# Creating Exchange mailBox via Ruby? **URL:** \ **Category:** Ruby\ **Created:** [December 8, 2005, 9:13pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/creating-exchange-mailbox-via-ruby/49800 "2005-12-08T21:13:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tech.samaritan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/e0b2c6/32.png) [@tech.samaritan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tech.samaritan)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2005, 9:13pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/creating-exchange-mailbox-via-ruby/49800/1 "2005-12-08T21:13:44Z")
Howdy! I am setting up services that automagically provision a new portal user with things like filespace, and an Exchange mailbox. The filespace is easy, but I have not found any way to do the Exchange part. I have many vbscript examples, but that does not help me any if ruby cannot do what vbs can. So the question is: Can Ruby interact with Exchange Information Stores, by creating mailboxes, changing mailbox properties and the like? The vbs examples look like they use LDAP to connect and interact, but the methods that are used seem to be specific to vbs. Any one with any experience with this? PS. I know that I can use vbs, but our setup would require the scripts to be run on a DC, and I would like to avoid that type of dependance. ---
**Author:** ![tech.samaritan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/e0b2c6/32.png) [@tech.samaritan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tech.samaritan)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2005, 9:13pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/creating-exchange-mailbox-via-ruby/49800/2 "2005-12-08T21:13:44Z")
I am looking into ADSI now… wondering if I can do almost the exact same stuff in ruby as what I found in vbs… ---
**Author:** ![tech.samaritan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/e0b2c6/32.png) [@tech.samaritan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tech.samaritan)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2005, 9:13pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/creating-exchange-mailbox-via-ruby/49800/3 "2005-12-08T21:13:45Z")
On 12/8/05, removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > mailboxes, changing mailbox properties and the like? > > The vbs examples look like they use LDAP to connect and interact, but > the methods that are used seem to be specific to vbs. Any one with any > experience with this? > > PS. I know that I can use vbs, but our setup would require the scripts > to be run on a DC, and I would like to avoid that type of dependance. Sure it can. Check out the Win32OLE library. It allows you to make all of the same calls you would in VBScript, in Ruby. I don’t have a link off hand, but if you used the ruby installer for win32 you’ve already got it. ---
**Author:** ![tech.samaritan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/e0b2c6/32.png) [@tech.samaritan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tech.samaritan)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 6:56pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/creating-exchange-mailbox-via-ruby/49800/4 "2005-12-09T18:56:34Z")
On 12/8/05, removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > I have found that I can do all the normal stuff, but interaction with > exchange is via CDOEXM.DLL, and I still have to see if WIn32OLE will do > that part as well. I can return all the user properties, and even the > HomeMDB which is the full path to the user’s mailbox, but I have not > had any success with CreateMailbox. I am thinking that I may have to > do it on the server for it to have access to the right DLL. Really the only difference between performing this task in Ruby versus doing it in VBScript is that you get to use Ruby 🙂 Otherwise the same restrictions still apply. The COM Objects still have to reside locally unless you’re doing some DCOM mojo. To my knowledge though CDO has to be installed locally, but that doesn’t mean it has to be run from the Exchange server. I’ve seen automated Exchange creation run via a VBScript on a member server in the domain, as opposed to directly on the Exchange box. You just need to make sure you get CDO and all of that installed on the box you want to do the creation from. ---
**Author:** ![tech.samaritan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/e0b2c6/32.png) [@tech.samaritan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tech.samaritan)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 4:29pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/creating-exchange-mailbox-via-ruby/49800/5 "2005-12-13T16:29:32Z")
I have the Exchange Management Tools installed, and I can do a little more than before. I can query and set attributes, but I cannot actually create a mailbox or set store defaults on existing mail boxws. It tells me it is an invalid method in both cases. Here is the bit of code: ``` usr =WIN32OLE.connect("LDAP://CN=" + @login + cont) usr.CreateMailbox("LDAP://" + mBox ) usr.EnableStoreDefaults = TRUE usr.AccountDisabled = FALSE usr.SetInfo usr.put "protocolsettings" , "POP3§0§1§4§ISO-8859-1§0§§§" usr.setinfo ``` I would really love to be able to do this in Ruby, since cscript takes so land to start it adds 10+ seconds to the operation. ---
**Author:** ![tech.samaritan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/e0b2c6/32.png) [@tech.samaritan](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/tech.samaritan)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 12:13am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/creating-exchange-mailbox-via-ruby/49800/6 "2005-12-09T00:13:28Z")
I have found that I can do all the normal stuff, but interaction with exchange is via CDOEXM.DLL, and I still have to see if WIn32OLE will do that part as well. I can return all the user properties, and even the HomeMDB which is the full path to the user’s mailbox, but I have not had any success with CreateMailbox. I am thinking that I may have to do it on the server for it to have access to the right DLL.