XFOR: SMTP Proxy Address Generated Incorrectly (140933)

SYMPTOMS

In the Microsoft Exchange Administrator program, in the Configuration container, Site Addressing object, Site Addressing property page, the SMTP address generator will not generate SMTP addresses using the first letter(s) of a name. This means you cannot generate SMTP addresses automatically like:

   pbunyan@company.com

where "p" is the first letter of the first name "Paul" and "bunyan" is the last name.

CAUSE

The SMTP address generation did not implement the %n feature, where "n" is a number, that allows you to specify how many characters of a name field you want to use in an SMTP address. This differs from the way Microsoft Exchange Server alias and display names are generated in the Microsoft Exchange Administrator program using the Options command on the Tools menu.

MORE INFORMATION

The SMTP address generator can be configured to use the first name, last name, alias or display name by following the chart below:

%g           given name (first name)
%s           surname (last name)
%m           alias
%d           display name
%r ch1 ch2   replace the first character(s) (ch1) with the second
             character(s) (ch2). If ch1 and c2 are the same, ch1 will be
             deleted.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Exchange Server version 4.0. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Exchange Server 4.0 U.S. Service Pack 2. For information on obtaining the service pack, query on the following word in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (without the spaces):

S E R V P A C K

Now you can specify the number of characters, up to 99, in the given name, surname, alias or display name that you want defined. For example, to create an SMTP address with the given name and the first 2 letters of the last name, use the following formula in the Site Addressing, SMTP proxy:

   %g%2s@company.com