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Getting Help

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Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 will reach end of support on April 11, 2017. To stay supported, you will need to upgrade. For more information, see Resources to help you upgrade your Office 2007 servers and clients.

 

Applies to: Exchange Server 2007, Exchange Server 2007 SP1, Exchange Server 2007 SP2, Exchange Server 2007 SP3

In Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, the Exchange Management Shell provides many help resources to help you use it to its fullest potential. This topic describes the following help resources and functionality:

  • Exchange 2007 Help file   The Exchange 2007 Help file contains all the cmdlet help topics in a role-based and task-based hierarchy. The cmdlet help topics also link to procedural topics that tell you how to perform specific tasks.

  • Help cmdlets   The Exchange Management Shell has several help cmdlets that enable you to find the appropriate information to accomplish your task.

  • Help views   Help in the Exchange Management Shell contains extensive information about the cmdlets that are available to you. Help views enable you to access the information that you need about a cmdlet.

  • Cmdlet roles, components, and functionality   Cmdlets can be listed by their role, component, or the functionality they manage. This lets you to find the appropriate cmdlet for the role, component, or functionality that you want to manage.

  • Tab completion   You can use tab completion on cmdlet names and parameter names to reduce the amount of typing you must do on the command line.

Exchange 2007 Help File

The Exchange 2007 Help file contains the same cmdlet help information that is available on each cmdlet in the Exchange Management Shell. However, in the Exchange 2007 Help file, the help for all the cmdlets is organized by server role and administration task to help you easily find specific cmdlets that are associated with the task that you want to perform. Also, cmdlet topics in the Exchange 2007 Help file are linked to topics that introduce you to the features that they manage, show you how to use the cmdlets to manage that feature, and provide specific details about the feature or common scenarios.

For more information about the cmdlet help topics available in the Exchange 2007 Help file, see Exchange 2007 Cmdlets.

For more information about how to use Exchange Management Shell cmdlets to perform specific tasks, see Operations.

Help Cmdlets

The following tables provide examples of how to use the Get-Help, Get-Command, and Get-ExCommand cmdlets to access the help information that is available for each cmdlet in the Exchange Management Shell.

Table 1 provides examples of how the Get-Help cmdlet is used.

Table 1   Examples of how to use the Get-Help command

Command Description

Get-Help

When you use the Get-Help cmdlet by itself, it gives you basic instructions on how to use the Exchange Management Shell help system.

Get-Help <cmdlet>

When you give the Get-Help cmdlet a shell cmdlet as an argument, it displays the help information for that cmdlet. For example, to retrieve the help information for the Get-SystemMessage cmdlet, use the following command:

Get-Help Get-SystemMessage

Get-Help <*cmdlet*>

When you give the Get-Help cmdlet a shell cmdlet as an argument, together with a wildcard character, the Get-Help cmdlet returns a list of all cmdlets that match the text that you provided. You can use several methods to retrieve a list of shell cmdlets. These methods include the following:

  • Get-Help *Rules   This command returns all cmdlets that end with the word Rules.

  • Get-Help Get*Rules   This command returns all cmdlets that start with the word Get and end with the word Rules.

  • Get-Help Get-Export*   This command returns all cmdlets that start with the phrase Get-Export.

By using wildcard characters in this manner, you can easily view a list of all cmdlets that are available for a certain feature. For example, by using the Get-Help *-TransportAgent command, you can view a list of all the cmdlet verbs available for transport agents.

Get-Help About_*

The Get-Help About_* command provides a list of all general Exchange Management Shell help topics to help you better understand and use the Exchange Management Shell. If you want to learn more about a topic in the list that is displayed, run the Get-Help About_<feature> command. For example, if you want to learn more about the Where statement, run Get-Help About_Where.

Get-Help <cmdlet> -Detailed

See the Help Views section later in this topic.

Get-Help <cmdlet> -Full

See the Help Views section later in this topic.

Get-Help <cmdlet> -Examples

See the Help Views section later in this topic.

Get-Help <cmdlet> -Parameter <parameter name>

See the Help Views section later in this topic.

Get-Help -Role *<server role>*

See the Role, Component, and Functionality Parameters section later in this topic.

Get-Help -Component *<component feature>*

See the Role, Component, and Functionality Parameters section later in this topic.

Get-Help -Functionality *<Global | User | Server>*

See the Role, Component, and Functionality Parameters section later in this topic.

Table 2 provides examples of how the Get-Command cmdlet is used.

Table 2   Examples of how to use the Get-Command command

Cmdlet Description

Get-Command

The Get-Command cmdlet provides a list of all the cmdlets that are available to the shell. Like the Get-Help cmdlet, the Get-Command cmdlet allows for wildcard character expansion. You can use this cmdlet with the Format-List and Format-Table cmdlets to provide a more readable display. For example, use Get-Command | Format-List to display the cmdlet help in a list format.

Get-Command <Cmdlet>

The Get-Command <Cmdlet> command provides detailed information about the specified cmdlet's parameters and other components. You can use this command together with the Format-List cmdlet and Format-Table cmdlet to provide a more readable display. For example, use Get-Command Get-SystemMessage | Format-List to display the cmdlet help in a list format.

Get-Command -Noun <CmdletNoun>

The Get-Command -Noun <CmdletNoun> command lists all the cmdlets that exist with the specified noun. This command is useful when you want to view a list of all cmdlets that are associated with a particular feature. For example, the Get-Help -Noun SystemMessage command returns all the cmdlets that are available for the SystemMessage feature. You can use this command together with the Format-List cmdlet and Format-Table cmdlet to provide a more readable display. For example, use Get-SystemMessage -Noun Get | Format-List to display the command help in a list format.

Get-Command -Verb <CmdletVerb>

The Get-Command -Verb <CmdletVerb> command lists all the cmdlets that exist with the specified verb. This command is useful when you want to view a list of all cmdlets that are associated with a particular action. For example, the Get-Help -Verb Enable command returns all cmdlets available that perform the enable action. You can use this command together with the Format-List cmdlet and Format-Table cmdlet to provide a more readable display. For example, use Get-Command -Verb SystemMessage | Format-List to display the command help in a list format.

Get-ExCommand

The Get-ExCommand cmdlet behaves identically to the Get-Command cmdlet, but returns only cmdlets that are available to manage Exchange 2007.

Get-PSCommand

The Get-PSCommand cmdlet behaves identically to the Get-Command cmdlet, but excludes cmdlets that are used to manage Exchange 2007.

Table 3 provides examples of how to use miscellaneous help commands.

Table 3   Examples of how to use miscellaneous help commands

Cmdlet Description

QuickRef

The QuickRef command opens a printable HTML chart that lists the most frequently used Exchange Management Shell cmdlets.

To view the most up-to-date version of this chart, see Exchange Management Shell Quick Reference.

<Cmdlet> -?

Use the <Cmdlet> -? command together with any cmdlet to find the same help information that is available when you use the Get-Help cmdlet. For example, type Get-SystemMessage -? to display detailed help for the Get-SystemMessage cmdlet.

Get-Tip

The Get-Tip cmdlet generates a new Exchange Management Shell Tip of the Day.

Get-ExBlog

The Get-ExBlog cmdlet opens Microsoft Internet Explorer to display the Exchange Team blog.

Help Views

When a cmdlet is specified as a parameter of the Get-Help cmdlet, the help information for the specified cmdlet is displayed. In some cases, the information that is returned can be extensive, and you may only want to see specific information. Help views enable you to view specific information about a cmdlet without having to sort through information that you may not need.

The Exchange Management Shell gives you four views that present exactly the information that you want. You can also retrieve a specific parameter or set of similar parameters. Table 4 shows the sections that are displayed in each view.

Table 4   Exchange Management Shell help views

Help view Default Detailed Full Examples

Synopsis

X

X

X

X

Syntax

X

X

X

 

Detailed description

X

X

X

 

Parameters without metadata

 

X

 

 

Parameters with metadata

 

 

X

 

Input type

 

 

X

 

Return type

 

 

X

 

Errors

 

 

X

 

Notes

 

 

X

 

Examples

 

X

X

X

Related links

X

 

X

 

Remarks

X

X

 

 

Table 5 describes each view and provides an example of a command that calls each view.

Table 5   Examples of Exchange Management Shell help views

Help view Example Description

Default

Get-Help Set-Mailbox

The default view is displayed when you use the command Get-Help <cmdlet>.

Detailed

Get-Help Set-Mailbox -Detailed

The Detailed view is displayed when you use the command Get-Help <cmdlet> -Detailed. The parameters that are returned in the Parameters section do not include parameter metadata.

For more information about parameters, see Parameters.

Full

Get-Help Set-Mailbox - Full

The Full view is displayed when you use the command Get-Help <cmdlet> -Full. The parameters that are returned in the Parameters section include the following parameter metadata:

  • Required?

  • Position?

  • Default value

  • Accept pipeline input?

  • Accept wildcard characters?

For more information about parameters, see Parameters.

Examples

Get-Help Set-Mailbox -Examples

The Examples view is displayed when you use the command Get-Help <cmdlet> -Examples.

In addition to these four help views, the Exchange Management Shell also lets you access the description and metadata on a specific parameter or set of similar parameters. You can specify the parameter together with the Get-Help <cmdlet> command. The following example shows how you can display the description of the ForwardingAddress parameter on the Set-Mailbox cmdlet:

Get-Help Set-Mailbox -Parameter ForwardingAddress

You can also display a set of similar parameters that exist on a specific cmdlet if you specify the partial name of a parameter together with a wildcard character (*). The following example shows how you can display all the parameters on the Set-Mailbox cmdlet that contain the word "Quota":

Get-Help Set-Mailbox -Parameter *Quota*

Note

When you use the Parameter parameter with the Get-Help cmdlet to retrieve help for a cmdlet that has only one parameter, the Get-Help cmdlet doesn't return any results, even if you use the wildcard character (*). This is a known issue in Microsoft Windows PowerShell.

Role, Component, and Functionality Parameters

When you call the Get-Help cmdlet without specifying a specific cmdlet, you receive a listing of all cmdlets available in the Exchange Management Shell. However, you may want to view a list of cmdlets that manage a specific server role or component feature or that affect objects across a certain scope of functionality. The Get-Help cmdlet lets you do this with three parameters: Role, Component, and Functionality.

When you use the Get-Help cmdlet with the Role, Component, or Functionality parameters, you must enclose the values that you specify with these parameters in wildcard characters (*). The following are examples of how to call Get-Help with each parameter:

Get-Help -Role *Mailbox*
Get-Help -Component *Recipient*
Get-Help -Functionality *Server*

The following tables list all the values that can be used with the Role, Component, and Functionality parameters on the Get-Help cmdlet. Table 6 lists the values that can be used with the Role parameter.

Table 6   Valid values for Get-Help -Role

Role Value Alternative value

Mailbox

Mailbox

MB

Hub Transport

Hub

HT

Client Access

ClientAccess

CA

Unified Messaging

UnifiedMessaging

UM

Edge Transport

Edge

ET

Organization Administrator

OrgAdmin

OA

Server Administrator

SrvAdmin

SV

Recipient Administrator

RcptAdmin

RA

Windows Administrator

WinAdmin

WA

Read Only

ReadOnly

RO

Table 7 lists the values that can be used with the Component parameter.

Table 7   Valid values for Get-Help -Component

Value Value

Addressing

Mailflow

Agent

ManagedFolder

Antispam

Mobility

AutoDiscover

OAB

Calendaring

Outlook

Certificate

OWA

Classification

Permission

Client

Pop

Cluster

PublicFolder

Compliance

Queuing

Delegate

Recipient

Diagnostic

Routing

Domain

Rule

Extensibility

Search

FreeBusy

Server

GAL

Statistics

Group

Storage

HighAvailability

UM

Imap

VirtualDirectory

Mailbox

 

Table 8 lists the values that can be used with the Functionality parameter.

Table 8   Valid values for Get-Help -Functionality

Value

Global

Server

User

Tab Completion

Tab completion enables you to reduce the typing you must do when you use the Exchange Management Shell. When you type a partial cmdlet name, press the TAB key, and the Exchange Management Shell will complete the cmdlet name if a matching cmdlet is found. If multiple matching cmdlet names are found, each cmdlet name will cycle through as you press the TAB key. When you use tab completion with cmdlet names, you must supply at least the verb and the hyphen (-). The following examples show how you can use tab completion when you enter a cmdlet name:

Get-Transport<Tab>
Enable-<Tab>

As you press the TAB key in the first example, the Exchange Management Shell cycles through all the cmdlet names that start with Get-Transport. In the second example, the Exchange Management Shell cycles through all cmdlets with the verb Enable.

As with cmdlet names, you can also use tab completion when you want the Exchange Management Shell to complete the partial parameter name that you have entered. When you use tab completion with parameter names, you must specify the full cmdlet name either by typing it in directly or by using tab completion. The following examples show how you can use tab completion when you enter a parameter name:

Set-Mailbox -Email<Tab>
New-TransportRule -Cond<Tab>

As you press the TAB key in the first example, the Exchange Management Shell cycles through all the parameter names that start with Email on the Set-Mailbox cmdlet. In the second example, when you press the TAB key, the Exchange Management Shell completes the Condition parameter on the New-TransportRule cmdlet.