Create multiple users in Active Directory (AD)

    Whenever new recruits join an organization, administrators face the challenge of creating user accounts in Windows Active Directory (AD) for all of them in the shortest possible time. The native AD tools do not have an option for creating multiple AD users at once. Therefore, administrators have to use complex PowerShell scripts, VBScripts or run batch files from the Windows command line to get this done. With ADManager Plus, bulk user creation becomes simpler, faster and a completely script-free activity.

    Procedure:

    ADManager Plus provides the following options to create multiple user accounts in your Windows domain.

    • Add users allows you to add multiple users to Active Directory manually.
    • CSV import allows you to import a CSV file having the user details for creating multiple users in AD.

    You can then select the container in which the users have to be created and hit the Create user button.

    Steps:

    1. Click Management tab.
    2. Click the Create Bulk Users link under Create Users to invoke the Create Bulk Users wizard.
    3. Select the domain of your choice from the domain drop-down box.
    4. Select a previously created user template.
    5. You have the following options to add users:
      • Click Add Users button and specify the user attributes to add users manually. Continue to add more users by clicking the Add More Users button.
      • Click Import button to import the user details from a CSV file.
      • Select a previously created user template, and add the users by just specifying the name of all the users manually, while all the other attribute values are taken from the chosen template. You can also combine options two and three, in which case the values imported from the CSV file takes precedence.
    6. After adding all the users, the next step is to select the container object where the user accounts have to be created. Click Next to proceed to select the container.
    7. Select the container by browsing the Active Directory. You can also create a new container by selecting the 'Create New OU' option.
    8. Click Create Users to create the defined users in the selected container.

    For details on the user attributes, refer to the Microsoft Documentation here and here.

    Note:
    • The Exchange attributes need not be specified, if you do not wish to enable mailbox for the users.
    • To create Mailbox-enabled Users in Exchange 2007, you would require the Exchange Management Console to be installed on the same machine in which ADManager Plus is installed, failing which a legacy mailbox will be created.

    Click here to learn more about creating multiple users in Active Directory using CSV.

    Importing Data from CSV Files

    ADManager Plus provides you the flexibility to import user details from a CSV file. The first line in the CSV file should contain the attribute names as defined in the Active Directory. The givenName attribute is a mandatory field in the CSV file. An example entry is given below:

    givenName,sn,samAccountName,password,memberOf,telephoneNumber,department,profilePath,homeDirectory,homeDrive,managedby

    james,smith,jamessmith,Password@123,"CN=group1,OU=Finance,DC=admp,DC=com";"CN=Group2,OU=Sales,DC=admp,DC=com",+1-980-765-1234,accountant,"\\admp-dc1\UserProfile\%givenName%","\\admp-dc2\HomeFiles\%displayName%","E:","CN=Manager,OU=Finance,DC=admp,DC=com"

    james,william,jameswilliam,Password@123,"CN=group3,OU=HR,DC=admp,DC=com";"CN=group4,OU=US,OU=HR,DC=admp,DC=com",+1-980-765-1234,HumarResoruce,"\\admp-dc1\UserProfile\%givenName%","\\admp-dc2\HomeFiles\%displayName%","G:","CN=Manager,OU=HR,DC=admp,DC=com"

    Sample CSV file.

    Hints:
    1. While adding multiple users to Active Directory, who have the same set of permissions, you can create a user template by specifying the required permissions and create a CSV file containing the names of the users. You can then import the CSV file and apply the template to create users in bulk.
    2. If you have to create multiple users in Active Directory with different permissions, you can include the attributes that have different values for different users in the CSV file along with their names and can still have a base template for common attributes.
    Note: When you use a combination of user creation template and CSV file, the attribute values specified in the CSV file takes precedence.

    Copying User Attributes

    When you add a user by specifying the attributes or by importing the data from a CSV file, the added/imported user attributes gets listed in a tabular format. Clicking the user_copy_attributes icon from a particular row makes a copy of that user from where you can click and modify the attributes.

    If you wish to modify the user properties, click on the attribute value to change or click the modify_users_attributes icon to open the user properties in the UI to edit.

    To delete an added user, click the delete_user icon.

    If you wish to modify the user properties, click on the attribute value to change or click the modify_users_attributes icon to open the user properties in the UI to edit.

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