DSQuery USer Command Line Tool for Active Directory

DSquery Built-in Tool for Windows Server 2003/8

One of the most useful DS commands is DSQuery User.  If I need to find a user quickly from the command prompt, I call upon DSQuery.

DSQuery User

• Example 1:  DS Query User To Find All Users
• Example 2:  Find Everyone Whose Name Begins with Smith*
• Example 3: Filter the Output with -o rdn

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Example 1: DS Query User To Find All Users in the Default Users folder

In this example we just want to search the users folder and list the people accounts in that default container.

Learning Points

Note 1:  The default users’ folder is actually a container object called cn=users.  My point is if you try ou=users, the command fails.

Note 2:  I queried users, however dsquery requires the singular user, not userS.  Other objects that you can query are computer (not computers!), group or even contact.

Challenge 1:  Substitute OU=xyz for cn=users, where xyz is the name of your OU.  Unfortunately, cn=users domainroot does not work.

Challenge 2:  Substitute "computer" for "user".

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Example 2:  DSQuery User to Find Everyone Whose Name Begins with Smith*

This DSQuery example shows two ways to filter your output and so home in on what you are looking for.  Let us pretend that we know the user’s name but have no idea which OU they are to be found.  Moreover, we are not sure whether their name is spelt Smith, Smithy or Smithye.

or:

or plain:

Learning Points

Note 1:  Remember to type the singular user.

Note 2:  Probably no need to introduce *, you probably realize it’s a wildcard.

Note 3:  -name is but one of a family of filters. -desc or -disabled are others.

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Example 3: DSQuery User – Filter the Output with -o rdn

The purpose of -o rdn is to reduce the output to just the relative distinguished name.  In a nutshell rdn strips away the OU=, DC= part which you may not be interested in.

Learning Points

Note 1:  o is the letter oh (not a number).  In my minds eye o stands for output.

Note 2:  There is a switch -o dn, but this is not a switch I use. 

Summary – DSQuery User

Knowledge is power.  The DS family in general and DSQuery user in particular, provide handy commands for interrogating Active Directory from the command line.  Next try DSGet.

See more of the DS family of built-in Active Directory utilities

• DSQuery   • DSQuery User   • DSQuery Group    • Free Import CSV Tool

• DSGet – List the properties of an object   • DS Commands   • WSH – Create a user

• DSMod – Modify Active Directory attributes    • DSAdd – Create new accounts