Active Directory Viewer

If you are looking to navigate through the entire Active Directory database without facing any difficulty, then make sure you view the properties and attributes of objects. Adding to that you also need to view the AD schema and execute searches. Fortunately, Microsoft comes with Active Directory Explorer (AD Explorer). This AD Explorer is basically an advanced Active Directory viewer and editor using which any administrator can go across through the AD internal structure. Adding to that administrator can also view the properties, permissions and edit the attributes of AD objects without opening separate dialog boxes.

Apart from being used as an Active Directory viewer, AD Explorer is also capable of saving the snapshots of the AD database for viewing or comparing them offline. Once a saved snapshot is loaded, it is possible to navigate through it and explore it with the help of the AD Explorer. The comparison functionality of this viewer helps administrators to compare two snapshots of Active Directory database in terms of changes made in the objects, attributes and security permissions.

This particular utility is quite similar to another Active Directory viewer ADSI Edit which supports Windows Server 2003 and 2008 R2, even though ADSI Edit lacks the snapshot functionality. Furthermore, in AD Explorer, it is possible to book mark the AD objects which is often handy while viewing same objects repeatedly. Another advantage that AD explorer offers is fast navigating speed between objects that offered by the ADUC snap-in. With just a single click, all the object attributes can be viewed using AD Explorer. Moreover, the values of object attributes can be copied to the clipboard and emailed

Modification of Active Directory objects is also possible with AD Explorer, however not all objects can be modified, especially if they are once deleted. Thus, reanimating tombstone objects is not possible with AD Explorer. Also, the snapshots created with this Active Directory viewer utility cannot be used as a backup. Furthermore, the comparison report or output of two snapshots cannot be exported. If the Active Directory is the current mode, the AD explorer does not allow snapshots to be taken.