Create a pre-canned import file

Using a pre-canned import file simplifies the bulk import of images into Active Directory. Therefore we recommend to use a pre-canned import file. A pre-canned import file consists of the following components:

• The Active Directory objects for which images should be imported
• The full path to the images to import
• The Active Directory attributes which should contain the images to import

In order to create a pre-canned import file, select Bulk Import from the main tab and then Create an Import File from the sub tab. This tab contains the following properties:

Pre-Canned Import File Settings:

• Import file name:
  The full path of the pre-canned import file to create.
• Field delimiter:
  The field delimiter used in an import file to delimit the attributes.
• Text qualifier:
  The text qualifier used to differentiate your field data from your field delimiter. The whole attribute value string must be enclosed by the specified text qualifier.
• Image source path:
  The path where the images are stored.
• Image file extension:
  The file extension of the images to import (e.g. JPG).
• Image naming placeholder attribute:
  An Active Directory attribute containing data which will be used to reference the image file.

Note:
    The parameters Image Source Path, Image File Extension and Image Naming Placeholder Attribute will be used to create the attribute value for the
    attributes thumbnailPhoto, thumbnailLogo, jpegPhoto or photo (see the graphical overview below):

    Graphical Overview:

   

AD Object Settings:

• Select a scope for image management:
  Select whether all objects in the forest or whether only objects in the specified container should be included in the pre-canned import file.
• Select the object types you want to search for:
  Select whether user objects, contact objects or both should be included in the pre-canned import file.
• Attributes:
  Select the Active Directory attributes which should be used in the pre-canned import file.

After you have made the desired settings, click the Create Import File button to create the pre-canned import file.

Example:

The following example contains data to import a thumbnail photo based on the file 'd:\img\j.doe.jpg' for an user named 'j.doe'. The value of the attribute adimImageRefAttrib (the image naming placeholder attribute) will be resolved during import and will replace the placeholder %%ADIMIMAGEREFATTRIB%% E.g. if the value of the attribute adimImageRefAttrib is j.doe, the placeholder %%ADIMIMAGEREFATTRIB%% will be replaced with j.doe. So the complete value for the attribute thumbnailPhoto is D:\img\j.doe.jpg:

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Edit the pre-canned import file

If you want to make changes to the pre-canned import file, you can use any editor to edit the file. Please see the topic More Information to get some information about the structure of an import file.

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Import Data into Active Directory

NNS ADim reads the the import file and then imports the images for the Active Directory objects specified in the import file. The import file can be either pre-canned file or custom file. In order to import images into Active Directory, select Bulk Import from the main tab and then Import Images from the sub tab. This tab contains the following properties:

Import File Settings:

• Import file name:
  The full path of the import file to use for import.
• Field delimiter:
  The field delimiter used in an import file to delimit the attributes.
• Multi-valued field delimiter:
  The field delimiter used in an import file to delimit multi-valued attributes (e.g. the attribute JPEGPhoto: d:\img\photo01.jpg|d:\img\photo02.img).
• Text qualifier:
  The text qualifier used to differentiate your field data from your field delimiter. The whole attribute value string must be enclosed by the specified text qualifier.

After you have made the desired settings, click the Validate Import File button to validate the import file. If the selected import file is OK,
click the Start Import button to start the import.

After importing the images, see the log file to get some information about the import operation.

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More Information

Import File Structure

The following table contains a list attributes which are mandatory when importing images:

In addition to the mandatory attributes you can set various optional attributes. The following table
contains a list of attributes you can set:

Examples:

The following example imports a thumbnail photo based on the file 'd:\img\j.doe.jpg' for an user named 'j.doe'. The import file is based on a pre-canned file, therefore the adimImageRefAttrib will be resolved during import and will replace the %%ADIMIMAGEREFATTRIB%% placeholder:

path;canonicalName;adimImageRefAttrib;thumbnailPhoto
"LDAP://<GUID=9035d8f3-5495-4e94-b635-b2eff8e58d5b>";"dom.com/users/j.doe";"sAMAccountName";"D:\img\%%ADIMIMAGEREFATTRIB%%.jpg"

This example imports two JPEG photos based on the files 'd:\img\j.doe01.jpg' and 'd:\img\j.doe02.jpg' for an user named 'j.doe'. The import file is not pre-canned:

path;jpegPhoto
"LDAP://cn=j.doe,cn=users,dc=dom,dc=com";"D:\img\j.doe01.jpg|D:\img\j.doe02.jpg"

Active Directory Image Attributes

Images can be stored in Active Directory using the following attributes:

Various applications can use these attributes to display or store pictures.

Note:
    For example Outlook 2010 uses the attribute thumbnailPhoto to display a thumbnail photo of a recipient in
    the Address Book/GAL.

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Applies To

• NNS ADim v1
  

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