Version: 2.0.1225.0
The SharePoint AD Self Service web part allows users to modify their personal Active Directory account information in an easy to use, user-friendly SharePoint web part.
By default, SharePoint users’ profiles are stored and can only be managed in Active Directory (AD). Except for IT administrators and members of Domain Admins, most users are unable to access Active Directory information, nor can they change their own AD properties. The SharePoint AD Self Service web part alleviates this burden on IT administrators by enabling individual users to maintain their own AD information in an intuitive interface. This allows IT administrators to focus on high-priority projects rather than account maintenance.
As an AJAX web part, SharePoint AD Self Service provides users with enjoyable using experience by enabling them to bypass annoying post backs and complete the modification easily. To make changes to their AD properties, what users need to do is type in the user name and password to enter into the page where the AD Self Service web part being added. The web part will automatically detect current login user and domain, retrieving his/her information from AD and display them in the web part. Then, users can start to modify. Finally, by clicking "save", the whole process has been completed.
Moreover, IT administrators have complete control over which properties may be changed and by whom. IT administrators and domain admin members can configure settings in SharePoint Central Administration to restrict and exclude users from changing properties, as well as limiting the properties that are accessible in the web part itself. Equally critical, IT administrators are provided with the options of receiving email notifications or enabling log files to track any AD property change or change attempt, which streamlines the business process of protection-driven organizations.
Members of Domain Admins are able to manage every single tab and property in the AD Self Service web part. They can delete an existing tab or property, and change the display name or add a new one in the web part according to specific requirements. In addition, Domain Admins are also allowed to configure an AD property as editable, read-only, or hide the property completely. Furthermore, the appearance of AD properties is customizable as well. There are three types of appearance to choose from, from a simple text box for custom entries, to a dropdown list (which can either be populated manually by the administrator or looked up from another SharePoint list). The SharePoint AD Self Service web part also supports Drag and Drop of items in the web part settings. Therefore, changes made to layout and setup of the tabs and properties can be easily achieved.
AD Self Service is an AJAX enhanced web part that allows users to change their own AD property information. It also gives administrators the option to receive emails, as well as keep logs to track changes made. Moreover, administrators can exclude certain users from editing this web part and select which AD properties are accessible.
In the web part settings page, the administrator can configure the layout of the web part; he can add & remove tabs and properties, and choose under which tab the properties should be displayed. The administrator can also specify which AD properties are editable, which are read-only, and which are invisible. For accessible properties, he can choose to allow users to type in entries, select from a preset dropdown list, or look up information from another SharePoint list.
Once a user has changed his AD properties, the administrator (or any other specified user) will receive an email with details about the changes made. Alternatively, the administrator can check the AD Self Service log at any time for a summary of all AD account change details.
Adding the AD Self Service web part to a SharePoint site
Open the site page on which you want to add AD Self Service. Then, click Edit Page on the Site Actions menu.
The site will be displayed in Edit Mode. Click the Add a Web Part button to open the Add Web Parts Webpage Dialog.
In the Add Web Parts Webpage Dialog, select AD Self Service by checking the AD Self Service checkbox in the SharePointBoost Web Parts group, and then click the Add button. An AD Self Service Web Part will be added to the page.
Configuring AD Self Service in SharePoint Central Administration
Once installed and activated, an AD Self Service link will appear in Central Administration on the Application Management page under the section titled SharePointBoost Software Management.
This link will direct you to the AD Self Service Settings in Central Administration.
Excluding Groups and Users
The first section of the settings allows the administrator to exclude users or groups from accessing the web part. Thus, the administrator can choose to keep AD property changes more secure by excluding users like interns or other short-term employees who use shared accounts.
Including AD Properties
In the next section, the administrator selects which AD properties should be available in the web part. If you upgrade from an earlier version, all previously displayed properties will be included by default.
AD Self Service provides a list of AD properties that are commonly used. To modify the Display Name, the administrator can select an AD property, enter a new Display Name and confirm by clicking Modify. To add new properties the administrator has to click the Add button. This opens a popup window where the Property Name and the Display Name of the property to add can be modified. Furthermore, the administrator can remove a property and restore all default properties.
Email Notification Settings
To receive email confirmation notifications, please check the checkbox on the left side of the next section. The Email Content box will then be accessible for initial setup and modifications.
Firstly, the administrator should specify the subject of the notification email. Then he should specify the email content. The administrator can choose to send the email as plain text, or as an HTML message. (For the HTML message, there are more formatting options available than there are with plain text.)
In the Message section, the administrator can specify how the message should be formatted and what information should be included. The fields available include information about the user who changed his AD properties, the date and time he changed them, and the “default message.” Note that the “default message” function will place a table summarizing all changes made into the body of the email.
After setting things up as wanted, the administrator can check his settings by clicking the Preview button.
Finally, the administrator should specify an email address that the AD property change notifications will be sent to. This could either be the administrator’s email address, or any user’s email as chosen by the administrator, like managers or supervisors.
AD Self Service Log Settings
The AD Self Service Change Log section allows the administrator to set AD Self Service log options.
The SharePoint Property Change Log Schedule Options specify how often a new log file should be created. It can either be set to create a new file monthly, or after a number of days (as specified by the administrator). The Delete Logs checkbox gives the user the option to delete the logs after a specified number of days.
The View Logs button opens a new window that allows you to select and view the log files. It also gives you to option to delete old log files.
The log files will be saved as .log files, so they can be edited in Notepad.
The AD Self Service Custom SMTP Settings
The last section lets the administrator customize the SMTP server settings. There is no need to customize these settings if the SMTP server settings are already configured in SharePoint Central Administration. So, the administrator just has to change these settings when he or she wants to specify customized settings for outgoing emails, and if he has enabled AD Self Service Email Notifications.
Everything from domain name/IP, port, display name, "From address", and "Reply-to-address" can be customized. The administrator can also set to use either the default Windows login credentials or that of another user. The settings also allow enabling SSL connections.
Configuring AD Self Service in the Web Part Edit Mode
After adding the AD Self Service web part, click the open the tool pane hyperlink to configure account information for AD Self Service.
Entering Domain Admin account information
Only users having Design or Full Control permissions can add and customize web parts. Thus, only users with these SharePoint permission levels can access the web part settings page to modify the web part settings and layout.
On the AD Self Service Settings page, enter the credentials of an account that is a member of the Domain Admins group. This account can modify users’ AD information, so it is different from the SharePoint site collection user.
NOTE: If the account is not a member of Domain Admins, changes made to AD information in AD Self Service cannot be saved.
Web Part Layout and AD Properties Settings
On initial setup, AD Self Service will provide four tabs, and include all default AD properties.
Managing Tabs
To create new tabs, the user has to click Add New Tab.
The tab will change to display a field allowing the user to edit the tab name. There, the user has to enter the name for the new tab, and press enter to confirm.
Changing the current Display Name of a tab will work in a similar way. The user has to click on the name of the tab and the field will change into an editable field allowing for changing the name of the tab.
Managing Properties
To add new properties, the administrator has to click the Add New Property button that is available under each tab.
Then, a new box will appear inside the tool pane allowing the administrator to choose a property and what settings to apply.
The Property Select dropdown list displays all available AD properties. These include all properties made available in the Central Administration Settings for AD Self Service that have so far not been used when configuring the web part.
The complete list of available properties can also be found in the Available Properties section of the web part. This includes all AD properties specified in AD Self Service Central Administration settings, as well as AD properties previously deleted in the web part.
To delete AD properties from the web part, the administrator has to click on the red "X" on the right side of the property.
A popup window will open prompting for confirmation that the property should be removed.
To display property details, the user has to click the arrow in the top right corner of the property.
Then the property details will be displayed.
To make properties read-only, the administrator has to uncheck the "Allow users to edit this property" checkbox. Thus, the property would be displayed in the web part, however, the user would not be able to change it.
The Appearance settings allow the administrator to specify how the users should enter the information for the AD properties. If "Text box" is selected in the Dropdown menu, the administrator can select how many rows are available for editing.
If the administrator selects dropdown list the Appearance settings box will change to display a button to specify the values.
Clicking the Set List Values button will open a popup window. There the administrator can specify which values are available, modify values, or delete values, if necessary.
The last option to choose is to specify a column to lookup from.
This allows the administrator to specify a column in any list in any site over the whole site collection to pull values from. When using AD Self Service, the user will be presented a dropdown list with all values available in this column.
AD Self Service supports Drag and Drop of items in the web part settings. Thus, the layout and setup of the tabs and properties can be easily changed.
Modify AD properties in AD Self Service
After configuring the web part and the account information, SharePoint site collection users can modify their AD information with the AD Self Service web part.
For instance, when Tom logs on to the site page, the AD Self Service web part will display Tom’s AD information automatically. He will be able to modify his AD information based on the settings made. Checking on the Active Directory page, the properties have been modified.
Support Languages: English, Chinese, Japanese.
System Requirements
| Operating System: |
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 x86/x64 Microsoft Windows Server 2008 x86/x64 |
|---|---|
| Server: |
SharePoint Release: - Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services v3 or Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 - Microsoft .NETs Framework 2.0 or 3.0 Note: This product is not compatible with SPS 2003 and WSS v2 |
| Browser: | Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 or greater is recommended for Advanced Administration features |
Known Issues
Release Notes
|
2.0.1225.0 Dec 25th, 2009 |
Bug Fixed: - Access was denied when multiple WFE servers were involved in the operation. |
|---|---|
|
2.0.1224.0 Dec 24th, 2009 |
New Features: - Add, modify, or delete the properties & tabs available in the web part; - Customize the appearance of the web part by dragging & dropping tabs and properties into any desired order, displaying properties in a dropdown list (with preselected values entered by the administrator or with values looked up from another SharePoint list), or as an empty text box for custom entries; - Includes the option to send email notifications to administrators or department managers once properties have been changed; - Downloadable log file stores all AD property changes and change attempts in one convenient place for IT administrators. |
|
1.2.820.0 Aug 21st, 2009 |
Licensing module upgraded. |
|
1.1.609.0 Jun 9th, 2009 |
New Feature: - Support Japanese. Bug Fixed: - Scrollbar could not show when users using IE6. |
|
1.1.521.0 May 22nd, 2009 |
Licensing module upgraded. |
|
1.0.225.0 Feb 27th, 2009 |
Initial Release |
Thanks for your interest in this product. Choose the license you'd like below to purchase now via PayPal. If you encounter problems when trying to pay via credit card on Paypal or via bank transfer, please contact us for assistance.
Make sure to read the purchase FAQ below before you buy this product.
Site Collection License
Farm License
Purchase FAQ
An end-user is defined as any user who has access to, or has accessed any site in your Site Collection/Farm at any point in time, either directly (e.g. signing in) or indirectly (e.g. assigning him a task). Once a user has accessed a site in the site collection or the farm where the product is used, he is counted, regardless of whether or not this user is active on the specific site where the product is used. For example, while you may only have 50 users who would need to use the product on Site A in the site collection, there are 360 users accessing Site B (including the 50 accessing Site A), making a total of 360 users with access to the site collection. Since Site A and Site B are in the same site collection, you would need to purchase a license for at least 360 users. SPB licenses increase in increments of 100 users, so if there are 360 people who have access to the site collection, you will need to purchase a 400 end-user license.
If you would like to place an order with a PO, please contact sales@sharepointboost.com.
