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Set-ADObject

Set-ADObject

Modifies an Active Directory object.

Syntax

Set-ADObject [-Identity] <ADObject> [-Add <hashtable>] [-Clear <string[]>] [-Description <string>] [-DisplayName <string>] [-ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion <System.Nullable[bool]>] [-Remove <hashtable>] [-Replace <hashtable>] [-AuthType {<Negotiate> | <Basic>}] [-Credential <PSCredential>] [-Partition <string>] [-PassThru <switch>] [-Server <string>] [-Confirm] [-WhatIf] [<CommonParameters>]
  • Identity

  • Add

  • Clear

  • Description

  • DisplayName

  • ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion

  • Remove

  • Replace

  • AuthType

  • Credential

  • Partition

  • PassThru

  • Server

  • Confirm

  • WhatIf

    Set-ADObject -Instance [-AuthType { | }] [-Credential ] [-Partition ] [-PassThru ] [-Server ] [-Confirm] [-WhatIf] []

  • Instance

  • AuthType

  • Credential

  • Partition

  • PassThru

  • Server

  • Confirm

  • WhatIf

Detailed Description

The Set-ADObject cmdlet modifies the properties of an Active Directory object. You can modify commonly used property values by using the cmdlet parameters. Property values that are not associated with cmdlet parameters can be modified by using the Add, Replace, Clear and Remove parameters.

The Identity parameter specifies the Active Directory object to modify. You can identify an object by its distinguished name (DN) or GUID. You can also set the Identity parameter to an object variable such as $<localObject>, or you can pass an object through the pipeline to the Identity parameter. For example, you can use the Get-ADObject cmdlet to retrieve an object and then pass the object through the pipeline to the Set-ADObject cmdlet.

The Instance parameter provides a way to update an object by applying the changes made to a copy of the object. When you set the Instance parameter to a copy of an Active Directory object that has been modified, the Set-ADObject cmdlet makes the same changes to the original object. To get a copy of the object to modify, use the Get-ADObject object. The Identity parameter is not allowed when you use the Instance parameter. For more information about the Instance parameter, see the Instance parameter description. For more information about how the Instance concept is used in Active Directory cmdlets, see about_ActiveDirectory_Instance.

The following examples show how to modify the DisplayName property of an object by using three methods:
-By specifying the Identity and the DisplayName parameters
-By passing an object through the pipeline and specifying the DisplayName parameter
-By specifying the Instance parameter.

Method 1: Modify the DisplayName property for the SecurityLevel2AccessGroup object by using the Identity and DisplayName parameters.

Set-ADObject -Identity "SecurityLevel2AccessGroup" -DisplayName "Security Level 2"

Method 2: Modify the DisplayName property for the SecurityLevel2AccessGroup object by passing the SecurityLevel2AccessGroup object through the pipeline and specifying the DisplayName parameter.

Get-ADObject -Identity "SecurityLevel2AccessGroup" | Set-ADObject -DisplayName "Security Level 2"

Method 3: Modify the DisplayName property for the SecurityLevel2AccessGroup object by using the Windows PowerShell command line to modify a local instance of the SecurityLevel2AccessGroup object. Then set the Instance parameter to the local instance.

$adobject = Get-ADObject -Identity "SecurityLevel2AccessGroup"
$adobject.DisplayName = "Security Level 2"
Set-ADObject -Instance $adobject.

For AD LDS environments, the Partition parameter must be specified except in the following two conditions:
-The cmdlet is run from an Active Directory provider drive.
-A default naming context or partition is defined for the AD LDS environment. To specify a default naming context for an AD LDS environment, set the msDS-defaultNamingContext property of the Active Directory directory service agent (DSA) object (nTDSDSA) for the AD LDS instance.

Parameters

Add

Specifies values to add to an object property. Use this parameter to add one or more values to a property that cannot be modified using a cmdlet parameter. To modify an object property, you must use the LDAP display name. You can specify multiple values to a property by specifying a comma-separated list of values and more than one property by separating them using a semicolon.. The format for this parameter is
-Add @{Attribute1LDAPDisplayName=value1, value2, ...; Attribute2LDAPDisplayName=value1, value2, ...; AttributeNLDAPDisplayName=value1, value2, ...}

For example, if you want to remove the value "555-222-2222" and add the values "555-222-1111" and "555-222-3333" to Phone-Office-Other attribute (LDAP display name 'otherTelephone'), and add the value "555-222-9999" to Phone-Mobile-Other (LDAP display name 'otherMobile'), set the Add and Remove parameters as follows.

-Add @{otherTelephone='555-222-1111', '555-222-3333'; otherMobile='555-222-9999' } -Remove @{otherTelephone='555-222-2222'}

When you use the Add, Remove, Replace and Clear parameters together, the operations will be performed in the following order:
..Remove
..Add
..Replace

Default Value:**

**Data Type:**hashtable

Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? false required
Variable Length? false variableLength
Accept wildcard characters? false globbing
Accept Pipeline Input? false pipelineInput
Position? named position

Value Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? true required
Variable Length? false variableLength

AuthType

Specifies the authentication method to use. Possible values for this parameter include:
Negotiate or 0
Basic or 1

The default authentication method is Negotiate.

A Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) connection is required for the Basic authentication method.

The following example shows how to set this parameter to Basic.
-AuthType Basic

The following lists the acceptable values for this parameter:

  • Negotiate*

  • Basic*

**Default Value:**Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.AuthType.Negotiate

**Data Type:**ADAuthType

Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? false required
Variable Length? false variableLength
Accept wildcard characters? false globbing
Accept Pipeline Input? false pipelineInput
Position? named position

Value Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? true required
Variable Length? false variableLength

Clear

Specifies an array of object properties that will be cleared in the directory. Use this parameter to clear one or more values of a property that cannot be modified using a cmdlet parameter. To modify an object property, you must use the LDAP display name. You can modify more than one property by specifying a comma-separated list. The format for this parameter is
-Clear Attribute1LDAPDisplayName, Attribute2LDAPDisplayName

For example, if you want to clear the value for the Phone-Office-Other attribute (LDAP display name 'otherTelephone') set the Clear parameter as follows.

-Clear otherTelephone

When you use the Add, Remove, Replace and Clear parameters together, the operations will be performed in the following order:
..Remove
..Add
..Replace
..Clear

Default Value:**

**Data Type:**string[]

Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? false required
Variable Length? true variableLength
Accept wildcard characters? false globbing
Accept Pipeline Input? false pipelineInput
Position? named position

Value Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? true required
Variable Length? true variableLength

Credential

Specifies the user account credentials to use to perform this task. The default credentials are the credentials of the currently logged on user unless the cmdlet is run from an Active Directory PowerShell provider drive. If the cmdlet is run from such a provider drive, the account associated with the drive is the default.

To specify this parameter, you can type a user name, such as "User1" or "Domain01\User01" or you can specify a PSCredential object. If you specify a user name for this parameter, the cmdlet prompts for a password.

You can also create a PSCredential object by using a script or by using the Get-Credential cmdlet. You can then set the Credential parameter to the PSCredential object The following example shows how to create credentials.
$AdminCredentials = Get-Credential "Domain01\User01"

The following shows how to set the Credential parameter to these credentials.
-Credential $AdminCredentials

If the acting credentials do not have directory-level permission to perform the task, Active Directory PowerShell returns a terminating error.

Default Value:**

**Data Type:**PSCredential

Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? false required
Variable Length? false variableLength
Accept wildcard characters? false globbing
Accept Pipeline Input? false pipelineInput
Position? named position

Value Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? true required
Variable Length? false variableLength

Description

Specifies a description of the object. This parameter sets the value of the Description property for the object. The LDAP Display Name (ldapDisplayName) for this property is "description".

The following example shows how to set this parameter to a sample description.
-Description "Description of the object"

Default Value:**

**Data Type:**string

Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? false required
Variable Length? false variableLength
Accept wildcard characters? false globbing
Accept Pipeline Input? false pipelineInput
Position? named position

Value Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? true required
Variable Length? false variableLength

DisplayName

Specifies the display name of the object. This parameter sets the DisplayName property of the object. The LDAP Display Name (ldapDisplayName) for this property is "displayName".

The following example shows how to set this parameter.
-DisplayName "Sara Davis Laptop"

Default Value:**

**Data Type:**string

Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? false required
Variable Length? false variableLength
Accept wildcard characters? false globbing
Accept Pipeline Input? false pipelineInput
Position? named position

Value Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? true required
Variable Length? false variableLength

Identity

Specifies an Active Directory object by providing one of the following property values. The identifier in parentheses is the LDAP display name for the attribute.

Distinguished Name
Example: CN=saradavis,OU=users,OU=asia,DC=corp,DC=contoso,DC=com
GUID (objectGUID)
Example: 599c3d2e-f72d-4d20-8a88-030d99495f20

The cmdlet searches the default naming context or partition to find the object. If two or more objects are found, the cmdlet returns a non-terminating error.

This parameter can also get this object through the pipeline or you can set this parameter to an object instance.

Derived types, such as the following are also accepted:
Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.ADGroup
Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.ADUser
Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.ADComputer
Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.ADServiceAccount
Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.ADFineGrainedPasswordPolicy
Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.ADDomain

This example shows how to set this parameter to an ADObject object instance named "ADObjectInstance".
-Identity $ADObjectInstance

Default Value:**

**Data Type:**ADObject

Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? true required
Variable Length? false variableLength
Accept wildcard characters? false globbing
Accept Pipeline Input? true (ByValue) pipelineInput
Position? 1 position

Value Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? true required
Variable Length? false variableLength

Instance

Specifies a modified copy of an Active Directory object to use to update the actual Active Directory object. When this parameter is used, any modifications made to the modified copy of the object are also made to the corresponding Active Directory object. The cmdlet only updates the object properties that have changed.

The Instance parameter can only update Active Directory objects that have been retrieved by using the Get-ADObject cmdlet. When you specify the Instance parameter, you cannot specify other parameters that set properties on the object.

The following is an example of how to use the Get-ADObject cmdlet to retrieve an instance of the object. The object is modified by using the Windows PowerShell command line. Then the Set-ADObject cmdlet saves the changes to the Active Directory object.

Step 1: Retrieve a local instance of the object.
$objectInstance = Get-ADObject -Identity "CN=someObject, DC=contoso,DC=com"
Step 2: Modify one or more properties of the object instance.
$objectInstance.Description = "New Description"
Step3: Save your changes to the object
Set-ADObject -Instance $objectInstance

Default Value:**

**Data Type:**ADObject

Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? true required
Variable Length? false variableLength
Accept wildcard characters? false globbing
Accept Pipeline Input? false pipelineInput
Position? named position

Value Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? true required
Variable Length? false variableLength

Partition

Specifies the distinguished name of an Active Directory partition. The distinguished name must be one of the naming contexts on the current directory server. The cmdlet searches this partition to find the object defined by the Identity parameter.
The following two examples show how to specify a value for this parameter.
-Partition "CN=Configuration,DC=EUROPE,DC=TEST,DC=CONTOSO,DC=COM"

-Partition "CN=Schema,CN=Configuration,DC=EUROPE,DC=TEST,DC=CONTOSO,DC=COM"

In many cases, a default value will be used for the Partition parameter if no value is specified. The rules for determining the default value are given below. Note that rules listed first are evaluated first and once a default value can be determined, no further rules will be evaluated.

In AD DS environments, a default value for Partition will be set in the following cases: - If the Identity parameter is set to a distinguished name, the default value of Partition is automatically generated from this distinguished name.
- If running cmdlets from an Active Directory provider drive, the default value of Partition is automatically generated from the current path in the drive.
- If none of the previous cases apply, the default value of Partition will be set to the default partition or naming context of the target domain.

In AD LDS environments, a default value for Partition will be set in the following cases:
- If the Identity parameter is set to a distinguished name, the default value of Partition is automatically generated from this distinguished name.
- If running cmdlets from an Active Directory provider drive, the default value of Partition is automatically generated from the current path in the drive.
- If the target AD LDS instance has a default naming context, the default value of Partition will be set to the default naming context. To specify a default naming context for an AD LDS environment, set the msDS-defaultNamingContext property of the Active Directory directory service agent (DSA) object (nTDSDSA) for the AD LDS instance.
- If none of the previous cases apply, the Partition parameter will not take any default value.

Default Value:**

**Data Type:**string

Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? false required
Variable Length? false variableLength
Accept wildcard characters? false globbing
Accept Pipeline Input? false pipelineInput
Position? named position

Value Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? true required
Variable Length? false variableLength

PassThru

Returns the new or modified object. By default (i.e. if -PassThru is not specified), this cmdlet does not generate any output.

Default Value:**

**Data Type:**switch

Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? false required
Variable Length? false variableLength
Accept wildcard characters? false globbing
Accept Pipeline Input? false pipelineInput
Position? named position

Value Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? true required
Variable Length? false variableLength

ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion

Specifies whether to prevent the object from being deleted. When this property is set to true, you cannot delete the corresponding object without changing the value of the property. Possible values for this parameter include:
$false or 0
$true or 1

The following example shows how to set this parameter to true.
-ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion $true

Default Value:**

**Data Type:**System.Nullable[bool]

Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? false required
Variable Length? false variableLength
Accept wildcard characters? false globbing
Accept Pipeline Input? false pipelineInput
Position? named position

Value Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? true required
Variable Length? false variableLength

Remove

Specifies that the cmdlet remove values of an object property. Use this parameter to remove one or more values of a property that cannot be modified using a cmdlet parameter. To remove an object property, you must use the LDAP display name. You can remove more than one property by specifying a semicolon-separated list. The format for this parameter is
-Remove @{Attribute1LDAPDisplayName=value[]; Attribute2LDAPDisplayName=value[]}

For example, if you want to add the values blue and green and remove the value pink from a property with a LDAP display name of FavColors, set the Add and Remove parameters as follows.
-Add @{FavColors=Blue,Green} -Remove @{FavColors=Pink}

When you use the Add, Remove, Replace and Clear parameters together, the parameters will be applied in the following sequence:
..Remove
..Add
..Replace
..Clear

Default Value:**

**Data Type:**hashtable

Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? false required
Variable Length? false variableLength
Accept wildcard characters? false globbing
Accept Pipeline Input? false pipelineInput
Position? named position

Value Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? true required
Variable Length? false variableLength

Replace

Specifies values for an object property that will replace the current values. Use this parameter to replace one or more values of a property that cannot be modified using a cmdlet parameter. To modify an object property, you must use the LDAP display name. You can modify more than one property by specifying a comma-separated list. The format for this parameter is
-Replace @{Attribute1LDAPDisplayName=value[], Attribute2LDAPDisplayName=value[]}

For example, if you want to replace the value "555-222-2222" with the values "555-222-1111" for Phone-Office-Other attribute (LDAP display name 'otherTelephone') set the Replace parameter as follows.

-Replace @{otherTelephone='555-222-2222', '555-222-1111'}

When you use the Add, Remove, Replace and Clear parameters together, the operations will be performed in the following order:
..Remove
..Add
..Replace
..Clear

Default Value:**

**Data Type:**hashtable

Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? false required
Variable Length? false variableLength
Accept wildcard characters? false globbing
Accept Pipeline Input? false pipelineInput
Position? named position

Value Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? true required
Variable Length? false variableLength

Server

Specifies the Active Directory Domain Services instance to connect to, by providing one of the following values for a corresponding domain name or directory server. The service may be any of the following: Active Directory Lightweight Domain Services, Active Directory Domain Services or Active Directory Snapshot instance.
Domain name values:
Fully qualified domain name
Examples: corp.contoso.com
NetBIOS name
Example: CORP

Directory server values:
Fully qualified directory server name
Example: corp-DC12.corp.contoso.com
NetBIOS name
Example: corp-DC12
Fully qualified directory server name and port
Example: corp-DC12.corp.contoso.com:3268

The default value for the Server parameter is determined by one of the following methods in the order that they are listed:
-By using Server value from objects passed through the pipeline.
-By using the server information associated with the Active Directory PowerShell provider drive, when running under that drive.
-By using the domain of the computer running Powershell.

The following example shows how to specify a full qualified domain name as the parameter value.
-Server "corp.contoso.com"

Default Value:**

**Data Type:**string

Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? false required
Variable Length? false variableLength
Accept wildcard characters? false globbing
Accept Pipeline Input? false pipelineInput
Position? named position

Value Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? true required
Variable Length? false variableLength

Confirm

Prompts you for confirmation before executing the command.

Default Value:**

**Data Type:**SwitchParameter

Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? false required
Variable Length? true variableLength
Accept wildcard characters? false globbing
Accept Pipeline Input? false pipelineInput
Position? named position

Value Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? false required
Variable Length? false variableLength

WhatIf

Describes what would happen if you executed the command without actually executing the command.

Default Value:**

**Data Type:**SwitchParameter

Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? false required
Variable Length? true variableLength
Accept wildcard characters? false globbing
Accept Pipeline Input? false pipelineInput
Position? named position

Value Attributes

Name Value PSMAML Attribute
Required? false required
Variable Length? false variableLength

Input Type

None or Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.ADObject

An Active Directory object is received by the Identity parameter. Derived types, such as the following are also accepted:
Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.ADGroup
Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.ADUser
Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.ADComputer
Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.ADServiceAccount
Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.ADOrganizationalUnit
Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.ADFineGrainedPasswordPolicy
Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.ADDomain

An object that was retrieved by using the Get-ADObject cmdlet and then modified is received by the Instance parameter.

Return Type

None or Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.ADObject

Returns the modified object when the PassThru parameter is specified. By default, this cmdlet does not generate any output.

Notes

  • This cmdlet does not work with an Active Directory Snapshot.
    This cmdlet does not work with a read-only domain controller.

Examples

-------------------------- EXAMPLE 1 --------------------------

Command Prompt: C:\PS>

Set-ADObject 'CN=AntonioAl Direct Reports,OU=Finance,OU=UserAccounts,DC=FABRIKAM,DC=COM' -Description 'Distribution List of Antonio Alwan Direct Reports'                          

Set the Description property on the object with DistinguishedName 'CN=AntonioAl Direct Reports,OU=Finance,OU=UserAccounts,DC=FABRIKAM,DC=COM'.

-------------------------- EXAMPLE 2 --------------------------

Command Prompt: C:\PS>

Set-ADObject 'CN=DEFAULTIPSITELINK,CN=IP,CN=Inter-Site Transports,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=FABRIKAM,DC=COM' -Add @{siteList='CN=BO3,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=FABRIKAM,DC=COM'} -Partition 'CN=Configuration,DC=FABRIKAM,DC=COM'                          

Add the site 'CN=BO3,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=FABRIKAM,DC=COM' to the property siteList on the object with DistinguishedName 'CN=DEFAULTIPSITELINK,CN=IP,CN=Inter-Site Transports,CN=Sites,CN=Configuration,DC=FABRIKAM,DC=COM'.

-------------------------- EXAMPLE 3 --------------------------

Command Prompt: C:\PS>

$urlValues = @()$urlValues += "www.contoso.com"$urlValues += "www.fabrikam.com"Set-ADObject "cdadd380-d3a8-4fd1-9d30-5cf72d94a056" -Add @{url=$urlValues}

Add two new urls to the property urlValues in the object with objectGuid 'cdadd380-d3a8-4fd1-9d30-5cf72d94a056'.

-------------------------- EXAMPLE 4 --------------------------

Command Prompt: C:\PS>

$urlValues = @()$urlValues += "www.contoso.com"$urlValues += "www.fabrikam.com"Set-ADObject "cdadd380-d3a8-4fd1-9d30-5cf72d94a056" -Replace @{url=$urlValues;description="Antonio Alwan"}

Replaces the old values of the multi-valued attribute 'url' with the new values and sets the value of the attribute 'description'.

-------------------------- EXAMPLE 5 --------------------------

Command Prompt: C:\PS>

Set-ADObject "cdadd380-d3a8-4fd1-9d30-5cf72d94a056" -Remove @{url="www.contoso.com"} -Replace @{description="Antonio Alwan (European Manager)"}

Removes the specified value from the attribute 'url' and sets the value of the attribute 'description'.

-------------------------- EXAMPLE 6 --------------------------

Command Prompt: C:\PS>

$myComp = Get-ADObject -identity "cdadd380-d3a8-4fd1-9d30-5cf72d94a056" -Properties "userAccountControl","description"#Now set the new account control using powershell bitwise OR operation (-bor) and set description$myComp.userAccountControl = $myComp.userAccountControl -bor 50$myComp.description = "Setting a new UAC on the object"#Save the changesSet-ADObject -Instance $myComp

Sets a new UAC bit on an object by updating the attribute 'userAccountControl' and setting the value of the attribute 'description'.

-------------------------- EXAMPLE 7 --------------------------

Command Prompt: C:\PS>

set-adobject "CN=InternalApps,DC=AppNC" -protectedFromAccidentalDeletion $true -server "FABRIKAM-SRV1:60000"

Sets container "CN=InternalApps,DC=AppNC" in an LDS instance to be protected from accidental deletion

See Also

Reference

New-ADObject
Get-ADObject
Remove-ADObject

Other Resources

Online version: