Bulk import Active Directory contacts from a CSV file

ADManager Plus is an easy-to-use solution to manage multiple Active Directory (AD) contacts at once. Gone are the days of writing long and complicated PowerShell scripts. Using ADManager Plus's CSV import option, you can create, modify, move, or delete AD contacts in bulk with just a few mouse clicks.

To create contacts in bulk (Figure 1), all you need to do is import a CSV file containing the details of the contacts to be created. To modify multiple attributes of the contacts at once (Figure 2), just import a CSV file containing the new values of the attributes you want to modify. ADManager Plus also offers the capability to modify contacts' organizational attributes, contact attributes, and naming attributes individually via CSV import (Figure 3).

The capability to import contact objects via CSV files is also supported by other ADManager Plus features such as automation and delegation.

Create and delete contacts automatically

As an automation tool, ADManager Plus offers automation capabilities for creating and deleting contacts, as shown in Figure 4. Just enter the network location of the CSV file containing details of the contacts that have to be created or deleted. Select the time interval to specify when the automated task must be executed. You can schedule an automation hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, or just once.

For crucial tasks that require supervision, you can implement a business workflow in automation. For example, if you want to automate the task of deleting AD contacts but feel the need to have the HR manager's approval before every deletion cycle, you can configure a workflow with the HR manager as the approver, and implement it into the automation. This will guarantee that every time the automation tries to delete a contact, it will seek approval from the HR manager. The workflow feature can also be implemented outside of automation to configure a review-approval mechanism for execution of important AD tasks.

Delegate to the help desk

ADManager Plus lets you delegate contact creation or modification to non-administrators, such as help desk technicians or HR personnel (Figure 5). You can specify the organizational units (OUs) within which delegates can perform their assigned tasks. You can enable your delegates to manage contacts individually or in bulk via the CSV import option. You can even specify which attributes the delegates will be able to assign values for.

Also, you can assign specific templates to specific technicians to standardize contact creation and modification. You can define standard values of desired attributes in contact creation and modification templates to avoid entering them time and again for each contact (Figure 6). While creating or modifying contacts, select the desired template to auto-populate all the attributes you have specified in the template.

Templates can be customized to display only the desired attributes. Further, you can make particular attributes mandatory or read-only. This is especially useful when contact creation or modification is delegated to the help desk.

Creating a CSV file: It is very easy to create and correctly configure a CSV file to import AD contacts. The first line of a CSV file (i.e. the header) should contain the LDAP names of attributes, as defined in AD, and the following lines should have their corresponding values. For example:

name,givenName,displayName,mail,co,department,telephoneNumber
J Smith,james,James Smith,jamessmith@yahoo.com,ABC and Co,Pantry,345-987-1256
William,james,James William,jameswilliam@yahoo.com,ABC and Co,Pantry,345-997-1256

Top benefits of using ADManager Plus as a AD bulk contact import tool:

• Perform AD contact creation and management actions manually just by importing a CSV file.
• Implement controlled automation of bulk contacts management.
• Delegate contact management securely to non-administrators.