When you delete a public folder using a legacy Outlook client, you can quickly restore the deleted folder and its content using the Recover Deleted Items function.
Due to a fancy trick implemented in Outlook 2013 and Outlook 2016, the recovered folder will not be recovered using its full name.
This phenomenon has been verified with Exchange On-Premises and Exchange Online on the server side, Outlook 2013/2016, and Outlook 365 ProPlus.
The following example uses public folders in Exchange Online and Outlook 365 ProPlus.
Example
In this example, I will delete and recover a public folder named My Public Folder.
After deleting My Public Folder and its content, I need to select the original parent folder and click the Recover Deleted Items button in the button bar.
The Recover Deleted Items dialogue opens, and we select the deleted item for recovery. The dialogue displays the original name of the deleted folder.
After recovering the deleted folder, the folder is recovered with the first character only.
That’s an annoying result in regard to customer self-care when users restore deleted items on their behalf.
But wait, there is a solution available.
Solution
The solution requires today’s primary administrative tool available: PowerShell.
Step 1
Get an overview of public folders currently located in the public folder dumpster.
Get-PublicFolder –Identity “\NON_IPM_SUBTREE” –Recurse Name Parent Path ---- ----------- NON_IPM_SUBTREE[...] My Public Folder \NON_IPM_SUBTREE\DUMPSTER_ROOT\DUMPSTER_EXTEND\RESERVED_1\RESERVED_1\65722859-3...Sub Folder 1 \NON_IPM_SUBTREE\DUMPSTER_ROOT\DUMPSTER_EXTEND\RESERVED_1\RESERVED_1\65722859-3...Sub Folder 2 \NON_IPM_SUBTREE\DUMPSTER_ROOT\DUMPSTER_EXTEND\RESERVED_1\RESERVED_1\65722859-3...[...]
Step 2
Export the list of public folders currently located in the public folder dumpster and find the identity of the deleted public folder you want to recover
Get-PublicFolder –Identity “\NON_IPM_SUBTREE” –Recurse | fl | Out-File D:\TMP\publicfolderdumpster.txt
publicfolderdumpster.txt excerpt:
RunspaceId : 6ce9588e-829b-4592-aedc-85f9a2e2c963 Identity : \NON_IPM_SUBTREE\DUMPSTER_ROOT\DUMPSTER_EXTEND\RESERVED_1\RESERVED_1\65722859-366a-4e09-81fe-ea576ec7a6f7\My Public Folder Name : My Public Folder MailEnabled : False MailRecipientGuid : ParentPath : \NON_IPM_SUBTREE\DUMPSTER_ROOT\DUMPSTER_EXTEND\RESERVED_1\RESERVED_1\65722859-366a-4e09-81fe-ea576ec7a6f7
Step 3
Recover the deleted public folder to the correct parent target folder
Set-PublicFolder –Identity "\NON_IPM_SUBTREE\DUMPSTER_ROOT\DUMPSTER_EXTEND\RESERVED_1\RESERVED_1\65722859-366a-4e09-81fe-ea576ec7a6f7\My Public Folder" –Path "\TestFolders" –Verbose
As a result, the public folder is recovered with its original name.
Notes
There are some other things to consider when recovering deleted modern public folders.
Public folders originally located in the hierarchy root are always recovered to the public folder mailbox holding the primary hierarchy.
Public folders originally located in the hierarchy root will replace the permissions of child public folders when restored.
More on these default restore behaviors can be read here.
Links
Nevertheless, enjoy modern public folders.
