XCCC: Ambiguous Name Resolution When You Are Using the Offline Address Book (280121)

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Name resolution against the offline Address Book is largely driven by the Anrdex.oab file. This file consists of a linked list of four fields from the Exchange Server Address Book (and some additional references that are not involved in the name resolution that is described in this article). The four fields are:

• Display Name
• Alias (account)
• Office
• Surname (last name)

When you type text in an address box, the system uses the following process to attempt to resolve the name:

• The system attempts to match the complete string that you typed, including any spaces, commas, or tabs. The list of names in the Anrdex.oab file is searched for an exact match or substring match. This match might be found in any of the four fields in the Anrdex.oab file. If only one match is found, the process ends. If there are multiple matches, a Check Names dialog box is displayed that lists all of the matches. If no exact match is found, the process continues with a segmented search.
• If no match is found in the fist step of this process, the string is broken at the first tab, comma, or space. The first part of the string is used to attempt a match against the Anrdex.oab file. All of the fields in the Anrdex.oab file are searched for a match or substring match. When a match occurs, the matching record is added to a list. If no matching strings are found, the name is not resolvable.

If this first list has one or more members, the second "piece" of the name is used to search through the Anrdex.oab file. A second list is created that consists of those names that occur on the first list and also match the second piece of the name. If the second list has only one name, the name is considered resolved. If the second list contains more than one name, the Check Names dialog box is displayed with the list of names. Names that are typed with more than two pieces can only be resolved by the first step in this process.

Because of this process, names can be resolved in various ways. A combination of the office location, last name, and alias can be used together. Two of these fields, or substrings of the fields, can result in the resolution of a user. When substrings are used for name resolution, a results list often contains display names that do not appear to be related to the search. If you examine the details for each user, you can determine the reason that the name is included in the list. Look for substrings in the office and alias names.

The ambiguous name resolution process that is used when you are using the offline Address Book is not the same as the ambiguous name resolution process that is used when you are using the Exchange Server Address Book. When you are using the Exchange Server Address Book, ambiguous name resolution also uses first names in the resolution process. For additional information about the ambiguous name resolution process that is used when you are using the Exchange Server Address Book, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: