Microsoft 365 Email Contacts

Email contacts in Exchange Online are objects that contain information about people outside the organization.

The e-mail contacts are managed in the Exchange Admin Center or in the PowerShell.

In the Exchange Admin Center you will find the e-mail contacts under Users > Contacts:

1_M365-contacts

Hint

You can find more information on e-mail contacts in this Article from Microsoft Learning.

Requirements

The XPhone Connect Directory requires Internet access for this data source.

Configuration

  • Open the configuration interface of the XPhone Connect Directory.

  • Click on Add data source.

  • Select the data source type Microsoft 365 Mail Contacts.

  • Click on the Next button.

Carry out the steps in the dialog.

1. Basic settings

First configure the Basic settings.

2. Microsoft 365

The XPhone Connect Directory uses the Graph API to access the contact data. To do this, an Azure app with the necessary rights must be created. This app is created automatically by the setup wizard:

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  • Click on GENERATE APP.

  • A browser window opens with the Microsoft Entra login screen.

    • Enter a Windows user account with administrator rights.

    • The app is generated automatically and registered in the Entra Admin Center.

    • If you do not have sufficient permissions, the app cannot be generated and you will be informed of this.

The generation and permissions of the app can be controlled via the Microsoft Entra Admin Center. You can also access the Entra Admin Center by clicking on the link in the app generation box. The permissions granted are displayed under API permissions:

3_M365-contacts

If the app has already been generated, the dialog box changes and you can perform the following actions:

  • The link provided will take you to the Entra Admin Center where the app was generated.

  • The CHECK ACCESS button shows whether the app has the necessary rights to access Microsoft 365 email contacts.

  • You can use the REMOVE APP button to remove the app from this data source and also from the Entra Admin Center.

3. Phone number conversion

Configure the Telephone number conversion.

4. Authorization

Configure the Authorisation.

5. Priority

Configure the Priority.

6. Proximity search

Configure the Approximation search.

7. Overview

Complete the configuration of the data source with Overview.

Operating principle

Once the data source has been set up, the contact data is read into the internal index of the directory. Depending on the number of data records, this can take several hours, as the number of accesses to the Microsoft 365 applications via the API is limited. Images additionally extend the duration of the initial synchronisation. The tooltip in the infook symbol of the data source shows the status. After the complete import, only changes to the contact data are queried.

Suggestions for improvement welcome

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