How to create mail enabled contact in Exchange 2007

There may be situations in which an email address is required for a person who does not need access to internal resources. There is where a mail enabled contact comes in, which will create an Active Directory object with full information that will appear in the global address list. A mail-enabled contact is usually used for users that do not work within a company.

To create a mail-enabled contact, click on the “New Mail Contact…” link on the Actions panel at “Recipient Configuration.” This will launch the New Mail Contact wizard. Click on “New contact” when prompted whether to create a mail contact for a New contact or an Existing contact. By default, the contact object will be placed in the Users container, though this can be modified by clicking on the “Browse….” button.

Next, type in the contact name (ContactOne) and click on the “Edit…” button to enter an external e-mail address. Note that clicking on the small down arrow beside the “Edit…” button will allow an administrator to change the default SMTP E-mail type to other address types such as X.400, GroupWise or Lotus Notes. The final screen will present a configurations summary, and clicking on “New” will create the new mail contact.

Under the Exchange Management Console, note how the icon for the new mail-enabled contact is different from that of an equipment resource, room resource and standard mailbox.

The created contact can be viewed under Active Directory Users and Computers, though this individual would not be able to logon with this account because the account doesn’t have logon information and has no password. Double-clicking on the user in Exchange Management Console will allow an administrator to edit information such as street address and phone numbers.