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Q155840: XCON: How the Use of ‘&’ in Organization Name Affects Exchange

Article: Q155840
Product(s): Microsoft Exchange
Version(s): winnt:4.0,5.0,5.5
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbusage
Last Modified: 04-APR-1999

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Exchange Server, versions 4.0, 5.0, 5.5 
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SUMMARY
=======

If an ampersand (&) is included as part of a Microsoft Exchange Organization
name, it will not cause any routing or addressing problems. The Distinguished
Name (DN) will show the Organization name exactly as it was typed. However, the
X.400 addresses that are generated will have a question mark (?) substituted for
the ampersand and the name will be truncated to 16 characters (per the X.400
specifications).

MORE INFORMATION
================

X.400 does not allow an ampersand in addresses, so the question mark is
substituted. The fact that the DN shows a different literal string for the
Organization name compared to the X.400 Address suggests, at first glance, that
this might be a source of problems. However, this is not true. The X.400 Address
and the DN are used for totally different processes. No attempt to make these
two items look the same should be made. This is by design.

When you one-off address a message to another user (to test a site/X.400
connector, for example), the X.400 address should be typed just as it appears on
the Email Addresses property page for that recipient in the Microsoft Exchange
Administrator program.

For additional information about the printable character set, please see the
following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q108732 X400: Address Syntax

This is the character set that is allowed in messaging systems that conform to
the X.400 series of specifications. This information can also be found in the
X.409 Specification, which is contained in the CCITT (The International
Telegraph & Telephone Consultative Committee) Red Book volume VIII-fascicle
VIII.7.


Additional query words:

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Keywords          : kbusage 
Technology        : kbExchangeSearch kbExchange500 kbExchange550 kbExchange400 kbZNotKeyword2
Version           : winnt:4.0,5.0,5.5

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