Saturday, August 05, 2006

GALMOD - What is it?

A few weeks ago, I posted about an application called Directory Update that I had originally designed and had a friend develop that allows a user to edit / modify their own attributes in Active Directory. I called it a GALMOD alternative. Well, I have had at least 2 dozen e-mails asking "What is GALMOD?" "Where can I get it?", "How do I use it?", etc...

First of all, GALMOD (or GALMOD32.EXE) is a utility that works with Microsoft Outlook that allows a user to update certain attributes in the Exchange 5.5 directory. It was developed by Microsoft Consulting Services with assistance from the Exchange Team and originally shipped on the Back Office Resource Kit and then later on the Exchange 2000 Resource Kit. It is an "unsupported" utility.

It will work against Active Directory since when the client sends updates to what it "thinks" is the Exchange 5.5 directory service, the Exchange 2000/2003 server will pass those updates on to Active Directory.
However, even though it looks like it will allow you to update the State, Title, Company, Department, and Office fields / attributes, it does not unless the user has additional permissions.
Exchange MVP Lee Derbyshire wrote an article called User Access To The Exchange 5.5 GAL With GALMOD32.EXE that is helpful in further understanding this utility.

Finally, where can you get it? I haven't a clue. Just so I could take a screen capture, I went through several stacks of old CDs and binders before I found an old copy of the BackOffice Resource Kit (from 1998). I did find one non-Microsoft place that I could download it, but since this utility was originally part of something that had to be purchased I'm afraid to link to it. You don't spit in the wind, you don't pull the hat off the Lone Ranger, and you don't mess around with the Microsoft Legal Department. :-)
Microsoft KB Q242223: "How to install and use the Global Address List Modify for Web tool" insinuates that is available for download, but I could not find a link. Microsoft has also published a web-based version of GALMOD, but it has the same limitations as the GALMOD32.EXE.
Thus, I had a need for a customizable, flexible web-based replacement for GALMOD and that is how Directory Update was born. I have had enough interest that my company is going to try and market this tool as a commercially available software application.
Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. -- Albert Einstein

2 Comments:

At 8:23 PM, Blogger almus said...

I have galmod32.exe tool.. i follow the exact path of this fellow article. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/272198
my exchange server is 2003 and using outlook 2010. but after run the galmod32.exe there is no changes on my user gal. Please need help. Thanks

Regards
Almus

 
At 10:37 AM, Blogger Jim McBee said...

You should probably give up on GALMOD32. I doubt seriously it will work with newer versions of Outlook and Windows. You are going to waste more time than it would cost you to buy a better tool.

 

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