Before we create a Contact object at the PowerShell command line, I would like to begin by creating a contact manually. There are two good reasons for this walk-through:
To be clear which object we are discussing.
To give us pointers for scripting, such as Alias cannot have spaces so we use an underscore in place.
PowerShell New-Mailcontact
Now we are ready to create an Exchange mail contact from the command
line. The key PowerShell verb is 'new' as in New-Mailcontact; here
are the properties we are going to script:
# Create Exchange mail contact via command-line New-Mailcontact -Name Billy Cato` -ExternalEmailAddress:
billy@guy-sport.com` -OrganizationalUnit Boston` -Alias BillyCato
Once we have created the Mail Contact here are more PowerShell
commands to configure the Contact:
Get-Mailcontact (Only contacts
that are enabled) Get-Contact (All contacts including those disabled)
Get-Mailcontact
If you created a Mail Contact manually, then Get-mailcontact should display the name, both objects. Get-mailcontact
| Format-Table name, alias, ExternalEmailAddress -autosize.
Note
1: In PowerShell nouns are singular.
Note 2:
ExternalEmailAddress
Enable-Mailcontact
Once you have created
an Exchange 2010 contact via command line, you need to enable it. For
this you need values not only for -Identity, but also for ExternalEmailAddress. The value
for the ExternalEmailAddress can be any of these:
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The purpose of this simple illustration is to list all the roles of an
Exchange Server. Observe the simplicity of PowerShell's two-part
instruction, the verb 'Get' coupled to the noun 'ExchangeServer'.
Use PowerShell's own Get-Command to extend your knowledge of Exchange
2010 contacts to list all cmdlets containing
'Exchange'.
# Research Cmdlets containing Exchange Get-Command *Exchange*
Note 5: Actually, *Exchange* doesn't
unearth many cmdlets, thus you could substitute *Mail* or *Address* in
the above example.
Discover Parameters for Your Exchange 2010 Command
Once you find a particular cmdlet that interests you, the next step is
to see if it has any useful parameters. Again use PowerShell's own
Get-Help cmdlet.
# Parameters for Exchange 2010 Commands Get-Help Get-ExchangeServer -full
Note 6: I always append -full because I like to see
Microsoft's PowerShell examples. Incidentally, this is how I knew
there was a parameter called -status.
As usual, always try the 'Get' verb, but if you know what you are doing
then experiment with: Mount,
Dismount, Clean or even Remove.
Mailbox Policy Cmdlets
You can also use PowerShell cmdlets to modify the various email policies, the key
nouns are: InboxRule and EmailAddressPolicy.
Guy
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Summary of Create Contacts with PowerShell's New-Mailcontact
It's easy to use PowerShell's New-Mailcontact to create an Exchange 2010
mail contact from the command
line. I chose creating contacts as a vehicle for PowerShell
because contacts are easier to manipulate than other Active Directory objects.
If you like this page then please share it with your friends
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