OU (organizational unit) Creation Templates
ADManager Plus offers organizational unit (OU) creation templates which allow you to:
- Configure multiple/all the required attributes of OUs in a single step.
- Fine tune the OU creation process as per your organization's requirements/policies.
You can configure the relevant values and formats for the attributes in the OU creation templates. When these templates are applied during OU creation, all the attributes of the OUs being created will be automatically configured with the values specified in the templates.
Further, the OU creation templates have a built-in 'drag-n-drop' customization component which allows you to tweak the template to exactly suit your needs. Using this customization component you can place only the desired attributes in the templates and also make any attribute mandatory, hidden, editable or read only. Thus, according to the helpdesk technician to whom this template will be delegated for creating user accounts, you can make the appropriate set of attributes visible or editable in the template.
You can assign these templates to help desk technicians for creating new OUs. Based on the help desk technician according the template has to be delegated, you can make the appropriate set of attributes visible, hidden, mandatory or editable. Thus, administrators can dictate the way in which new OUs have to be created, instead of giving a free run to the technicians. Whenever needed, you can also modify the templates that you have already created, to update the template to meet the new requirement.
Steps to configure an OU creation template:
- Click the Management tab.
- Go to OU Management. Under OU Templates, click OU Creation Templates.
- In the OU creation templates page, enter a name and a suitable description for this template.
- Select the domain in which this template will be used to create new OUs.
- Click the Enable Drag-n-Drop button. This allows you to customize the template as needed, by just dragging and dropping the required fields from the field tray to the field group in the appropriate tab.
Note:
- The fields that are already being used in any of the tabs are greyed out.
- A field can be used in only one tab and so, you cannot drag-n-drop greyed out fields.
- To move a field from the tab to the field tray, you cannot use the drag-n-drop action; you have to delete the field by selecting the delete option displayed when you point the mouse on the field.
- By default, the General tab will be visible in the OU creation template.
- To change the tab name, click the edit icon located beside its name, enter a new name and hit enter.
- To hide the tab (make it invisible) from the technicians during OU creation, click the '-' icon located beside the tab name; click the 'X' icon to delete it.
- To add a new tab, click the '+' icon located right below the Disable Drag-n-Drop button.
- In the General tab, all the fields are placed under one default field group: General. If needed, you can create a new field group and add fields to it. As per your need, make the desired fields mandatory, read-only or silently active (hidden).
- Click Save Template to complete the template creation process.
Field Tray
When the 'Drag-n-Drop' option is enabled, you can see two components or panes. The pane on the left contains all the default tabs and all their corresponding fields. This pane is called the 'Field Tray'. All the fields that are currently being used in any of the tabs will be greyed out.
The required fields can be dragged from the field tray and dropped into the required tabs in the template. You can also move the fields from any tab to the field tray, by just deleting the field from the tab.
Field Group
A field group contains a group of related fields / attributes placed under one common head. You can group the fields in the individual tabs in the template into one or more field groups as required.
Steps to create a new field group and add fields to it:
- Click the Add Group link located at the top right corner of the tab.
- In add new field group window that opens up, enter a name for the tab.
- Click the options link and based on how you wish to display the fields in the tab, select single column or double columns option and click done. The new field group will now be displayed below the field groups already existed.
- To add fields to the new field group, drag and drop the desired field from any of the field groups within the General tab into the new field group.
For example, if you wish to place the field City in the new field group, point and click the mouse over City, drag it to the new field group and place it inside red box that appears.
- Similarly, drag and drop all the desired fields into the new field group.
- You can also drag and drop the desired field from the field tray. If the desired field is greyed out in the field tray, it indicates that is being used in another tab in the template and hence cannot be used again.
Editing a field, making a field a Mandatory or Read Only
- Point the mouse over the field that you wish to make silently active or mandatory, click the edit icon that is visible and select the edit option
- In the edit window that opens up, make the necessary changes.
- To make an attribute mandatory or read only, select the appropriate option from the ones listed under security and click done
- To make a field silently active, to hide field from the technician or the user who will be creating the OU but still configure it in Active Directory, point the mouse over the desired field, click the edit icon that become visible and select the make silently active option.
Note:
- Besides individual fields, you can also hide an entire field group or even an entire tab from the user/technician during the OU creation process
- To hide a field group, click the make silently active option located beside the name of the field group; to hide a tab click the '-' icon located beside the tab name.
- Click Done to save the changes
Making a field Silently Active
The make silently active option allows you to hide a tab or a field, from the user or technician who will be creating the OU, without actually deleting it. When this option is enabled, the respective tab or field and also the values in the tab or field will actually be used while creating the user but will not be displayed during the OU creation process.
This option is useful in cases where the administrator would like assign values to attributes or fields but would not like the technician creating the user to know the values.
To make a field silently active,
- Point the mouse over the desired field
- Click the edit icon that becomes visible
- Select the make silently active option
All the attributes made silently active will be added in the Active Directory while creating the OUs but will not be displayed during the creation process
'Drag-n-Drop' Customization
This option makes is possible to customize the templates by just dragging and dropping the required field or attribute in the required tab of the template.
Click the tab in which you would like to add a new field. Then, drag and drop the required field from the field tray to the required field group inside the tab.
While moving the field/attribute, there will be a box that will be displayed automatically inside the field group where you move the field to, you can drop the required field inside this box in the required position.
Viewing/Modifying OU Creation Templates
To view or to modify the user templates,
- Click the AD Mgmt tab.
- Go to OU Management, click the view/modify templates link located under OU Templates. This will list all the available templates.
Tip: You can sort the templates in ascending/descending
order using the arrow icon located beside the header Template Name header.
- To set a template as the default template, click the last icon in the 'Action' column, of the desired template.
- To modify the template click the template name or the edit icon to open the Modify User Template dialog.
- Modify the attributes as required and click save template.