Super Export and Import Tools

Modifying Data
After you export data, you can edit the resulting .csv file to add and remove fields or objects or to modify existing entry values for the exported objects. For example, suppose you want to set uniform storage limits for a server's mailboxes. You've exported the server's mailboxes and now have a .csv file that contains data for all the mailboxes. You can open the .csv file in Microsoft Excel, add a column for each field that you want to add (e.g., Issue warning storage limit, Outgoing message size limit), type each field's header label in the first row, then use Excel's Fill feature to quickly fill in the content values. (You can use any tool you choose to edit the .csv file, but Excel is popular because it understands how to read and write .csv files. Excel also has good macro programming tools.) You can also massage, either manually or with the help of a script, the existing fields' contents. You can take data from another source, such as another organization's Exchange server, use a script to automatically reformat the data, and import the data to create a set of custom recipients or mailboxes.

Before you import a modified export file, you must perform one important task: You must add the Mode property field to tell Exchange Administrator how to process each entry when you import the file. Exchange Administrator doesn't include the Mode property when it exports a file, so you'll need to add the property to the .csv file. Otherwise, Exchange Administrator won't permit you to remove objects; you'll be able only to create new objects or modify existing ones. The Mode property must follow the Obj-Class property in the header; otherwise, Exchange Administrator will refuse to import the .csv file.

The Mode property's default value is modify. This value tells Exchange Administrator to create any object that has an import entry but that isn't already in the directory and to modify existing entries according to the import record's property values. You can also use the create value to create new objects or the delete value to remove existing objects. For example, the following header and content lines add a new mailbox (i.e., a mailbox for Jim Hood) and remove an existing mailbox (i.e., a mailbox for Chuck Farnsworth).

Obj-Class,Mode,First Name,Last Name,Display Name,Alias Name,Directory Name,
Primary Windows NT Account,Home-Server,E-mail address,E-mail
Addresses,Members,
Obj-Container,Hide from AB

Mailbox,create,Jim,Hood,Jim Hood,JimH,JimH,RA\JimH,HSV1,,MS:RA/HSV/hood%
SMTP:jim@robichaux.net%X400:c=
US;a= ;p=Robichaux ? Asso;o=US;s=Hood;g=Jim;,,
/ou=US/cn=Recipients,

Mailbox,delete,Chuck,Farnsworth,Chuck Farnsworth,ChuckF,
ChuckF,,,,,,,

Importing Data
After you've edited your exported .csv file (or created a new .csv file, if you're importing new data), you're ready to import the file. Don't forget to add a Mode property column if you want to delete objects. Then, follow these steps:

1. From the Exchange Administrator Tools menu, click Directory Import to open the Directory Import dialog box, which Figure 2 shows.
2. If you're creating accounts, select from the Windows NT domain drop-down list the domain in which you want to create accounts.
3. From the MS Exchange server drop-down list, select the server to which you want to send the imported information.
4. Click Container, and select a container in which to put newly created objects. The .csv file can explicitly specify a target container for each new object; the choice you make here controls the container that will hold objects without a specified target. The two radio buttons let you specify whether you want to honor or override the .csv file's specifications.
5. Click Import File, and select an import file. This file must have a valid header; otherwise, the import will fail.
6. In the Account creation section, select the Create Windows NT account check box and the Delete Windows NT account check box if you want Exchange Administrator to create and delete NT accounts as it creates and deletes mailbox objects. When you enable account creation, you can also select the Generate random password check box if you want Exchange Administrator to generate random passwords for the new accounts.
7. Decide how you want Exchange Administrator to handle import records that have multivalued properties. In the Multivalued Properties section, select Append to add new values to the existing values, or select Overwrite to overwrite the properties' values with the information in the import file.
8. Click Import.

Wrapping Up
Now that you know some import and export tricks, you're ready to put your power to good use. You can write import and export scripts to perform repetitive tasks such as reformatting data from a legacy database. (ActiveState's Perl is particularly useful for these tasks because the program has strong pattern-matching and text-processing capabilities.) You can also schedule directory import and export tasks—see Exchange Administrator's online Help. Next time, I'll show you how to use your new abilities to easily complete otherwise difficult projects. Until then, remember that practice makes perfect!