A "freedoc", or "free document," is any piece of standalone data in an Exchange Server information store, aside from an actual e-mail message -- for example, a Microsoft Word document that's been dragged and dropped into an Exchange folder.
In Outlook Web Access (OWA), there are restrictions set up by default that don't allow users to open freedocs posted in Exchange public folders. The reason: if someone posts a malicious executable in an Exchange public folder, any user connected to OWA could download it.
When this restriction is in force, any attempt to access a freedoc posted in a Microsoft Exchange public folder results in a "403: Forbidden" error. If the same document was placed in a mailbox folder that a user had permission to, it would be accessible. But because of their nature, Exchange public folders are locked down more tightly by default.
However, if you're confident that your users are not going to abuse the ability to post files in public folders, and you want to permit access to them through OWA, you can edit the registry on your front-end and back-end servers to allow it.
Under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System \CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeWeb\OWA, create a new DWORD named EnableFreedocs and set it to one of the following values:
0 Freedocs are not accessible through OWA (default setting).
1 Freedocs are accessible in OWA, but only when the user connects through
the back-end server (i.e., internally).
2 Freedocs are accessible in OWA from the back-end server only, or from the
front-end server when the host header used to access OWA matches an entry
in the AcceptedAttachmentFrontEnds registry value.
3 Freedocs can be accessed anywhere.
This allows for some granularity of control over where people can access Exchange Server public folder freedocs through Outlook Web Access.
One of the advantages of allowing access to freedocs is that public folders can then be used as a kind of file store. Of course, you'll still need to monitor to make sure the privilege is not abused.
About the author: Serdar Yegulalp is editor of the Windows Insight.
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Related information from SearchExchange.com:
Tip: How to override the attachment size limit for OWA public folder posts
Learning Center: A primer on Exchange public folders
FAQ: Exchange public folders
FAQ: Outlook Web Access
Reference Center: Exchange public folder tips and resources
Reference Center: OWA tips and resources
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