Workaround for the ADU&C search bug with advanced tabs missing

With a bit of luck you learn something every day in this business, and today a customer showed me a new workaround for a long standing problem in Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC). Like most serious admins, you probably always have the advanced view enabled, like this:

aduc-advanced-mode

If you search for a user in this mode you will expect to see the advanced tabs as well, such as the attribute tabs. You could have more extra tabs, depending on the ADUC plugins you have installed such as SFU. Instead, you get this:

aduc-found-missing-tabs

Frustrating, isn't it? You could check the Object tab, get the ADS path from that, and then browse to the user. Or...

  • Create a new Saved Query
  • Name it: Search User by Name
  • Define query, and from "common queries" select "Custom Search"
  • Select tab Advanced, and enter a query like: (objectcategory=person)(objectclass=user)(name=test*)

Run the query, open the properties of the user account that you want, and there you have it:

aduc-with-attribute-tab

A nice little workaround. Another one, not as fancy but also functional for users, groups and computers:

  • Search for the object in the usual way.
  • Open the object.
  • Find any group it is member of and open that group. Smaller groups are more useful than huge groups, obviously.
  • Close the user object, but leave the group object open.
  • In the group, find the user again, open the user... and you will also have all tabs.

And before you ask: no, this problem will not be fixed. ADUC has been deprecated, and any new functionality and bugfixes will go to the Active Directory Administrative Center. Get used to it :)