Re: Looking for help querying active directory - C# Discussion Boards

Hello,

I was reading through the active directory tutorial "almost everything in active directory" but I'm not able to figure out (from it) how to query active directory for values. I'd like to query all domains based on certain attributes, log in name, last name and email address.

From that key value, I'd then like to return an array of all AD objects associated to that account.

Can anyone help me with this? I can post my code, but it doesn't work at all so it probably wouldn't be of much help. Thanks for reading.

What do you mean by "all AD objects associated to that account"?

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Dave Kreskowiak

Hi Dave,

I'd like to enter a unique identifier and get all of the account related objects for that account.

After I receive all, I can then parse through and display the ones I want in my gui. An example would be first name, last name, phone, email, any status codes/custom attributes, etc.

There's a problem with what you want to do.

turbosupramk3 wrote:
a unique identifier

Such as??? Are you looking for everything about a User object, or are you looking for everything related to ANY kind of object in AD??

turbosupramk3 wrote:
get all of the account related objects for that account.

Such as what "related objects"?? What kind of objects are you talking about?? Give an example.

turbosupramk3 wrote:
An example would be first name, last name, phone, email, any status codes/custom
attributes, etc.

Those are not objects, they are Properties of a User object. Maybe you're confusing terms here?

A guide to posting questions on CodeProject[^]

Dave Kreskowiak

I may be using the wrong terminology, if so I am sorry.

I've always called them object attributes, but I noticed in my googling that .net calls them properties which is inline with what you have said.

I would like to return all properties associated with a user object. I'll provide the GUI with a user id, last name or email, which I believe are properties named "samaccountname", "sn" and "mail", and with any of those being the unique identifier, query AD and return all other properties associated to that account into a parsable format.

C#

using (var rootDirectory = new DirectoryEntry("LDAP://[Server IP or Host name]", "[user name in the directory]", "[User Password]")) {
           using (var directorySearch = new DirectorySearcher(rootDirectory)) {
              // your filter should be an LDAP Query, the one i put in the sample look a matching name or sAMAccountName
              directorySearch.Filter = string.Format("(|(sAMAccountName={0})(name={0}))", "[User Name you want or account you want]");
              // you can add non standard properties to your query:
              // some samples are "memberOf" for getting all groups the entry you want are related to (1 level up only)
              // or "member" for all members of a group (1 level down only
              directorySearch.PropertiesToLoad.Add("[Name of the property you want, exactly as it appears in the AD]");

              // return an entry if there's a match
              var result = directorySearch.FindOne();

              if (result != null) {
                 // by the search result, get the associated directory entry, as the result object can be complex to work with.
                 var directoryEntry = result.GetDirectoryEntry();

                 // Note that entries contain between 40-60 properties by default, plus whatever properties you asked to load
                 // in the directory search, as long as your domain admin did not restrict access to them
                 // (in which case the root user you used to start this chain need to have permissions to read those properties)
                 var propertyIwant = directoryEntry.Properties["Name of the property you want"];
              }
           }
        }

this should get you started, if you want more then the first item associated with your query, use "FindAll" and then iterate on the results
Edit: totally forgot, remember you need to reference System.DirectoryServices to use this code.

Thank you randprin.

I'm trying to do directorySearch.FindAll(); and I can't seem to get results?

I thought I'd be able to get a count and use a for statement, but when I'm debugging I cannot seem to display any values while paused over directorySearch.FindAll() and hovering over it with the mouse? Do you have any ideas?

Under FindOne(), I'll see 77 properties, but I'm coming up empty with the FindAll() .

modified 24-May-12 15:57pm.

Here is what I ended up using in case this comes up in a search (you'll have to change the txtbox stuff to fit your gui or console app

C#

using (var rootDirectory = new DirectoryEntry("LDAP://" + domain))//, "[user name in the directory]", "[User Password]"))
                    {
                        using (var directorySearch = new DirectorySearcher(rootDirectory))
                        {
                            if (tBoxPin.Text != "")
                            {
                                directorySearch.Filter = string.Format("(|(sAMAccountName={0}))", tBoxPin.Text);
                            }
                            if (tBoxLastName.Text != "")
                            {
                                directorySearch.Filter = string.Format("((sn={0}))", tBoxLastName.Text);

                            }
                            if (tBoxEmail.Text != "")
                            {
                                directorySearch.Filter = string.Format("((mail={0}))", tBoxEmail.Text);
                            }

                            var result = directorySearch.FindOne();

                            if (tBoxLastName.Text != "")
                            {
                                SearchResultCollection searchResults = directorySearch.FindAll();
                                foreach (SearchResult searchResult in searchResults)
                                {
                                    foreach (string propertyKey in searchResult.Properties.PropertyNames)
                                    {
                                        ResultPropertyValueCollection valueCollection = searchResult.Properties[propertyKey];
                                        ResultPropertyValueCollection accountCollection = searchResult.Properties["userprincipalname"];
                                        foreach (Object propertyValue in valueCollection)
                                        {
                                            if (propertyKey == "name")
                                            {
                                                lastNames.Add(propertyValue.ToString());
                                                if (tBoxLastName.Text != "")
                                                {
                                                    tBoxDomains.Text += (propertyValue.ToString()) + " - ";
                                                    foreach (Object account in accountCollection)
                                                    {
                                                        tBoxDomains.Text += account.ToString() + System.Environment.NewLine;
                                                        //MessageBox.Show(account.ToString());
                                                    }
                                                }
                                            }
                                        }

                                        //ResultPropertyValueCollection valueCollection = searchResult.Properties["name"];
                                        //lastNames.Add(item);
                                    }
                                }
                            }


                            //foreach (SearchResult item in searchResults)
                            //{
                            //    tBoxDomains.Text += item.Properties.PropertyNames + System.Environment.NewLine;
                            //}

                            if (lastNames.Count > 1)
                            {
                                return;
                            }

                            if (result != null)
                            {
                                DirectoryEntry myDirectoryEntry = result.GetDirectoryEntry();

                                ResultPropertyCollection myResultPropColl;
                                myResultPropColl = result.Properties;

                                foreach (string myKey in myResultPropColl.PropertyNames)
                                {

                                    if ((myKey == "samaccountname"))
                                    {
                                        foreach (Object myCollection in myResultPropColl[myKey])
                                        {
                                            tBoxPin.Text = (myCollection.ToString());
                                        }
                                    }

                                    if ((myKey == "name"))
                                    {
                                        foreach (Object myCollection in myResultPropColl[myKey])
                                        {
                                            tBoxLastName.Text = (myCollection.ToString());
                                        }
                                    }

                                    if ((myKey == "mail"))
                                    {
                                        foreach (Object myCollection in myResultPropColl[myKey])
                                        {
                                            tBoxEmail.Text = (myCollection.ToString());
                                        }
                                    }

                                    if ((myKey == "name"))
                                    {
                                        foreach (Object myCollection in myResultPropColl[myKey])
                                        {
                                            tBoxTopSecret.Text = (myCollection.ToString().ToUpper());
                                        }
                                    }

                                    if ((myKey == "homemdb"))
                                    {
                                        foreach (Object myCollection in myResultPropColl[myKey])
                                        {
                                            int delimiter = myCollection.ToString().IndexOf(",");
                                            string trimmed = myCollection.ToString();
                                            trimmed = trimmed.Remove(delimiter);
                                            trimmed = trimmed.Replace("CN=", "");
                                            tBoxExchangeServer.Text = (trimmed);
                                        }
                                    }

                                    if ((myKey == "telephonenumber"))
                                    {
                                        foreach (Object myCollection in myResultPropColl[myKey])
                                        {
                                            tBoxPhone.Text = (myCollection.ToString());
                                        }
                                    }
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }

Hi folks,

I desparatly and urgently need your help... I need a code sample or some guidance on how to write a .Net program (preferably in C#) that used ADWS (Microsoft Active Directory Web Services) to retrieve user's information, search for users that have some active directory field set to some text, etc.

T.I.A,
Yuval.

User thun3rstruck's article Howto: (Almost) Everything In Active Directory via C#[^] was the source of much joy and gladness in my life when I was wrestling with AD about three years ago.

/ravi

My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536
Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware
ravib(at)ravib(dot)com

Hi,

I've read that article too. However, it demonstrates how to use LDAP calls to access the Active Directory, a method that works fine, but slowly...

I'm interested in MS-ADWS (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd391908(v=ws.10).aspx[^]). I've managed already to get only some of the user's attributes (such as display name, distinguished name and few others) but I need help in implementing C# code that uses these WCF services to get more user related information as well as mechanisms for searching the AD according to a given filter.

Thanks,
Yuval.

Im posting this to see what people come up with in this project. I dont need help with this but am in the process of trying to figure out system.io. Ive started the project off which is a windows form with a Get Folders and Files button which then opens a FolderBrowserDialog to let you pick the directory you want to list on the listbox with its subdirectories and files.

1) How can we rename a certain directory listed in the listbox
2) How do we remove unwanted directories
3) How do we check for duplicate files or directories, and remove one)
4) How do we remove unwanted characters in directory or file names.

Feel free to add other points that we could do with this project.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Data;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.Windows.Forms;
using System.IO;

namespace MusicProject
{
    public partial class Form1 : Form
    {
        public Form1()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
        }

        private void btnGetFolders_Click(object sender,                                      EventArgs e)
        {
            listBox1.Items.Clear();
            //To get the FolderBrowserDialog to choose the correct folder.
            FolderBrowserDialog fbd = new FolderBrowserDialog();
            if (fbd.ShowDialog() == System.Windows.Forms.DialogResult.OK)
            {
                //To get all directories in the one you selected.
                foreach (string dir in Directory.GetDirectories(fbd.SelectedPath))
                {
                    DirectoryInfo dInfo = new DirectoryInfo(dir);
                    this.listBox1.Items.Add(dInfo.Name);
                }

                //To get all the files in the directory you selected. 
                foreach (string file in Directory.GetFiles(fbd.SelectedPath))
                {
                    FileInfo fInfo = new FileInfo(file);
                                this.listBox1.Items.Add            (fInfo.Name);
                }
            } 
        }
    }
}

1)

System.IO.Directory.Move(@"C:\olddir", @"C:\newdir");

2)

System.IO.Directory.Delete(@"C:\olddir",false);

3) ??
4)

var cleanDir = (@"C:\olddir").Replace('unwantedChar',"");
System.IO.Directory.Move(@"C:\olddir",cleanDir);

bdeklerk wrote:
Feel free to add other points that we could do with this project.

A forum-post would not be the correct place for a longer-term project. Turn it into an article, and people could collaborate.

You already have answers to the other questions, which leaves #3 for me;

bdeklerk wrote:
3) How do we check for duplicate files or directories, and remove one)

You can iterate over all files and folders, and for each item; calculate a hash (like md5) and put it in a dictionary, with the hash as the key and the path as the value. If you hit a double key, you'll know that the content of both files is the same - even if the filenames and/or timestamps on the files differ.

Good luck Smile | :)

Bastard Programmer from Hell Suspicious | :suss:

i created application in WPF/C#.net in window xp, but when i try to run it win 7 every time i get exception on opening crystal report form in my application, even i installed following on win 7

VB

http://downloads.businessobjects.com/akdlm/crystalviewer/CRViewer.exe
http://downloads.businessobjects.com/akdlm/cr4vs2010/CRforVS_13_0.exe
http://downloads.businessobjects.com/akdlm/cr4vs2010/CRforVS_redist_install_64bit_13_0_3.zip

modified 23-May-12 1:48am.

That looks like the common 32bit-64bit problem: a 32bit application cannot load a 64bit dll, and a 64bit application cannot load a 32bit dll.
Set the target of your application to x86 (i.e. 32bit), and install the 32bit version of crystal reports also on 64bit OS.
If that does not solve the problem, provide necessary details like the error message and the code lines where the exception happens.

You failed to mention what error you get.

CR 10.5 upwards were Win7 compatible. Here is a list of all Crystal runtimes: Crystal Reports Runtime Distribution & Supported Operating Systems[^]

Make sure you install the correct runtime and refer the same one in your application. Any mismatch of version will lead to an error.

Sandeep Mewara
[My last tip/trick]: Server side Delimiters in ASP.NET[^]

I have two pcl files containing logos in each. I need to merge the file into a single pcl file. Iam able to merge the same but the problem is i get the two logos one after the other. I need the two logos to appear on the same line at top of the pcl file instead of one below the other. Iam using the code below to achieve what iam getting.
public void fileMerger(string inputFile, string outputFileName,string filetype )
{
{
#region get PCL file from inputFile
String ftype = "*." + filetype;
string[] tmpfiles = Directory.GetFiles(inputFile, ftype);
#endregion get PCL file from inputFile
FileStream output = new FileStream(outputFileName, FileMode.OpenOrCreate);
#region start Processing
foreach (string tempInput in tmpfiles)
{
FileStream inputfiles = new FileStream(tempInput, FileMode.Open);

if (inputFile.EndsWith(Environment.NewLine))
{
inputFile = inputFile.TrimEnd(Environment.NewLine.ToCharArray());
}
//Library.Utils.FlashMessage("inputfiles", "read");
CopyStream(output, inputfiles);
}
#endregion start Processing
}
}

C#

void CopyStream(Stream destination, Stream source)
      {
          int count;
          byte[] buffer = new byte[1000000];
          while ((count = source.Read(buffer, 0, buffer.Length)) > 0)
          {


              destination.Write(buffer, 0, count);

          }



      }

Please help..

modified 25-May-12 5:49am.

You need to modify the PCL content to make the information appear on the same line. Just copying one stream followed by the second is the same as sending them direct to the printer one after the other.

Programming is work, it isn't finger painting. Luc Pattyn

I am looking for a software license management tool. Any suggestions?

Yeah, don't waste your time and money. Every single one of them has cracks available. All you end up doing is slow down the people who want your software for free and make it harder for the people who want to pay for it to use your software.

A guide to posting questions on CodeProject[^]

Dave Kreskowiak

Good idea!
Could you please try to convince the managers of the company where I work?
Here, it is the job of software development to enforce that the user can use only those features of the software on those computers in his organisation our sales team wants him to grant (but never will write it down in a license agreement, everything has to be accomplished by technical limitations, so the user does not exactly know what he is granted to use). And of course, development has to make sure that the user cannot manipulate that...

Bernhard Hiller wrote:
Could you please try to convince the managers of the company where I work?

Ask them how much they want to invest. Then tell them that I can break it. How much protection do you need? Are the users the kind of person that I am? Is it a problem at all, or is it more "a good idea"? I've seen quite some companies invest in copy-protections, and it hardly ever results in more sales.

Bernhard Hiller wrote:
And of course, development has to make sure that the user cannot manipulate
that...

Only things that are not on my machine will not be manipulated. Even if you'd keep the information on your server, I'd be sniffing what you're sending (using fiddler2), trying to replicate it on a different server.

Bastard Programmer from Hell Suspicious | :suss:

Eddy Vluggen wrote:
Ask them how much they want to invest.

My time.

Eddy Vluggen wrote:
Only things that are not on my machine will not be manipulated.

Don't tell my boss how you do that, otherwise I'll have to invent something new, and then we can repeat that some rounds...

Bernhard Hiller wrote:
My time.

Whehe, aight, spoken like a manager. Your time equals a certain amount of money, aka "cost". Is he prepared to keep you on this task until your retirement?

Bernhard Hiller wrote:
Don't tell my boss how you do that, otherwise I'll have to invent something new, and then we can repeat that some rounds...

There is no system that cannot be broken - Stuxnet[^] kind of made that clear.

The question should be how much protection do you need, against whom, and what's "reasonable". If you need the kind of protection that Microsoft has on their products, you might need to spend the same amount - and despite the registration key, the registered ownership, and the holographic seal, it's still pirated a lot. Did you install that "Windows Genuine Advantage"-thingy on your Windows machine?

Most software-vendors will be selling to other companies. That means that software is less likely to appear on The Pirate Bay - there aren't that many companies that allow you to run something like bittorrent on their computers. If the product is particularly hard to install/setup, than you might have something that's more effective than most copy-protection scheme's could be.

If your app is more public, then it might be wise to have it "compile on download" and embed a guid in there that makes it a unique application. And then embed the name of the person logged in on the website and show that in the applications title-bar. No, not hard to change the caption with a hex-editor, but it would be hard to identify the guid and change that.

There's an article[^] here on CodeProject on the subject, perhaps you could collaborate?

We used a HASP dongle[^] in the past, first parallel, then the USB-kind. It's a more expensive kind of solution that's harder to crack. If you Google a bit, you'll find that it merely takes more effort.

Bastard Programmer from Hell Suspicious | :suss: