: Q152472
      TITLE: XADM: How to Specify a Tab or Space as Separator in .csv File

   The following Microsoft Knowledge Base article provides more information
   about the ExportObject setting:

      ARTICLE-ID: Q152300
      TITLE: XADM: ExportObject in Command-Line Export Options File Only

   The following Microsoft Knowledge Base article describes how to perform
   a command line Directory Export of the Global Address List (GAL) using
   the Microsoft Exchange Administrator program:

      ARTICLE-ID: Q149447
      TITLE: XADM: How to Perform a Directory Export of the GAL

   Microsoft Excel has a limit of 255 characters per cell. When you open a
   .CSV file containing DL data, it is very likely that the Members field,
   which contains the members of the DL, will be larger than 255 characters
   in length. If you use Microsoft Excel to modify the data in the .CSV
   file, when you save the file any field with more than 255 characters
   will be truncated. This could cause problems when this data is imported
   back into the Microsoft Exchange system via the Directory Import
   command. It is possible that the members of large DLs will not have all
   the original members that were present when the data was exported. It is
   also likely that sending mail to these DLs will generate errors.

   When you use the Directory Export command interactively from the
   Microsoft Exchange Administrator program, there is an Include
   Subcontainers check box on the Directory Export dialog. If this check
   box is set, subcontainers of the selected container will be exported.

   When you run the Directory Export program from the command line, there
   is a setting in the Export Options file that you need to be set:

      [Export]
      Subcontainers=Yes

   When you import data from a .CSV file, the following error might be
   received in the Event Log:

      Event ID: 291
      Source: MSExchangeDSImp
      Type: Error
      Category: None
      Description:
      "Unable to process object TestUser because the import line must
      contain the same number of fields as the header line. 10 were
      expected, 8 were found."

   As the error message indicates, this error is generated if the data
   supplied in the .CSV file is incomplete. In other words, if there are 10
   fields specified in the header of the file, each record in the file
   should have 10 data fields, even if the fields are empty. This problem
   can easily occur if commas are missing from a line in the .CSV file. It
   may not be possible to detect this problem by viewing the data in
   Microsoft Excel because Microsoft Excel does not display the data
   delimiters (commas, in this case). You will need to update the .CSV file
   using a text editor like Notepad.