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Enable Freedoc access for OWA users

Exchange Security

Enable Freedoc access for OWA users

by  58sniper  Posted    (Edited  )
A cool feature in Exchange is the ability to just drag and drop documents right into email folders and Public Folders from within the Outlook client. These are known as Freedocs.

The problem is that, by default, you can't open Freedocs from OWA. You're greeted with a fairly rude "You are not authorized to view this page" message. That usually causes the Help Desk phone to ring.

The security is there for a good reason. It helps to keep files from arbitrarily being run, thus causing potential problems. These limitations are not in place in normal mailbox folders.

One way to enable Freedoc access is by installing the [link http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=4BBE7065-A04E-43CA-8220-859212411E10&displaylang=en]OWA Web Administration tool[/link], but that might be a little more than what you need.

Instead, there are two methods you can use. The first is to edit the registry.
Simply open regedit on your Exchange server, and navigate to HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeWEB\OWA
add a DWORD called EnableFreeDocs and assign it one of the following values:

0 - The default setting which disables the FreeDocs feature.
1 - The FreeDocs feature is enabled but on back-end servers only.
2 - The FreeDocs feature is enabled on back-end servers and on any front-end server matching the host header specified via the [link http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/04aa284c-6727-468a-a5fd-2252dde6a48e.aspx]AcceptedAttachmentFrontEnds [/link] registry value.
3 - The FreeDocs feature is enabled on all front-end and back-end servers.

Close regedit, and you're all set.

An alternative to using regedit is to use the simple script below. Copy this to a text file called OWAFreedoc.vbs, and run it from your Exchange server. You can use it to easily change the setting without having to dive into the registry.

Code: 
'==========================================================================
'
' NAME: OWAFreedoc.vbs
' VERSION: 1.0
'
' AUTHOR: Pat Richard, Exchange MVP
' URL: http://blog.innervation.com/
'
' COPYRIGHT (c) 2007 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - YOU'RE FREE TO ALTER THIS CODE,
' BUT PLEASE PASS ALONG ANY IMPROVEMENTS TO THE AUTHOR SO THAT OTHERS MAY
' BENEFIT.
'
' DATE: 01/11/2007
'
' PURPOSE: Allows you to configure access to freedocs via OWA
' WEB: http://blog.innervation.com/
'
' USE: Run manually
' MORE INFO: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/834743/
'
' CREDITS:
' SOME SCRIPTING METHODS AND IDEAS LEACHED DIRECTLY FROM
' MARK D. MACLACHLAN, THE SPIDER'S PARLOR
' URL: http://www.thespidersparlor.com/vbscript.asp
'
' DISCLAIMER:
' THIS CODE AND INFORMATION IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF
' ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED To
' THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND/OR FITNESS FOR A
' PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
'
' IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR AND/OR HIS EMPLOYER, COLLEAGUES,
' FRIENDS, SPOUSE, OR CATS BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR
' CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM
' LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT,
' NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS, ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN
' CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS CODE OR INFORMATION.
'
' CHANGELOG:
' 1.0 - Original release
'==========================================================================
On Error Resume Next
	Set WSHShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
	strExchangeKey = "HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchangeWeb\OWA\"
	strExchangeSubKey = "EnableFreedocs"
	strFreedoc = WSHShell.RegRead (strExchangeKey & strExchangeSubKey)
	If strFreedoc = "" Then
		strFreedoc = "Not enabled"
	End If
	
	strPrompt = InputBox ("Current value = " & strFreedoc & vbcrlf & vbcrlf & "Please choose from one of the following options:" & vbcrlf & vbcrlf _
	& "0 = Freedocs are inaccessible in OWA. This value is the default value." & vbcrlf & vbcrlf _
	& "1 = Freedocs are accessible in OWA, but only when the freedocs are accessed from the back-end server." & vbcrlf & vbcrlf _
	& "2 = Freedocs are accessible in OWA, but only when the freedocs are accessed from the back-end server or the front-end server by using a host header that matches an entry in the AcceptedAttachmentFrontEnds registry value." & vbcrlf & vbcrlf _
	& "3 = Freedocs are accessible everywhere.","Please enter a value",1)
	WshShell.RegWrite strExchangeKey & strExchangeSubKey, strPrompt, "REG_DWORD"
	
	Const INFORMATION = 4
	report = "OWA Freedoc access setting set to " & strPrompt
	WshShell.LogEvent INFORMATION, report & vbCrLf & "Script courtesy http://blog.innervation.com/"
	WScript.Quit
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