Establishing or Changing Naming Conventions

When you migrate from one system to another, you have the chance to change your directory information to a consistent format. The easiest way to establish or change your organization's naming conventions is to use the Directory Import command. This section discusses strategies for naming the following:

• Display names of mailboxes and distribution lists.
• Aliases, directory names, and Windows NT account names.
• Given names and surnames.

Display Names

The Address Book sorts and displays recipients by display name. The display name is also used to verify recipient names before message are sent. When designing your naming convention for mailbox display names, check the naming conventions used in your corporate phone directory. Also consider these naming convention issues:

• Consistency.
• Sort order.
• Unique information about recipients, such as department information or nicknames.
• Qualifiers, such as Jr., III, and Ph.D.
• Identification of contract employees, permanent employees, vendors, or others.

The following strategies can be used to design your naming convention for display names of distribution lists:

• Use the same naming conventions as the existing system, for ease of transition.
• Use a symbol for the first character, for sorting purposes.
• Indicate the size of the distribution list. (For example, all uppercase for large, initial caps for medium, and all lowercase for small.)
• Indicate the type of distribution list, such as:

· Members only, or open to anyone.

· Social, organizational (team, group, department, division), or informational.

· For permissions use only.

· For external use.

For example, if a company wants its distribution lists to sort together and to indicate their type and size, the resulting naming convention would be: DL <Type> <Level (if org)> name.

Following are examples of distribution list names using the above naming convention:

• DL ORG DIV Sales
• DL ORG Team Region 1 Sales
• DL SOC Bridge Players
• DL INF Competition LitWare, Inc.

Aliases, Directory Names, and Windows NT Account Names

You can create mailboxes and associated Windows NT accounts at the same time, either with the Migration Wizard or with the Directory Import command. Each mailbox has an alias, which can be changed later, and a directory or common name, which can't be changed.

By default, the alias is used to create e-mail addresses. The directory name is used for all directory imports. Both of these names are limited to 64 characters. The Windows NT account has a full name and a user or account name, both of which can be changed later. The account name is limited to 20 characters. The user name is used by logon scripts and network logon dialog boxes. Consider these strategies for relating these properties:

Use the same name for the alias, directory name, and Windows NT account name.

This strategy is easy to remember and eases the administration of both systems.

Use the same name for the directory and the Windows NT account, but use a different name for the alias.

The alias is part of the e-mail name and is visible to those inside and outside of the company. The Windows NT account name, which controls access to the network, is hidden from everyone except the user and the administrator, increasing the security of the system. For ease of administration, the directory name and the Windows NT account name are the same.

Use different names for all of them.

The employee ID or social security number can be used for the directory name, since they do not change. This also makes it easy to import from a personnel database. You can change the alias and the Windows NT account can be administered separately.

Given Names and Surnames

Some migration tools do not separate the given name from the surname. Therefore, you may want to parse the display name, which makes it easier to search the Address Book. To determine parsing rules, consider the following:

• Double first names, such as Betty Jo.
• Double last names, such as Smith Olsen.
• Double middle initials, such as E. D.
• Qualifiers, such as Jr., III, or Ph.D.

   To parse names into given names and surnames

1. Select Directory Export from the Tools menu and specify a file with the following header:

obj-class,mode,common-name,display-name,given-name,initials,surname,alias name

2. Edit the exported file as follows:

· Add modify to the mode field.

· Parse the display name and put the results in the appropriate columns.

3. Import the edited file.