A Simple System.DirectoryServices Application

This is a small application that produces a fully functional System.DirectoryServices console. This application searches Active Directory based on an ambiguous name, which could be a user name, user's first name, user's last name, telephone Number, or office location, and displays the result. This application is created in Visual Studio .NET.

Creating a System.DirectoryServices Console Application

1. Open Visual Studio .NET and select New Project.
2. From Project Types, select Visual C# or Visual Basic and from Templates, select Console Application.
3. Name your project and select OK.
4. Select Project>Add Reference... and select System.DirectoryServices from the list displayed on the .NET tab.
5. Add the "using System.DirectoryServices;" statement to the end of the using statement list.
6. Add the following lines to the Class1 Main module.

   [C#]
   using System.DirectoryServices;
   ... 
   DirectorySearcher src = new DirectorySearcher("(anr=putANameHere)");
   foreach(SearchResult res in src.FindAll() )
   {
   	Console.WriteLine("{0} {1}", res.Properties["cn"][0], res.Properties["telephoneNumber"][0]);
   }
   

   [Visual Basic .NET]
   Imports System.DirectoryServices
   ....
   Dim src As DirectorySearcher = New DirectorySearcher("(anr=putANameHere)") 
   Dim result As SearchResult
   For Each result In src.FindAll()
   	Console.WriteLine("{0} {1}", result.Properties("Name")(0), result.Properties("telephoneNumber")(0))
   Next
   

7. Compile and run your application.

For more information and a code example of a System.DirectoryServices application that uses a Windows form, see Enumerating User Memberships.