Set-UserPhoto
This cmdlet is available only in on-premises Exchange.
Use the Set-UserPhoto cmdlet to configure the user photos feature that allows users to associate a picture with their account. User photos appear in client applications, such as Outlook, Microsoft Teams, and SharePoint.
Note: In Microsoft 365, you can manage user photos in Microsoft Graph PowerShell. For instructions, see Manage user photos in Microsoft Graph PowerShell.
For information about the parameter sets in the Syntax section below, see Exchange cmdlet syntax.
Syntax
Set-UserPhoto
[-Identity] <MailboxIdParameter>
[-Cancel]
[-Confirm]
[-GroupMailbox]
[-DomainController <Fqdn>]
[-IgnoreDefaultScope]
[-PhotoType <String>]
[-UseCustomRouting]
[-WhatIf]
[<CommonParameters>] Set-UserPhoto
[-Identity] <MailboxIdParameter>
-PictureData <Byte[]>
[-Confirm]
[-DomainController <Fqdn>]
[-GroupMailbox]
[-IgnoreDefaultScope]
[-PhotoType <String>]
[-UseCustomRouting]
[-WhatIf]
[<CommonParameters>] Set-UserPhoto
[-Identity] <MailboxIdParameter>
[-PictureData <Byte[]>]
[-PictureStream <Stream>]
[-Preview]
[-Confirm]
[-DomainController <Fqdn>]
[-GroupMailbox]
[-IgnoreDefaultScope]
[-PhotoType <String>]
[-UseCustomRouting]
[-WhatIf]
[<CommonParameters>] Set-UserPhoto
[-Identity] <MailboxIdParameter>
-PictureStream <Stream>
[-Confirm]
[-DomainController <Fqdn>]
[-GroupMailbox]
[-IgnoreDefaultScope]
[-PhotoType <String>]
[-UseCustomRouting]
[-WhatIf]
[<CommonParameters>] Set-UserPhoto
[-Identity] <MailboxIdParameter>
[-Save]
[-Confirm]
[-DomainController <Fqdn>]
[-GroupMailbox]
[-IgnoreDefaultScope]
[-PhotoType <String>]
[-UseCustomRouting]
[-WhatIf]
[<CommonParameters>] Description
The user photos feature allows users to associate a picture with their account. User photos are stored in the user's Active Directory account and in the root directory of the user's Exchange mailbox. Administrators use the Set-UserPhoto cmdlet to configure user photos. Users can upload, preview, and save a user photo to their account in the Options page in Outlook on the web. When a user uploads a photo, a preview of the photo is displayed on the Options page in Outlook on the web. This is the preview state, and creates the same result as running the Set-UserPhoto cmdlet using the Preview parameter. If the user clicks Save, the preview photo is saved as the user's photo. This is the same result as running the Set-UserPhoto -Save command or running both the Set-UserPhoto -Preview and Set-UserPhoto -Save commands. If the user cancels the preview photo on the Options page in Outlook on the web, then the Set-UserPhoto -Cancel command is called.
A user photo must be set for a user before you can run the Get-UserPhoto cmdlet to view information about the user's photo. Otherwise, you'll get an error message saying the user photo doesn't exist for the specified user. Alternatively, you can run the Get-UserPhoto -Preview command to view information about a preview photo.
Notes: Changes to the user photo won't appear in SharePoint until the affected user visits their profile page (My Site) or any SharePoint page that shows their large thumbnail image.
You need to be assigned permissions before you can run this cmdlet. Although this topic lists all parameters for the cmdlet, you may not have access to some parameters if they're not included in the permissions assigned to you. To find the permissions required to run any cmdlet or parameter in your organization, see Find the permissions required to run any Exchange cmdlet.
Examples
Example 1
Set-UserPhoto -Identity "Paul Cannon" -PictureData ([System.IO.File]::ReadAllBytes("C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\PaulCannon.jpg"))This example uploads and saves a photo to Paul Cannon's user account using a single command.
Example 2
Set-UserPhoto -Identity "Ann Beebe" -PictureData ([System.IO.File]::ReadAllBytes("C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\AnnBeebe.jpg")) -Preview
Set-UserPhoto "Ann Beebe" -SaveThis example shows how to use two commands to upload and save a preview photo to Ann Beebe's user account. The first command uploads a preview photo to Ann Beebe's user account, and the second command saves the uploaded photo as the preview photo.
Example 3
Set-UserPhoto -Identity "Ann Beebe" -CancelThis example deletes the preview photo that was uploaded in the previous example.
Parameters
-Cancel
The Cancel switch deletes the photo that's currently uploaded as the preview photo. You don't need to specify a value with this switch.
To delete the photo that's currently associated with a user's account, use the Remove-UserPhoto cmdlet. The Cancel switch only deletes the preview photo.
| Type: | SwitchParameter |
| Position: | Named |
| Default value: | None |
| Required: | True |
| Accept pipeline input: | False |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
| Applies to: | Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2019 |
-Confirm
The Confirm switch specifies whether to show or hide the confirmation prompt. How this switch affects the cmdlet depends on if the cmdlet requires confirmation before proceeding.
- Destructive cmdlets (for example, Remove-* cmdlets) have a built-in pause that forces you to acknowledge the command before proceeding. For these cmdlets, you can skip the confirmation prompt by using this exact syntax:
-Confirm:$false. - Most other cmdlets (for example, New-* and Set-* cmdlets) don't have a built-in pause. For these cmdlets, specifying the Confirm switch without a value introduces a pause that forces you acknowledge the command before proceeding.
This cmdlet has a built-in pause, so use -Confirm:$false to skip the confirmation.
| Type: | SwitchParameter |
| Aliases: | cf |
| Position: | Named |
| Default value: | None |
| Required: | False |
| Accept pipeline input: | False |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
| Applies to: | Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2019 |
-DomainController
The DomainController parameter specifies the domain controller that's used by this cmdlet to read data from or write data to Active Directory. You identify the domain controller by its fully qualified domain name (FQDN). For example, dc01.contoso.com.
| Type: | Fqdn |
| Position: | Named |
| Default value: | None |
| Required: | False |
| Accept pipeline input: | False |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
| Applies to: | Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2019 |
-GroupMailbox
The GroupMailbox switch is required to modify Microsoft 365 Groups. You don't need to specify a value with this switch.
| Type: | SwitchParameter |
| Position: | Named |
| Default value: | None |
| Required: | False |
| Accept pipeline input: | False |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
| Applies to: | Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2019 |
-Identity
The Identity parameter specifies the identity of the user. You can use any value that uniquely identifies the user. For example:
- Name
- Alias
- Distinguished name (DN)
- Canonical DN
- Domain\Username
- Email address
- GUID
- LegacyExchangeDN
- SamAccountName
- User ID or user principal name (UPN)
| Type: | MailboxIdParameter |
| Position: | 1 |
| Default value: | None |
| Required: | True |
| Accept pipeline input: | True |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
| Applies to: | Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2019 |
-IgnoreDefaultScope
The IgnoreDefaultScope switch tells the command to ignore the default recipient scope setting for the Exchange PowerShell session, and to use the entire forest as the scope. You don't need to specify a value with this switch.
This switch enables the command to access Active Directory objects that aren't currently available in the default scope, but also introduces the following restrictions:
- You can't use the DomainController parameter. The command uses an appropriate global catalog server automatically.
- You can only use the DN for the Identity parameter. Other forms of identification, such as alias or GUID, aren't accepted.
| Type: | SwitchParameter |
| Position: | Named |
| Default value: | None |
| Required: | False |
| Accept pipeline input: | False |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
| Applies to: | Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2019 |
-PhotoType
This parameter is reserved for internal Microsoft use.
| Type: | String |
| Position: | Named |
| Default value: | None |
| Required: | False |
| Accept pipeline input: | False |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
| Applies to: | Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2019 |
-PictureData
The PictureData parameter specifies the photo file that will be uploaded to the user's account.
A valid value for this parameter requires you to read the file to a byte-encoded object using the following syntax: ([System.IO.File]::ReadAllBytes('<Path>\<FileName>')). You can use this command as the parameter value, or you can write the output to a variable ($data = [System.IO.File]::ReadAllBytes('<Path>\<FileName>')) and use the variable as the parameter value ($data).
| Type: | Byte[] |
| Position: | Named |
| Default value: | None |
| Required: | True |
| Accept pipeline input: | False |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
| Applies to: | Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2019 |
-PictureStream
The PictureStream parameter specifies the photo that will be uploaded to the user's account. This parameter is used by client applications such as Outlook on the web when users add a photo. To upload a photo using PowerShell, use the PictureData parameter to specify the photo file.
| Type: | Stream |
| Position: | Named |
| Default value: | None |
| Required: | True |
| Accept pipeline input: | False |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
| Applies to: | Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2019 |
-Preview
The Preview switch uploads a preview photo for the user account. You don't need to specify a value with this switch.
A preview photo is the photo object that is uploaded to the user's account, but isn't saved. For example, if a user uploads a photo in Outlook on the web Options to preview before saving it. If you use the Preview switch to upload a preview photo, you need to run the command Set-UserPhoto -Save to save it as the user's photo.
| Type: | SwitchParameter |
| Position: | Named |
| Default value: | None |
| Required: | True |
| Accept pipeline input: | False |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
| Applies to: | Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2019 |
-Save
The Save switch specifies that the photo that's uploaded to the user's account will be saved as the user's photo. You don't need to specify a value with this switch.
| Type: | SwitchParameter |
| Position: | Named |
| Default value: | None |
| Required: | True |
| Accept pipeline input: | False |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
| Applies to: | Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2019 |
-WhatIf
The WhatIf switch simulates the actions of the command. You can use this switch to view the changes that would occur without actually applying those changes. You don't need to specify a value with this switch.
| Type: | SwitchParameter |
| Aliases: | wi |
| Position: | Named |
| Default value: | None |
| Required: | False |
| Accept pipeline input: | False |
| Accept wildcard characters: | False |
| Applies to: | Exchange Server 2013, Exchange Server 2016, Exchange Server 2019 |
Inputs
Input types
To see the input types that this cmdlet accepts, see Cmdlet Input and Output Types. If the Input Type field for a cmdlet is blank, the cmdlet doesn't accept input data.
Outputs
Output types
To see the return types, which are also known as output types, that this cmdlet accepts, see Cmdlet Input and Output Types. If the Output Type field is blank, the cmdlet doesn't return data.