SharePoint AD Information Sync provides a short-cut to synchronize Active Directory information to SharePoint Lists based on profile synchronization.

SharePoint users are empowered to customize the Active Directory sync process by configuring Sync Profiles. The AD information that needs to be synchronized can be specified by Organizational Unit (OU) and LDAP query string. Meanwhile, specific items with common names provided are allowed to be excluded when configuring the AD sync settings. Moreover, SharePoint Info Sync has the capacity to allow for column mapping between AD fields and SharePoint list items. Lastly, except for being performed manually, AD sync also can be performed automatically as long as a schedule has been set beforehand.

Click here for documentation for the SharePoint 2010 version of AD Information Sync

SharePoint AD Information Sync provides a convenient Active Directory sync function to SharePoint lists.

Following is a complete AD sync operating guide of SharePoint AD Information Sync.

Before configuring AD Information Sync settings, please create contact lists to store the data imported by the Active Directory sync.

1. AD Information Sync entrance

Open the site where you want to insert information from AD-sync. Click Site Settings on Site Actions menu.

Then, click AD Information Sync Settings link on the Site Administration section in the Site Settings page to get into the AD Information Sync Settings page.

2. Profile configuration

On the AD information sync settings page, click Add Profile.

On the Add Profile page, specify the Profile Name and select the list which you want to point the AD sync to.

Note: The drop-down list displays all lists in the current site. Here we choose AD Management list.

In the Active Directory section, fill in domain name by clicking Get current domain button and type the username and password. Then click Test Connection button to check whether the current user is connecting with Active Directory.

Note: You can also input server name or IP address of the AD controller into the Domain Server text box manually.

In the Active Directory Info to Sync section, choose Preset Type first. Second, you can filter information by inputting LDAP query string. Third, you can select Sync by organizational unit box and click the organizational units in the OU structure chart of Active Directory.

Note: AD Information Sync support LDAP sentence to set Active Directory sync. If you have no Organizational Units, you can sync AD information by default setting or LDAP.

In the Sync Options section, click both checkboxes "Create list items when AD items created” and "Deleted list items when AD items deleted”.

In the Column Mapping section, select AD fields which you want to sync to the SharePoint list.

Note: AD Field drop-down list provides about 30 fields of User types and 11 fields of Computer types. What we select now is as following.

 The content in brackets of AD Field is the common name of Active directory object. It is used in LDAP sentence.

In Sync Schedule section, specify the AD sync schedule type. In this tutorial, we set sync happens between 15:00 and 15:15 daily.

Note: Sync manually means the Active Directory sync will be acting by clicking Sync Now button manually on the sync settings page..

Sync every n minutes means that the interval of AD sync automatic action is n minutes.

Sync hourly means sync the information from Active Directory to list automatically each hour.

After configuration, click OK.

The followed "AD Management” SharePoint list is the result of our above AD sync settings.

AD Information Sync needs a special setup in the SharePoint Application Management after installation of the product.

Open the SharePoint 3.0 Central Administration. After that click Application Management on the top navigation bar. Then, in the SharePoint Web Application Management section, click Manage Web Application Features.

In the Manage Web Application Features page, click the "Activate" button of SharePoint AD Information Sync Timer Job.

Note: Change the Web Application to which you want to apply AD Information Sync (the box in the top right corner of the screen).

Then, click Operations on the top navigation bar. In the Global Configuration section, click Timer job definitions.

SharePointBoost AD Information Sync Job is located on this page.

To check the timer job running status, click Operations on the top navigation bar, and then Timer job status in the Global Configuration section.

After this, please proceed with the activation as described in the General Installation Guide.

3. LDAP sentence

LDAP is the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol. AD Information Sync access and get the Active Directory information through LADP protocol.

Suppose that you want to sync a user’s information who works for marketing department and his title is manager. You should write the LDAP sentence as following:

After the AD synchronization, the items displays in the Manager List as following.

4. Items Exclusion

Common name is the unique identifier of the object in Active Directory.  AD Information Sync use common name (cn) to exclude items.

The items whose common name listed in the textbox will not be synced to the list.

Suppose that you want to sync the users’ information in the organizational unit Development to Development List, except the items whose common name is Anna Wong.

Configure the profile according to above steps. Then in the Exclusion Items section, type Anna Wong in the box.

Click OK to save the settings.

And click "Sync Now" on the main settings page. The result is as following and the information of Anna Wong is not added on the list.

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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

Release Notes

1.7.622.0 Jul 6th, 2010	New Feature: - Server License is available.
1.6.312.0 Mar 15th, 2010	New Feature: - Announced compatibility with SharePoint 2010.
1.6.107.0 Jan 11st, 2010	Licensing module upgraded.
1.5.820.0 Aug 21st, 2009	Licensing module upgraded.
1.5.609.0 Jun 10th, 2009	New Feature: - Support Japanese.
1.5.520.0 May 22nd, 2009	Licensing module upgraded.
1.4.327.1 Mar 27th, 2009	Bug Fixed: - AD Contacts can be synchronized to SharePoint List.
1.3.313.1 Mar 13rd, 2009	New Feature: - Allow users to synchronize thumbnail photos from AD to Lists: thumbnail photos will be uploaded as attachments and their URLs can be set as field values. - Add employee ID attribute.
1.2.204.0 Feb 5th, 2009	Bug Fixed: - Allow another 9 AD properties to be sync: IP phone; Pager; URL; Facsimile Telephone Number, Home Phone, IP Phone, Mobile, Pager, and Telephone in "others".
1.1.119.0 Jan 21st, 2009	Bug Fixed: - Improve performance in timer job.
1.0.1226.0 Jan 6th, 2009	Initial Release

Purchase FAQ

Questions about Licensing:

• What is the difference between a Server License and a Site Collection License/Farm License, and which type of license should I choose?
  • A Server License is applied to a Web Front End (WFE) server. Each WFE will require a Server License (all servers running the SP Web Application service will need to be licensed). SPB Server Licenses do not limit the number of end-users.
  • A Site Collection License/Farm License is applied to a specific site collection or farm and limits the number of end-users that can use the product. Please determine the total amount of end-users with access to that site collection before you purchase a Site Collection License/Farm License. (For more information about how an "end-user" is defined, please see question 2 below.) SPB Farm Licenses can be used in multiple site collections within one SharePoint farm.
  • Server Licenses are better if you would like to use the product without site collection or end-user restrictions.
  • A Site Collection License/Farm License is better if you only want to use the product in one site collection or in multiple site collections within one farm and the number of end-users is unlikely to grow rapidly or change frequently. (Please note that if the total amount of end-users grows, you will need to purchase a license upgrade. The cost of a license upgrade is equal to the price difference between the old and new licenses. For example, if you purchased a 200 end-user license for $500 and you want to upgrade to a 300 end-user license with a list price of $600, you only need to pay the difference in prices, which in this case is $100.)
  • If you are still unsure as to which license type is best for you, please email sales@sharepointboost.com for assistance.
• What are "end-users" and how do they affect my Site Collection License/Farm License? How do I find how many end-users I have on my Site Collection/Farm?
  • End-users do NOT affect Server Licenses. An end-user count is only needed for a Site Collection License or Farm License.

  • 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.

  • Before purchasing a Site Collection License or Farm License, please think carefully about how many people will need to access your site (meaning any part of it) and delete from SharePoint or disable users in Active Directory. To find the number of end-users you have in a Site Collection or Farm, please check the license management page (this will appear after you install the trial version of our software on your SharePoint servers), or download and run the free End User Viewer Tool available here: http://www.sharepointboost.com/end-user-viewer-tool.html. The End User Viewer Tool can also be used to delete inactive user accounts.
• If the current end-user number exceeds the end-user number allowed by my Site Collection License/Farm License, what will happen?
  • Please note that end-users do NOT affect Server Licenses.
  • If the current end-user amount exceeds the amount of end-users allowed by your Site Collection License/Farm License, the original functions and settings of the software will NOT be influenced until you change them (e.g. additions, deletions, modifications, etc.) At that time, you need to upgrade your license by contacting sales@sharepointboost.com. Note that upgrades will incur additional fees equal to the price difference between the old and new licenses. For example, if you purchased a 200 end-user license for $500 and you want to upgrade to a 300 end-user license with a list price of $600, you only need to pay the difference in prices (in this case $100). 
• What will happen if I buy a new server or add another server? How will this affect my license?
  • Adding an additional server/replacing an old server with a new one will NOT affect your Site Collection or Farm License unless the Site Collection ID/Farm ID changes. If your ID has changed, please contact sales@sharepointboost.com for assistance.
  • However, if you are using Server Licenses for an SPB product and you subsequently add an additional WFE to your environment, you will need to purchase another Server License (all servers running the SP Web Application service will need to be licensed). Also, if you elect to replace an old server with a new server, and the Server Code subsequently changes, you will need to contact sales@sharepointboost.com for an updated license key.
• What is Premium Annual Support? If I buy it, what do I get?
  • For detailed information regarding SharePointBoost's Premium Annual Support plan, please visit our support page.
  • Premium Annual Support must be renewed each year. Support fees are based on the product and not on the type of license purchased.
• How can I find my Server Code or Site Collection ID/Farm ID?
  • To find your Server Code or Site Collection ID/Farm ID, please check the license management page (this will appear after you install the trial version of our software on your SharePoint servers – for help finding this information, please email support@sharepointboost.com, or download and install the free License Management Center here: http://www.sharepointboost.com/licensecenter.html.
• Does SharePointBoost offer a discount for development or test environment licenses?
  • SharePointBoost provides a 50% discount off the product list price for development and test environment licenses only with the purchase of a production environment license. Please note that this discount is only available if the license type (namely server license, site collection license, or farm license) is the same in all environments. For example, if you purchase a server license for your production environment, then the development license at the discounted rate would also have to be a server license.
• Do I have to pay for updates as new versions of the product are released?
  • All bug fixes, maintenance and minor releases are free with each purchase of an SPB product. Major releases (usually with significant functionality added) require the payment of an upgrade fee. However, if you purchase our Premium Annual Support plan, then all major and minor releases are free for one year.
• What is the difference between a minor and major release?
  • A minor release contains bugs fixes and minor feature changes (e.g. 1.0 to 1.1). Major releases include significant feature additions and enhancements (e.g. 1.x to 2.0).

Questions about Purchasing Process:

• Does SharePointBoost accept Purchase Orders?
  • SharePointBoost does accept purchase orders. Note that SPB will only send the license key once payment has been cleared by our bank. In the interim, SPB will issue you a PO License, which is a temporary license, while we await confirmation that payment has been received.

  • If you would like to place an order with a PO, please contact sales@sharepointboost.com.

• Which payment methods does SharePointBoost allow?
  • PayPal:
  • The preferred method of payment is PayPal. You can either purchase SharePointBoost products via PayPal account or via credit card. If you would like to purchase a Site Collection license where the total number of end-users is greater than 500, we will generate a PayPal purchase link and send it to you in an email (paying via purchase link does not require that you have a PayPal account).
  • Secure Purchase Link:
  • If purchasing our products through PayPal is not possible for you, then you may contact sales@sharepointboost.com to get a secure purchase link generated and then emailed to you. Here you may pay with a credit card online, by phone, or by fax.
  • Bank Transfer:
  • If purchasing our products through PayPal or via a secure purchase link is not possible for you, then you may contact us to get bank information for a wire transfer. Note that you are responsible for any bank transfer fees.
  • If you do not specify one currency from USD, HKD, JPY, or EUR, we will take USD as the default payment currency.
  • SHAREPOINTBOOST DOES NOT ACCEPT CORPORATE OR PERSONAL CHECKS. PLEASE USE PAYPAL, SECURE PURCHASE LINK OR BANK TRANSFER TO PURCHASE OUR PRODUCTS.
• What is SharePointBoost's refund policy?
  • A request for a refund will only be granted if it is received BEFORE the license code has been sent. Once SharePointBoost has sent you a license code, the sale is considered final. We recommend that you take advantage of the 30-day trial period to download and test the product. This should allow you to fully test and make sure the product meets your needs before making a final purchase decision.
• Does SharePointBoost offer a discount for non-profit organizations, government agencies, or educational institutions?
  • If you can provide proof that your organization is a registered non-profit, you will be eligible for a discount. Contact your government to request a certificate verifying your not-for-profit status, and then send this certificate to sales@sharepointboost.com to request the discount.