How to View User Attributes in Active Directory & Get Attribute List?
When working with Windows Active Directory IT admin must need to view user attributes, as it provides a next-level insight into the behavior, structure, and status of the object in question, which here is the user itself. With this list in their possession, the admins can conduct necessary changes in the AD environment with ease. Moreover, it also serves as a historical record that other admins in the future can refer to and take guidance from. Not to mention, the organization itself becomes more in tune with the Active Directory service they are using.
Attribute analysis is done to make sure that the new users being added to the AD replicate the previously present entities. Given its importance, let’s jump straight to the most well-known method to view them.
Table of Content
- How to Get the Active Directory Attributes List Using ADUC?
- How to View User Attributes in Active Directory With Active Directory Admin Center?
- Some Limitations of Attribute Checking Via ADUC and ADAC
- How to See User Attributes in Active Directory With PowerShell Scripts?
- Script Free Way to Find Active Directory Attributes List
- Conclusion
How to Get the Active Directory Attributes List Using ADUC?
The basic answer on how to check user attributes in Active Directory is the ADUC portal. It is not wrong to assume that Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in is present in almost all AD environments. Therefore, it becomes the go-to place for admins to seek out information on their Windows AD. Let us see how to use it.
- Search for ADUC on your workstation and open it.
- Expand the list view from the left pane and go to Users.
- Select the user whose attributes you wish to see.
- A window opens, giving you a subset of the information.
However, it is important to mention that the default attributes only show you a piece of preliminary information about the user object. For minor tasks or a quick overview, this is sufficient. Moreover, if administrators want a detailed overview, they must do it via the Attribute Editor.
As this is hidden in the default view, admins have to backtrack and toggle the Advanced Features option under the View option of the main menu ribbon of ADUC.
After that, repeat the same process to open the User Properties window. This time, you see an expanded set of tabs in the same window. Select the Attribute Editor tab and scroll through or type the initial letter of the attribute you wish to see.
Apart from ADUC, there is also another powerful GUI-based solution built into Active Directory. You don’t have to go anywhere else; we have the instructions to use it right here. Simply hop on to the next part.
How to View User Attributes in Active Directory With Active Directory Admin Center?
- Search for ADAC (use the full form) and open the first option. Once the window is available, scroll till you see the global search option.
- Type the name of the user object whose attributes you want to view and press enter.
- Choose the object from the list view.
- In the object details section select Extensions
- In the Extensions dashboard click on Attribute Editor.
The above two simple GUI methods may seem good at first but they are not usable in every case. This is due to some inherent disadvantages. So let us see what these disadvantages are.
Some Limitations of Attribute Checking Via ADUC and ADAC
- Sometimes the Attribute Editor tab of the Properties page may be blank. To fix it click on the Filter option and mark the Mandatory and Optional Attributes options. Other than that, you can use the same filter tool to trim the list down to the Attributes that have a preset value.
- The Attribute Editor option present in both ADUC’s and ADAC’s options is rather powerful for the task we are using it for. So there is a risk that inexperienced administrators might make unwarranted changes.
- Another limitation is that many of these attributes are stuck on a view-only screen. Meaning admins can’t share the results of their search with interested parties like the organization’s executives. They have to manually type out all the information they see. The lack of a copy option also makes it difficult for the admin to assign the same attributes to any new user object they want to make.
- Even the attributes that can be edited or copied are present in a variety of formats. Ranging from hexadecimal to the 64-bit FileTime format for date attributes. Making them unpresentable without extra time spent editing and reformatting.
The ADUC and ADAC are not the only way to see user properties, we also have some scripting methods that admins can apply.
How to See User Attributes in Active Directory With PowerShell Scripts?
To use the Command Line do the following:
Press Windows + R Key and type cmd in the run box. On the command line type the following query
net user %username% /domain
Here you get a toned-down list of the attributes of a currently logged-in user.
Instead of a command line, you may as well utilize the PowerShell module. Two PowerShell commands get the job done.
The first one is to get the Active Directory attribute list of a single user:
get-aduser -Identity guest -Properties *
The second one is there to make a CSV output of all users:
get-aduser -Filter * -Properties * | export-csv -path C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\export-all.csv
However, using the scripts poses the following difficulties.
- Your organization may have locked or disabled viewing via PowerShell commands.
- Although commands appear simple, they may not work.
- Moreover, like the previous method, even with these scripts, you are directly interacting with the AD. So there is a chance that you may end up changing the ad objects from their default setup.
- As in a script, it is even more difficult to guess the changes so novice admins are better off skipping the scripts.
So let us see an alternative approach to viewing the user object data that works from outside of your AD.
Script Free Way to Find Active Directory Attributes List
Attributes are nothing but specific properties that point out the status of an object. In the case of a user object, it may be as simple as finding out what OU a user is in or checking which accounts are locked in the AD. That’s why administrators can trust the GUI-based SysTools Active Directory Reporting Software for all their AD information gathering.
It is fine-tuned to display the most notable attributes with a variety of filtering options. The steps to use the tool are as follows:
Step 1. Open the tool after using the default administrator credentials.
Step 2. Press the REGISTER DOMAIN CONTROLLER button.
Step 3. Type a Domain Friendly Name and IP address.
Step 4. Fill in the Admin ID and Password, then hit Save and Continue.
Step 5. Go to Report Screen Select the All category under User Workload.
Step 6. Hit the Preview button and toggle its options to find the best viewing style.
Step 7. To get the User level data, hit Download and choose CSV.
Step 8. Save the CSV in a suitable location and view it in any appropriate app.
Note: While working with Winodws Active Directory, events like AD merger, restructure, etc, it creates an urgent need of migration. Additionally, it is always crucial to utilise a reliable approach to peform these task without any error. As it can result in business disruption and data loss scenraio. For such migration event in AD, SysTools offers one of its kind Active Directory Migration Tool. It ensure data security and easily migrate AD objects from one domain to another.
Conclusion
In this write-up, we gave admins the complete guide on how to check user attributes in Active Directory setup. With this, they are now in complete control of all the information present on the AD. Moreover, if the manual methods of attribute audit seem problematic, they can always go for the automated solution discussed above.