Pickup Folder in Exchange Server 2007

Pickup folder is coming to be in use since Exchange 2000. In Exchange 2000/2003, this folder can be located under <Exchange Server> \Mailroot\vsi 1\Pickup.

This folder is used for testing purpose and there is no need to have any messaging client to send the e-mails. Yes, this can be done by correctly formatting the message and copying it into Pickup folder for delivery.

This folder is only created in Exchange Server 2007 having Hub Transport and Edge Transport roles installed. By default, in Exchange Server 2007, this folder is created in the following location:-

C: \Program Files\Microsoft\Exchange Server\Transport Roles\Pickup

You can run the Get-TransportServer cmdlet to examine the current settings of the Pickup folder.

Here is the default configuration of Pickup directory:-

Now, let us see how this directory processes the messages:-

1. At every 5 seconds, this directory is checked for any new messages. This polling interval can’t be changed.

2. Other parameters are also checked like, Maximum messages per minutes, Maximum header size and recipients. Depending upon these values, messages are processed and delivered.

3. Default file extensions are renamed from .eml to .tmp. <datetime> stamp value is added if duplicate file is found, as filename <time>.tmp. Error is generated in the Event viewer if conversion fails.

4. After the message is successfully delivered, .tmp file is deleted from the Pickup directory. Error is generated in the Event Viewer if deletion fails.

One important thing to remember is that if Microsoft Exchange Transport Service is restarted when pickup directory contains .tmp files, all .tmp files will be converted to .eml file and will be reprocessed once the service is starts.

We can change the Pickup directory default values by running the Set-TransportServer cmdlet as shown below:-

Set-TransportServer Identity {server name} “PickupDirectoryMaxHeaderSize {value}"

Value can be set in the form of 512KB or 2MB.

Set-TransportServer “Identity {server name} “PickupDirectoryMaxMessagesPerMinute {value}"

Set-TransportServer “Identity {server name} “PickupDirectoryMaxRecipientsPerMessage {value}"

We can also change the default location of pickup directory with the following cmdlet:-

Set-TransportServer “Identity {server name} “PickupDirectoryPath "D:\Program Files\Microsoft\ExchangeServer\TransportRoles\New_Pickup"

How to create a test message with .eml extension

1. Open the notepad.

2. Enter the following text.

3. Save this file as message.eml.

4. Copy this file into pickup folder. You will notice that this file is renamed to .tmp within 5 seconds.

5. Once everything is fine, this message will be processed and delivered to the specified recipient.

6. If message is not correctly formatted, it will be renamed as .bad.