AD Bulk Export Documentation

Contents:
Introduction
System Requirements
Licensing
Per Administrator
Site License
Enterprise Multi-Site License
Consultant License
Main features
Export options
Selecting Active Directory objects
The results
Filtering the results
Sorting columns
Group by columns
Removing columns
Hiding and showing columns
Search within a column
Search across all columns
Advanced Filter Editor
Exporting the results
CSV Encoding
Exporting to a database
Scheduling Exports
Create a new schedule
Edit a schedule
Delete a schedule
Schedule Mail Settings
General settings
Command line operation
Adding attributes
Support

Introduction

Thank you for using AD Bulk Export 4!

This document contains information to help you get the most out of AD Bulk Export, exporting from Active Directory is now quick and easy. Look here first for answers and to get started.

AD Bulk Export is amazingly simple to use yet a powerful application that allows you to export data from Active Directory to various formats including CSV, Excel (xls), PDF and SQL and Oracle databases.

You can export data for Users, Contacts, Groups and Computer objects, with advanced filtering you can export just the data you need and with the built-in scheduler you can export this data when you need it to the destination you need (CSV, Excel, SQL, Oracle etc).

AD Bulk Export enables you to export all available attributes including any custom attributes you’ve added plus attributes from programs that have extended the schema such as Microsoft Exchange, Lync etc.

AD Bulk Export is ideal for Active Directory migrations when used with AD Bulk Users and AD Bulk Contacts.

System Requirements

• • Microsoft .Net 4.0 Framework
  • Microsoft Windows 2000, 2003, 2008, 2008 R2, 2012, 2016
  • Microsoft Exchange 2010, 2013, 2016, Exchange Online, Office 365
  • PowerShell 3.0 is required for the creation of Exchange mailboxes and to run PowerShell scripts.

Licensing

Per Administrator

The Single Administrator License is designed to be used by one person and can be installed on one PC or server and used by the same user. The software can only be used within your organization.

Site License

The Site License allows an unlimited number of users and installations at a single address location. The software can be installed on one or more desktops or servers and can be used by anyone within the organization. A site license is for on-site use at one location and the software can only be used within your organization.

Enterprise Multi-Site License

The Enterprise License allows an unlimited number of users and installations. If your organizations network spans multiple locations then an Enterprise license is required. The software can be installed on one or more desktops or servers and can be used by anyone within your organization. The software can only be used within your organization.

Consultant License

The Consultant Licence allows one consultant to use the program at multiple sites for multiple organizations but the software is not to be left at those organizations; if more than one consultant will be using the software then a Consultant Licence is required for each person using the software. All software must be removed when the project is complete.

Main features

• • Export Active Directory Users, Contacts, Groups and Computers.
  • Export the data to CSV, Excel, PDF files and SQL and Oracle databases.
  • Powerful filter and search tools.
  • Built in scheduler, schedule exports as and when needed.
  • Command line operation supported.
  • Print reports.
  • Support for Active Directory running on Windows 2000, 2003, 2008, 2008 R2
  • Requires .Net 3.5 framework or higher.
  • No server components or agents to install.
  • No changes or modifications to Active Directory schema.

Export options

You can export the data held in Active Directory to CSV, Excel, PDF and SQL and Oracle databases.

Selecting Active Directory objects to export

Start by identifying which Active Directory Organizational Unit, Group or Object you want to export the data from. A typical example is shown below; in this example all the objects (users, contacts or computers) within the Organizational Unit ‘London’ and ‘Manchester’ would be retrieved.

1. Click the ‘Browse’ button to browse for the Active Directory Organizational Unit or Group you want to export the data from.
   
2. In the ‘Browse Organizational Units and Groups’ enter the domain name of the domain you want to connect to and click ‘Connect’, to connect to the domain using alternative user credentials click ‘Connect As’. Once connected select the OU(s) and/or Group(s) you wish to retrieve data from. In the example below the program will read objects from the City, Manchester and Engineering OUs and members of the ‘Sales’ group.
   
   All OUs and Groups to be queried are listed in the ‘Selected paths to query’ text box.
3. Click ‘OK’ to return to the main window. The OUs and Groups you have chosen to query are shown in the ‘Path’ text box, each path is separated by a semi-colon. You can recall previously used OUs and Groups by clicking the drop down arrow in the ‘Path:’ text box.
   
4. In the ‘Objects’ section of the main window click the objects types you want to query, ‘Users’ is selected by default. You can select multiple objects such as Users and Contacts.
   
5. In the ‘Columns’ section of the main window you can select which attributes you want to read from Active Directory, by default the pre-set ‘Most Common’ is selected. You can select another pre-set or select just the attributes you need (e.g. sAMAccountName and telephoneNumber) by clicking ‘Add or Remove Columns’. To create your own pre-sets see the ‘Creating Pre-Sets’ section.
   
6. Click ‘Start’ to start querying Active Directory. You can click ‘Stop’ at any time to stop the query.
   

The status bar shows the progress of objects being read from the Active Directory.

When complete the total number of objects retrieved is shown in the status bar.

The results

After the selected objects have been read from Active Directory they are displayed in the data grid similar to the example below. Initially all objects found in the OUs and/or Groups queried are shown, you can use search and filters to refine the results, each column represents one attribute, each row represents a User, Contact, Group or Computer.

The columns can also be sorted by dragging and dropping them. The column order is retained when saving the results to a file.

Filtering the results

You can refine the results be sorting, hiding columns, searching and applying filters, this section explains how these work.

Right clicking the column headers will reveal the menu shown below; from here perform sorting, column selection and filtering.

Sorting columns

You can sort the columns by clicking the column header or by right clicking the column header and selecting ‘Sort Ascending/Sort Descending’.

Group by columns

You can organize the results by column by selecting ‘Group By This Column’ from the right click menu. This is useful if you want to group by department or city.

Selecting ‘Show Group By Box’ will add the box highlighted below above the datagrid, you can drag and drop columns here you want to group by. This is useful when you want to group by one column then another.

To clear grouping right click the ‘Group By Box’ and select ‘Clear Grouping’.

Removing columns

You can ‘Remove’ columns from the results by selecting ‘Remove This Column’.

Hiding and showing columns

You can show and hide columns from the grid by selecting ‘Column Chooser’ from the right click menu. Drag and drop the columns on to the ‘Customization’ window to remove them and drag them back to add them back in.

Search within a column

You can search within a column by clicking in the text box beneath the column header; the results are filtered as you type. You can remove the text box by selecting ‘Hide Auto Filter Row’ from the right click menu.

Search across all columns

To search across all columns select ‘Show Find Panel’ from the right click menu, this will add a search box above the column headers. Select ‘Hide Find Panel’ to remove it.

Advanced Filter Editor

To apply conditional filters click the ‘Filter’ icon in the main window. Below is an example filter that would display users that are in the Sales department and have a title of Manager but not Assistant (i.e. not Assistant Manager). Click ‘Apply’ to apply the filter but leave the Filter Editor open, click OK to apply the filter and return to the main window.

You can save the filters you create by clicking the ‘Save Filter’ button.

Exporting the results

When you have the results you want to export you can save the results to a CSV, Excel or PDF file or save to a SQL or Oracle database.

To save in CSV, Excel or PDF formats simply click the correct icon in the ‘Export’ section in the main window.

CSV Encoding

When saving to a CSV file you can select the file encoding to use by clicking the dropdown, the default is ASCII. For non-English characters use Unicode.

Exporting from Active Directory to a database

To export to a database click the ‘Database’ icon in the ‘Export’ section in the main window.

The ‘Database Export Options’ window will then be shown, from here you can select your destination database (SQL or Oracle) the table name and the credentials used for the connection.

Scheduling Exports from Active Directory

Version 4 of AD Bulk Export now has a built-in scheduler which means you can schedule your data to be exported automatically at times you specify.

To run the scheduler click on the Schedule tab in the main window and then click ‘Open Scheduler’ to open the Scheduler window.

Create a new schedule

To create a new scheduled export click the icon highlighted below, this will start the schedule wizard.

Below is a walkthrough of the Schedule Wizard.

1. Enter a name for the schedule (e.g. Export for HR).

2. Select the frequency you want the schedule to run.

3. Select when you want the schedule to run.

4. Specify the path(s), objects and attributes to query. Specify the credentials for the connection and any filters you want to apply.

5. Export to File or Database.

6. Specify where the file will be saved, optionally enter an email address where the file should be sent to (Email will be grey until a mail server has been specified).

If you choose to export to a database, specify the connection here.

7. Schedule summary and option to test the schedule.

Edit a schedule

To edit an existing schedule click the icon highlighted below.

Delete a schedule

To delete an existing schedule click the icon highlighted below.

Schedule Mail Settings

When a schedule is set to export to a file (CSV, Excel or PDF) the program can send the file to an email address you specify.

To specify a mail server and senders address click the ‘Mail Settings’ icon highlighted below, this opens the ‘Scheduler Mail Settings’ window.

From here you can specify a mail server, subject line, senders address and credentials need to send the email.

General settings

You can access the ‘Settings’ from the icon in the main window or via the main menu.

Default Language

From the ‘Settings’ window you can select which language should be used by default. The program will need to restart for the changes to take effect.

Logging

To log the programs usage check ‘Enable Logging’ in the ‘Settings’ window.

Clearing usage history

You can clear usage history such as paths queried and database connections from the ‘Settings’ window.

Command line operation

ADBulkExportCLI /?

General options:

/? /HELP
Displays command-line help

/LANG
Changes the application language (e.g. /lang:de)

/LOG
Enables application logging

Query Options:

/PATH
The list of LDAP paths from which to retrieve the data. Separate multiple paths with a semicolon.

/USERNAME
The username to authenticate to Active Directory.

/PASSWORD
The password to authenticate to Active Directory

/OBJECTS
The object classes to be retrieved: USERS,COMPUTERS,CONTACTS and GROUPS, if not passed, the default object class will be USERS. Separate multiple objects with a semicolon.

/COLUMNS
The list of column IDs to be included in the query. Multiple column IDs should be separated with a comma.

/PRESET
The preset columns-list ID e.g. “Most Common”

/FILTER
The filter expression applied to the retrieved data e.g.: /filter:”cn LIKE ‘%myname%'”.

/SORT
The sort expression applied to the retrieved data e.g. /sort:”cn ASC”.

Export options:

/FORMAT
The export format (Parameter value: CSV, XLS, PDF or DB).

File export Options:

/FILE
The full path of the destination file. Required for CSV, XLS and PDF export formats.

/ENCODING
The encoding of the file when the export format is CSV. Parameter value: ASCII, UNICODE or UTF8. If not passed, the default encoding will be ASCII.

Database export options:

/CONNECTIONSTRING
The database ODBC connection string

/TABLENAME
The destination table name

/TABLEACTION
The action to perform on the table before inserting the data parameter value: NONE, CREATE, TRUNCATE or DROP.

NONE: Does not modify the table
CREATE: Creates the table
TRUNCATE: Truncates the table
DROP: Drops and recreates the table
If this argument is not passed, the default action will be DROP

Notes:

• The command-line arguments and their values are case insensitive
• When an argument value contains spaces, surround it by double quotes

Examples:

Export user migration columns pre-set for users in TestOU1 and TestOU2 organizational units to a CSV file.

Export “cn” and “displayName” attributes for users and computers in the “Test1” organizational unit to a database table named “TestTable” located in a SQL Server database.

Adding attributes

AD Bulk Export can retrieve any attributes for the objects you want to query but for performance reasons it is necessary to select the attributes you want before you click ‘Start’. To speed up the process of selecting the attributes AD Bulk Export now includes ‘Pre-sets’ which are a collection of attributes that can be easily selected from the main window.

The program includes a number of ‘Pre-sets’ such as ‘Most Common’, these pre-sets can be changed (i.e. you can add additional attributes to them) and you can also create your own pre-sets. For example if you wanted to send the sales manager a report each week that contained the name, email address and telephone number of every Contact in AD then you could create a pre-set called ‘Sales Manager’ or ‘Name, Mail and Phone’.

Clicking ‘Add or Remove Columns’ in the main window will show the ‘Add/Remove Column Selector’ window, from here you can add or remove attributes (columns) and create and edit ‘Pre-sets’ (group of attributes).

Support

If you require help with AD Bulk Export or simply need to ask a question please you can contact us via our support form or send an e-mail to [email protected].

See also the Frequently Asked Questions at http://www.dovestones.com/support.asp.