How to view and create public folders

Public folders are a powerful and easy way of sharing data between Exchange mailbox users.

It is important that permissions on public folders are correctly set and that this is checked whenever you make changes to your public folders. Please read this article carefully to ensure that your private data remains secure.

You can create six types of public folder, using your free copy of Outlook 2003:

Public folder setup with Outlook 2003

Step 1: In the bottom left of the Outlook 2003 navigation pane is a list of the functionality available on your Exchange mailbox.

Click the public folders icon, which is show below the main list by default. Alternatively, it will be shown in the main list as Folders List.

Step 2: At the top of the Outlook 2003 navigation pane is your folder list. Expand Public folders, then expand All public folders. You'll see a folder named after your domain name; expand it.

Step 3: Each type of public folder available will be listed. These are not public folders themselves. Right-click on the folder type you want to create, then click New Folder.

Step 4: A new window will open. Enter the name for the new folder, then click the OK button.

Important: You must now set the permissions for your new public folder.

Set individual user permissions for the new folder

By default, all mailbox users on your domain name are set to the Publishing Editor permission level. This allows them to:

If you do not want to give these permissions to all users on your domain, you must edit them individually. Otherwise, you do not need to alter the sharing permissions for the public folder.

Step 1: Right-click on the public folder and click Sharing.

Step 2: In the window that opens, four users will be listed:

Warning: Both Default and Anonymous must be set to permission level None. This is set by default but you should ensure that it remains set to None if you make any permissions changes to the public folder. If the Default and Anonymous users are not set to None, other Fasthosts customers could gain access to your public folders.

Step 3: Highlight All Users and use the Permission Level drop-down list to select None. This will remove all permissions from other users on your domain name.

Step 4: Click the Add button. A list of all the mailboxes on your domain name will be shown. Select the users you want to set permissions for (using the Ctrl key if selecting multiple users), then click the Add button, then click the OK button.

Note: You cannot add mailboxes that have a globe icon beside them, as these are the non-Exchange mailboxes on your domain name.

Step 5: Highlight the user whose permissions you want to alter, then use the Permissions Level drop-down list to select the appropriate permission level. Once you have set the permissions for each user, click the OK button.

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