Question

Below is my code. I want to retrieve all the users whose first name or last name is same in a grid. But here am getting the name itself in the grid sorted.

I’m giving user a choice to enter user name. Once he enter the name I should be able to search in Active Directory and return all user starting with that text entered by the user.

I should be able to display all possibilities, for example if user enters adam I should give him choice to select whether he want to see adam josef or adam john e.t.c.

Any suggestion will be helpful.

Here is the code

       DirectoryEntry de = new DirectoryEntry("ADConnection");

        DirectorySearcher deSearch = new DirectorySearcher(de);

        //set the search filter    
        deSearch.SearchRoot = de;
        String UserName = txt_To.Text;
        deSearch.Filter = "(&(objectCategory=user)(GivenName=*" + UserName + "*))";
        string[] arrPropertiesToLoad = { "sn" };
        deSearch.PropertiesToLoad.AddRange(arrPropertiesToLoad);

      SearchResultCollection sResultColl = deSearch.FindAll();//Getting undefined error



        Gridview1.DataSource = sResultColl ;
        Gridview1.DataBind();

Here is the stack trace

[COMException (0x80004005): Unspecified error]
System.DirectoryServices.DirectoryEntry.Bind(Boolean throwIfFail) +439513
System.DirectoryServices.DirectoryEntry.Bind() +36
System.DirectoryServices.DirectoryEntry.get_AdsObject() +31
System.DirectoryServices.DirectorySearcher.FindAll(Boolean findMoreThanOne) +78
System.DirectoryServices.DirectorySearcher.FindAll() +9
Certificate.WebForm4.btngo0_Click(Object sender, EventArgs e) in
C:\Users\273714\documents\visual studio
2010\Projects\Certificate\Certificate\WebForm4.aspx.cs:202
System.Web.UI.WebControls.Button.OnClick(EventArgs e) +118
System.Web.UI.WebControls.Button.RaisePostBackEvent(String
eventArgument) +112
System.Web.UI.WebControls.Button.System.Web.UI.IPostBackEventHandler.RaisePostBackEvent(String
eventArgument) +10
System.Web.UI.Page.RaisePostBackEvent(IPostBackEventHandler
sourceControl, String eventArgument) +13
System.Web.UI.Page.RaisePostBackEvent(NameValueCollection postData)
+36 System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequestMain(Boolean includeStagesBeforeAsyncPoint, Boolean includeStagesAfterAsyncPoint)
+5563

Answer 1

You can use a PrincipalSearcher and a “query-by-example” principal to do your searching:

// create your domain context
PrincipalContext ctx = new PrincipalContext(ContextType.Domain);

// define a "query-by-example" principal - here, we search for a UserPrincipal 
// and with the first name (GivenName) of "Bruce" and a last name (Surname) of "Miller"
UserPrincipal qbeUser = new UserPrincipal(ctx);
qbeUser.GivenName = "*" + UserName + "*";

// create your principal searcher passing in the QBE principal    
PrincipalSearcher srch = new PrincipalSearcher(qbeUser);

// find all matches
foreach(var found in srch.FindAll())
{
    // do whatever here - "found" is of type "Principal" - it could be user, group, computer.....          
}

If you haven’t already – absolutely read the MSDN article Managing Directory Security Principals in the .NET Framework 3.5 which shows nicely how to make the best use of the new features in System.DirectoryServices.AccountManagement. Or see the MSDN documentation on the System.DirectoryServices.AccountManagement namespace.

Of course, depending on your need, you might want to specify other properties on that “query-by-example” user principal you create:

• DisplayName (typically: first name + space + last name)
• SAM Account Name – your Windows/AD account name
• User Principal Name – your “[e-mail]” style name

You can specify any of the properties on the UserPrincipal and use those as “query-by-example” for your PrincipalSearcher.

Update: if you want to find a bunch of users and bind those to a gridview, use this code:

// create your domain context
PrincipalContext ctx = new PrincipalContext(ContextType.Domain);

// define a "query-by-example" principal - here, we search for a UserPrincipal 
// and with the first name (GivenName) of "Bruce" and a last name (Surname) of "Miller"
UserPrincipal qbeUser = new UserPrincipal(ctx);
qbeUser.GivenName = "*" + UserName + "*";

// create your principal searcher passing in the QBE principal    
PrincipalSearcher srch = new PrincipalSearcher(qbeUser);

var results = srch.FindAll();

Gridview1.DataSource = results; 
Gridview1.DataBind();

Don’t iterate twice over all the data returned! (as in your comment
) …..

Update #2: with the S.DS.AM classes, you always get the complete class – there’s nothing you can do about this. If you want to select only specific LDAP attributes, you need to use your original approach.

From that approach, you need to make sure to create the root of the DirectorySearcher on a container – e.g. the OU=Users container – NOT on an individual AD object like a specific user.

So try using this code:

// define a *CONTAINER* as the root of your searcher!
DirectoryEntry de = new DirectoryEntry("LDAP://OU=Users,OU=NJY,OU=NewJersey,OU=USA,OU=NorthAmerica,OU=America,OU=gunt,DC=xxx,DC=com");

DirectorySearcher deSearch = new DirectorySearcher(de);

// set the search filter    
string UserName = txt_To.Text;

deSearch.Filter = string.Format("(&(objectCategory=user)(givenName=*{0}*))", UserName);
deSearch.PropertiesToLoad.Add("sn");

SearchResultCollection sResultColl = deSearch.FindAll();

Gridview1.DataSource = sResultColl;
Gridview1.DataBind();

Does that work?