PowerShell scripts for public folder permissions

Public folders are generally created and used to share information to everyone in the organization. By default, these folders are open to all employees connected in a network but the owners can restrict access to specific users if needed. It is prudent to keep track of the public folders' permission assignments and modifications.

General PowerShell commandlets on Public Folder Permissions

1. Get-PublicFolderClientPermission [-Identity] <PublicFolderIdParameter> [-DomainController <Fqdn>] [-Server <ServerIdParameter>] [-User <PublicFolderUserIdParameter>] [-Mailbox <MailboxIdParameter>] [<CommonParameters>]

   eg. Get-PublicFolderClientPermission -Identity "Office documents" -User Harry | Format-List

   This example shows how to retrieve the permissions that user Harry has over the public folder named Office documents.

2. Add-PublicFolderClientPermission [-Identity] <PublicFolderIdParameter> -AccessRights <MultiValuedProperty> -User <PublicFolderUserIdParameter> [-Confirm] [-DomainController <Fqdn>] [-Server <ServerIdParameter>] [-WhatIf] [<CommonParameters>]

   eg. Add-PublicFolderClientPermission -Identity "Office documents" -User Harry -AccessRights CreateItems

   The example above shows how to add permission for the user Harry to create items in the public folder named Office Documents.

Do it the Exchange Reporter Plus way!

Exchange Reporter Plus offers two exclusive reports on Public Folder permissions: Public Folder Administrative Permissions Report and Public Folder Client Permissions Report. The former lists all the administrative permissions and changes made to public folders, and the latter lists all the user permissions for it in your organization. To generate these reports you must first create a new task under settings. This can be done as follows:

1. Click on Settings tab on the top pane.
2. Navigate to Configurations → Exchange Server → Task Scheduling.
3. Select the Organization for which you would like to generate the report.
4. Click on Schedule New Task.
5. Enter a suitable Schedule Name and description.
6. In Gathering Task Name, choose Public Folder Properties.
7. Choose the frequency and time for report generation.
8. Click on Create.

To generate and view these reports, follow the steps given below:

1. Click on Reporting tab on the top pane.
2. Navigate to Exchange Server → Public Folders → Permission Reports.
3. Choose the report you want to generate.
4. Enter the Organization Name.
5. Click on Generate Now.

Exchange Reporter Plus uses the Get-PublicFolderStatistics -ResultSize unlimited | select Name, ItemCount, TotalItemSize, LastModificationTime, EntryID command to collect basic information about the list of public folders in your Exchange organization. The commands used to collect both granular details for the respective reports is given below:

Public Folder Administrative Permissions Report - 

Get-PublicFolderAdministrativePermission -Identity '<ID>' | select Identity , User, AccessRights, Deny, IsInherited

Public Folder Client Permissions Report - 

Get-PublicFolderClientPermission -Identity '<ID>' | select Identity , User, AccessRights

It is that simple! Using Exchange Reporter Plus’ pre-configured reports you can easily keep a watch over your organization’s public folders. To find out more about how Exchange Reporter Plus simplifies your complex PowerShell tasks, click here.