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Active Directory object picker control

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16 May 2004CPOL1 min read 221K   2.3K   59   46
A Windows control for selecting objects in Active Directory.

Picker control test app

Introduction

A basic Windows control library for selecting objects in your Active Directory.

Background

I've been involved in several Active Directory projects and frequently have had the need for a "picker" utility to select objects in the AD hierarchy. I decided to roll my own and encapsulate it in a Windows control library.

Sample Usage

Add the control to the list of Windows Forms controls in Visual Studio .NET, then drag the control onto a Windows Form. The control will automatically obtain your Active Directory root path and begin building a hierachal tree of the objects it finds.

C#
private void AddTreeNodes(TreeNode node)
{
    Cursor.Current = Cursors.WaitCursor;
    treeView1.BeginUpdate();
    adh = new ADHelper();
    adh.GetChildEntries((string)node.Tag);
    IDictionaryEnumerator enumerator = adh.Children.GetEnumerator();

    // append children
    while (enumerator.MoveNext())
    {
        TreeNode childNode = new TreeNode((string)enumerator.Key);
        childNode.Tag = enumerator.Value; // ADsPath
        node.Nodes.Add(childNode);


        // specific object types
        if (!alExceptions.Contains(node.Text))
            childNode.ImageIndex =
                SetImageIndex(enumerator.Key.ToString().Substring(0,2));
        else
            childNode.ImageIndex = 3; // computer image
    }
    treeView1.EndUpdate();
    Cursor.Current = Cursors.Default;
}

AddTreeNodes() takes only one parameter, the parent TreeNode object. It then proceeds to add every child object it finds. Similar to Microsoft's ADSI Edit tool, the control displays a plus sign to indicate if a node has one or more child nodes.

Returning the ADsPath

Each time a node is selected in the hierarchy, the ADsPath public property is updated to reflect the fully-qualified path to the object (i.e. LDAP://OU=DEV,OU=US,DC=CORPORATE,DC=MYDOMAIN,DC=COM).

C#
public void GetChildEntries(string adspath)
{
    if (adspath.Length > 0)
        entry = new DirectoryEntry(adspath);
    else
        entry = new DirectoryEntry();

    foreach (DirectoryEntry childEntry in entry.Children)
    {
        _htChildren.Add(childEntry.Name, childEntry.Path);
    }
}
private void treeView1_AfterSelect(object sender, 
      System.Windows.Forms.TreeViewEventArgs e)
{
    _adspath = (string)e.Node.Tag;
}

Compatibility

The control has been tested on Windows 2000/XP/2003. It should work for Windows 9x/NT with the Microsoft Active Directory Client Extensions installed.

History

  • Version 1.0 - 04.22.2004 - First release version.
  • Version 1.1 - 04.28.2004 - Added image support for object types.

License

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


Written By
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Living abroad and loving life.

Comments and Discussions

 
GeneralThe doubled child items [modified] Pin
psychic8628-Jul-08 21:23
psychic8628-Jul-08 21:23 
GeneralRe: The doubled child items Pin
gisli.gudmundsson15-Feb-10 11:38
gisli.gudmundsson15-Feb-10 11:38 
GeneralRe: The doubled child items Pin
gisli.gudmundsson15-Feb-10 11:57
gisli.gudmundsson15-Feb-10 11:57 
GeneralRe: The doubled child items Pin
gisli.gudmundsson15-Feb-10 13:02
gisli.gudmundsson15-Feb-10 13:02 
GeneralThank you very much Pin
lucastar17-Jan-08 18:42
lucastar17-Jan-08 18:42 
GeneralRe: Thank you very much Pin
Christian Merritt24-Jan-08 3:05
Christian Merritt24-Jan-08 3:05 
GeneralRe: Thank you very much Pin
lucastar5-Feb-08 6:31
lucastar5-Feb-08 6:31 
GeneralThanks Pin
hkdl200027-Jun-07 8:46
hkdl200027-Jun-07 8:46 
GeneralRe: Thanks Pin
Christian Merritt28-Jun-07 16:10
Christian Merritt28-Jun-07 16:10 
GeneralOUs are doubled Pin
andrei_teodorescu8-Jul-06 16:05
andrei_teodorescu8-Jul-06 16:05 
GeneralRe: OUs are doubled Pin
sebaj24-Feb-07 4:21
sebaj24-Feb-07 4:21 
GeneralNames ordered AD Pin
tysonx6-Jun-06 4:17
tysonx6-Jun-06 4:17 
GeneralRe: Names ordered AD Pin
Christian Merritt12-Jun-06 2:07
Christian Merritt12-Jun-06 2:07 
QuestionHow can i get the selected object? Pin
rbmrf9-Mar-06 7:29
rbmrf9-Mar-06 7:29 
AnswerRe: How can i get the selected object? Pin
Christian Merritt9-Mar-06 7:48
Christian Merritt9-Mar-06 7:48 
AnswerRe: How can i get the selected object? Pin
Data-Base17-Jul-08 3:53
Data-Base17-Jul-08 3:53 
QuestionSorted Output? Pin
VBDelinquent19-Dec-05 3:41
VBDelinquent19-Dec-05 3:41 
AnswerRe: Sorted Output? Pin
Christian Merritt22-Dec-05 7:00
Christian Merritt22-Dec-05 7:00 
GeneralHelp Using in VS2005 Pin
astocks19-Oct-05 16:50
astocks19-Oct-05 16:50 
GeneralRe: Help Using in VS2005 Pin
Christian Merritt20-Oct-05 1:27
Christian Merritt20-Oct-05 1:27 
GeneralRe: Help Using in VS2005 Pin
astocks20-Oct-05 9:48
astocks20-Oct-05 9:48 
GeneralRe: Help Using in VS2005 Pin
Christian Merritt20-Oct-05 11:40
Christian Merritt20-Oct-05 11:40 
GeneralRe: Help Using in VS2005 Pin
astocks21-Oct-05 14:17
astocks21-Oct-05 14:17 
QuestionSpecified domain does not exist Pin
Member 784425-Sep-05 23:58
Member 784425-Sep-05 23:58 
AnswerRe: Specified domain does not exist Pin
Christian Merritt12-Sep-05 3:48
Christian Merritt12-Sep-05 3:48 

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