Perform a custom search

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

  • Using the Windows interface

  • Using a command line

Using the Windows interface

  1. Open Active Directory Users and Computers.

  2. In the console tree, right-click the domain node, and then click Find.

  3. In Find, click Custom Search.

  4. Click Field, point to the kind of object for which to search, and then click the attribute of that object for which you want to specify a search value.

  5. In Condition, click the condition for your search.

  6. In Value, type the attribute value for which the search will apply the condition.

  7. Click Add to add this search condition to the custom search.

  8. Repeat steps 4 through 7 until you have added all of the desired search conditions.

  9. Click Find Now.

Notes

  • Performing this task does not require you to have administrative credentials. Therefore, as a security best practice, consider performing this task as a user without administrative credentials.

  • To open Active Directory Users and Computers, click Start, click Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Active Directory Users and Computers.

  • Use the Advanced tab to enter a query using LDAP syntax. For more information about LDAP, see Related Topics.

  • To start a search, you can also click

    Find objects in Active Directory on the toolbar.

Using a command line

  1. Open Command Prompt.

  2. Type:

    **dsquery ***Parameter

Value Description

Parameter

There are several attributes that you can search by using this command. For the list of parameters, see Dsquery. For more information about LDAP searches, see Related Topics.

Notes

  • Performing this task does not require you to have administrative credentials. Therefore, as a security best practice, consider performing this task as a user without administrative credentials.

  • To open a command prompt, click Start, point to All programs, point to Accessories, and then click Command prompt.

Information about functional differences

  • Your server might function differently based on the version and edition of the operating system that is installed, your account permissions, and your menu settings. For more information, see Viewing Help on the Web.

See Also

Concepts

Directory service command-line tools
Working with MMC console files
Directory access protocol
Command-line reference A-Z