System and method for address book customization for shared emessaging

摘要

A system and method provided for limiting access to directory information in a hosted, shared access environment. In situations where a third party provides hosting on a network server of services, such as e-mail, multiple third party entities may be given access to the same directory. In this situation it may be desirable to limit access to certain portions of the directory so that one entity cannot view address information for another entity. Each entry in the directory may include a form and each form may be modified to include an additional field. The additional field may be employed to associate hierarchal information with the particular entry. Access to certain views of the directory may be then restricted and access provided to other views which include modified selection criteria. Upon access to the directory, a filtering process may be performed whereby only entries in the directory which include the same hierarchal information are employed when building a view of the directory.