Question

I’m trying to search for users in AD with their surname (sn) and first name (givenName) using DirectorySearcher in .NET.

I can find a user based on sAMAccountname with this code:

 DirectorySearcher searcher1 = new DirectorySearcher(entry);
 searcher1.Filter = string.Format("(&(objectCategory=person)(objectClass=user)(SAMAccountname={0}))",aLogin);

 SearchResult results1;
 results1 = searcher1.FindOne();

But when I try to do it with givenName and sn:

DirectorySearcher searcher1 = new DirectorySearcher(entry);
searcher1.Filter = string.Format("(&(objectCategory=person)(objectClass=user)(givenname={0})(sn={1})", aName, aSName);

SearchResultCollection results1;
results1 = searcher1.FindAll();

It doesn’t work; the message says “Invalid Filter”;
Can I not filter based on givenName and sn?

How can I achieve this?

Answer 1

You’re missing a closing parentheses in your filter. Try:

searcher1.Filter = string.Format("(&(objectCategory=person)(objectClass=user)(givenname={0})(sn={1}))", aName, aSName);