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Simple Active Directory Browser

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16 Dec 2003CPOL 171.6K   4.7K   43   29
A simple Active Directory Browser for beginners.

Sample Image - ActiveDirectoryBrowser.jpg

Introduction

Ever wondered how to write a simple Active Directory Browser? Well, then look at my example code here. Its quite simple and straightforward. I am utilizing System.DirectoryServices to connect to AD and enumerate objects.

Of course, this is a simple example which doesn't include threading to make the user interface respond faster. But it will give you an idea of how to connect to AD and do some simple browsing.

I also used my listview column sorter class, which is available here.

Code Basics

To connect to Active Directory is quite simple:

C#
// connect to active directory 
DirectoryEntry rootDSE = new 
  DirectoryEntry("LDAP<A href="ldap://rootDSE/">://rootDSE/</A>"); 
DirectoryEntry root = new DirectoryEntry("LDAP://" + 
  (string)rootDSE.Properties["defaultNamingContext"].Value);

The property defaultNamingContext contains the domain name in format: "dc=test,dc=com" (for domain name "test.com") which we use to connect to the test.com domain.

History

  • 2003-11-04 - First edition, more updates will come later.
  • 2003-11-13 - Dominic found a bug. I uploaded a new example project that fixes the bug.

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


Written By
Software Developer (Senior) a large company
Germany Germany
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Comments and Discussions

 
Questionrefresh button Pin
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QuestionLicense Terms Pin
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QuestionHaving trouble figuring out images Pin
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GeneralRe: Having trouble figuring out images Pin
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GeneralDisplay Properties Pin
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GeneralGood GUI Pin
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GeneralBitmaps Pin
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GeneralDomains Pin
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GeneralRe: Domains Pin
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GeneralSorting columns error Pin
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