How to Remove Public Folders

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

This topic explains how to use the Exchange Management Console or the Exchange Management Shell to permanently delete folders on all the Exchange public folder servers in your organization.

Important

Use this procedure to delete public folders and their contents, including files and subfolders, from your public folder system. Use this procedure only if you want to permanently delete folders on all the Exchange public folder servers. If you want to remove content from one server and move it to another server, change the folder’s replica list. For more information about how to relocate data from one server to another, see the topic How to Move Public Folder Content from one Public Folder Database to Another Public Folder Database.

Before You Begin

Permissions and Prerequisites for the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) Version of Exchange 2007

To perform this procedure in the RTM version of Exchange 2007, the account you use must be delegated the following:

• Exchange Server Administrator role and local Administrators group for the target server

For more information about permissions, delegating roles, and the rights that are required to administer Exchange Server 2007, see Permission Considerations.

Also, before you perform this procedure, be aware that in the RTM version of Exchange 2007, public folders are managed only in the Exchange Management Shell. You cannot use the Exchange Management Console.

Permissions and Prerequisites for Exchange 2007 Service Pack 1 (SP1)

To perform this procedure in Exchange 2007 SP1, the account you use must be delegated the following:

• Exchange Public Folder Administrator role and local Administrators group for the target server

For more information about permissions, delegating roles, and the rights that are required to administer Exchange Server 2007, see Permission Considerations.

Procedure

Exchange Server SP1

To use the Exchange Management Console to remove a public folder

1. Start the Exchange Management Console.

2. In the console tree, click Toolbox.

3. In the result pane, click Public Folder Management Console, and then, in the action pane, click Open Tool. The Public Folder Management Console appears in a separate Microsoft Management Console (MMC).

4. In the console tree, expand Default Public Folders, and then select the parent public folder of the public folder that you want to remove.

5. In the result pane, select the public folder that you want to remove.

6. In the action pane, click Remove. A warning appears. Click Yes to confirm that you want to remove the public folder.

To use the Exchange Management Shell to remove a public folder

• To remove a public folder, run the following command:

  Remove-PublicFolder -Identity "\My Public Folder"
  

• To remove a public folder and specify the server on which to act, run the following command:

  Remove-PublicFolder -Identity "\My Public Folder" -Server "My Server"
  

• To test the previous command without making any modifications, run the following command.

  Remove-PublicFolder -Identity "\My Public Folder" -WhatIf
  

• To remove the public folder named "\My Public Folder" and all of its subfolders (that is, to run the command recursively), run the following command:

  Remove-PublicFolder -Identity "\My Public Folder" -Recurse: $True
  

Exchange Server RTM

To use the Exchange Management Shell to remove a public folder

• To remove a public folder, run the following command:

  Remove-PublicFolder -Identity "\My Public Folder"
  

• To remove a public folder and specify the server on which to act, run the following command:

  Remove-PublicFolder -Identity "\My Public Folder" -Server "My Server"
  

• To test the previous command without making any modifications, run the following command.

  Remove-PublicFolder -Identity "\My Public Folder" -WhatIf
  

• To remove the public folder named "\My Public Folder" and all of its subfolders (that is, to run the command recursively), run the following command:

  Remove-PublicFolder -Identity "\My Public Folder" -Recurse: $True
  

For More Information

• To learn more about public folders, see Understanding Public Folders.

• For more information about managing public folders, see Managing Public Folders.

• For more information about using the Exchange Management Shell, see Using the Exchange Management Shell.