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Set-ADGroup
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NAME Set-ADGroup
SYNOPSIS
Modifies an Active Directory group.
SYNTAX
Set-ADGroup [-Identity] <ADGroup> [-Add <Hashtable>] [-AuthType {Negotiate | Basic}] [-Clear <String[]>]
[-Credential <PSCredential>] [-Description <String>] [-DisplayName <String>] [-GroupCategory {Distribution |
Security}] [-GroupScope {DomainLocal | Global | Universal}] [-HomePage <String>] [-ManagedBy <ADPrincipal>]
[-Partition <String>] [-PassThru] [-Remove <Hashtable>] [-Replace <Hashtable>] [-SamAccountName <String>] [-Server
<String>] [-Confirm] [-WhatIf] [<CommonParameters>]
Set-ADGroup [-AuthType {Negotiate | Basic}] [-Credential <PSCredential>] [-PassThru] [-Server <String>] -Instance
<ADGroup> [-Confirm] [-WhatIf] [<CommonParameters>]
DESCRIPTION
The Set-ADGroup cmdlet modifies the properties of an Active Directory group. 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 group to modify. You can identify a group by its
distinguished name (DN), GUID, security identifier (SID) or Security Accounts Manager (SAM) account name. You can
also set the Identity parameter to an object variable such as $<localGroupObject>, or you can pass a group object
through the pipeline to the Identity parameter. For example, you can use the Get-ADGroup cmdlet to retrieve a
group object and then pass the object through the pipeline to the Set-ADGroup cmdlet.
The Instance parameter provides a way to update a group 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 group object that has been modified,
the Set-ADGroup cmdlet makes the same changes to the original group object. To get a copy of the object to modify,
use the Get-ADGroup 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 Description property of a group object by using three methods:
-By specifying the Identity and the Description parameters
-By passing a group object through the pipeline and specifying the Description parameter
-By specifying the Instance parameter.
Method 1: Modify the Description property for the SecurityLevel2Access group by using the Identity and Description
parameters.
Set-ADGroup -Identity SecurityLevel2Access -Description "Used to authorize Security Level 2 access."
Method 2: Modify the Description property for the SecurityLevel2Access group by passing the SecurityLevel2Access
group through the pipeline and specifying the Description parameter.
Get-ADGroup -Identity "SecurityLevel2Access" | Set-ADGroup -Description "Used to authorize Security Level 2
access."
Method 3: Modify the <property> property for the SecurityLevel2Access group by using the Windows PowerShell
command line to modify a local instance of the SecurityLevel2Access group. Then set the Instance parameter to the
local instance.
$group = Get-ADGroup -Identity "SecurityLevel2Access"
$group.Description = "Used to authorize Security Level 2 access."
Set-ADGroup -Instance $group.
PARAMETERS
-Add <Hashtable>
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
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-AuthType <ADAuthType>
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
Required? false
Position? named
Default value Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.AuthType.Negotiate
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Clear <String[]>
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
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Credential <PSCredential>
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.
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Description <String>
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"
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-DisplayName <String>
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"
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-GroupCategory <ADGroupCategory>
Specifies the category of the group. Possible values of this parameter are:
Distribution or 0
Security or 1
This parameter sets the GroupCategory property of the group. This parameter value combined with other group
values sets the LDAP Display Name (ldapDisplayName) attribute named "groupType".
The following example shows how to specify that a group is a security group.
-GroupCategory security
Required? false
Position? named
Default value Security
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-GroupScope <ADGroupScope>
Specifies the group scope of the group. Possible values of this parameter are:
DomainLocal or 0
Global or 1
Universal or 2
This parameter sets the GroupScope property of a group object to the specified value. The LDAP display name of
this property is "groupType".
The following example shows two ways to set this parameter to DomainLocal.
-GroupScope DomainLocal
-GroupScope 0
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-HomePage <String>
Specifies the URL of the home page of the object. This parameter sets the homePage property of an Active
Directory object. The LDAP Display Name (ldapDisplayName) for this property is "wWWHomePage".
The following example shows how to set this parameter to a URL.
-HomePage "http://employees.contoso.com/sdavis"
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Identity <ADGroup>
Specifies an Active Directory group object by providing one of the following values. The identifier in
parentheses is the LDAP display name for the attribute.
Distinguished Name
Example: CN=saradavisreports,OU=europe,CN=users,DC=corp,DC=contoso,DC=com
GUID (objectGUID)
Example: 599c3d2e-f72d-4d20-8a88-030d99495f20
Security Identifier (objectSid)
Example: S-1-5-21-3165297888-301567370-576410423-1103
Security Accounts Manager (SAM) Account Name (sAMAccountName)
Example: saradavisreports
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.
This example shows how to set the parameter to a distinguished name.
-Identity "CN=saradavisreports,OU=europe,CN=users,DC=corp,DC=contoso,DC=com"
This example shows how to set this parameter to a group object instance named "ADGroupInstance".
-Identity $ADGroupInstance
Required? true
Position? 1
Default value
Accept pipeline input? True (ByValue)
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Instance <ADGroup>
Specifies a modified copy of a group object to use to update the actual Active Directory group 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 group objects that have been retrieved by using the Get-ADGroup 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-ADGroup cmdlet to retrieve an instance of the ADGroup
object. The object is modified by using the Windows PowerShell command line. Then the Set-ADGroup cmdlet saves
the changes to the Active Directory object.
Step 1: Retrieve a local instance of the object.
$groupInstance = Get-ADGroup -Identity "SaraDavisReports"
Step 2: Modify one or more properties of the object instance.
$groupInstance.GroupScope= "Global"
Step3: Save your changes to "SaraDavisReports".
Set-ADGroup -Instance $groupInstance
Required? true
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-ManagedBy <ADPrincipal>
Specifies the user or group that manages the object by providing one of the following property values. Note:
The identifier in parentheses is the LDAP display name for the property.
Distinguished Name
Example: CN=SaraDavis,OU=Europe,CN=Users,DC=corp,DC=contoso,DC=com
GUID (objectGUID)
Example: 599c3d2e-f72d-4d20-8a88-030d99495f20
Security Identifier (objectSid)
Example: S-1-5-21-3165297888-301567370-576410423-1103
SAM Account Name (sAMAccountName)
Example: saradavis
This parameter sets the Active Directory attribute with an LDAP Display Name of "managedBy".
The following example shows how to specify this parameter.
-ManagedBy ContosoAdmins
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Partition <String>
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.
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-PassThru [<SwitchParameter>]
Returns the new or modified object. By default (i.e. if -PassThru is not specified), this cmdlet does not
generate any output.
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Remove <Hashtable>
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
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Replace <Hashtable>
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
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-SamAccountName <String>
Specifies the Security Account Manager (SAM) account name of the user, group, computer, or service account.
The maximum length of the description is 256 characters. To be compatible with older operating systems, create
a SAM account name that is 20 characters or less. This parameter sets the SAMAccountName for an account
object. The LDAP display name (ldapDisplayName) for this property is "sAMAccountName".
The following example shows how to specify this parameter.
-SAMAccountName "saradavis"
Note: If the string value provided is not terminated with a '$' character, the system adds one if needed.
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Server <String>
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"
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Confirm [<SwitchParameter>]
Prompts you for confirmation before running the cmdlet.
Required? false
Position? named
Default value false
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-WhatIf [<SwitchParameter>]
Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet is not run.
Required? false
Position? named
Default value false
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
<CommonParameters>
This cmdlet supports the common parameters: Verbose, Debug,
ErrorAction, ErrorVariable, WarningAction, WarningVariable,
OutBuffer, PipelineVariable, and OutVariable. For more information, see
about_CommonParameters (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=113216).
INPUTS
None or Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.ADGroup
A group object is received by the Identity parameter.
A group object that was retrieved by using the Get-ADGroup cmdlet and then modified is received by the
Instance parameter.
OUTPUTS
None or Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.ADGroup
Returns the modified group 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.
-------------------------- EXAMPLE 1 --------------------------
C:\\PS>set-adgroup -server localhost:60000 -Identity "CN=AccessControl,DC=AppNC" -description "Access Group"
-passthru
DistinguishedName : CN=AccessControl,DC=AppNC
GroupCategory : Security
GroupScope : DomainLocal
Name : AccessControl
ObjectClass : group
ObjectGUID : d65f5e8f-36da-4390-9840-8b9fde6282fc
SID : S-1-510474493-936115905-2782881406-1264922549-3814061485-1557022459
Description
-----------
Set the description property of the group AccessControl to "Access Group" on an ADAM instance.
-------------------------- EXAMPLE 2 --------------------------
C:\\PS>get-adgroup -filter 'name -like "Access*"' | set-adgroup -description "Access Group"
Description
-----------
Modify the description on all groups that have a name that starts with access via the pipeline.
-------------------------- EXAMPLE 3 --------------------------
C:\\PS>PS adam:\\DC=AppNC> get-adgroup -filter 'name -like "Access*"' | set-adgroup -description "Access Group"
PS adam:\\DC=AppNC> $group = get-adgroup -server localhost:60000 -Identity "CN=AccessControl,DC=AppNC"
PS adam:\\DC=AppNC> $group.description = "Access Group"
PS adam:\\DC=AppNC> set-adgroup -Instance $group -passthru
DistinguishedName : CN=AccessControl,DC=AppNC
GroupCategory : Security
GroupScope : DomainLocal
Name : AccessControl
ObjectClass : group
ObjectGUID : d65f5e8f-36da-4390-9840-8b9fde6282fc
SID : S-1-510474493-936115905-2782881406-1264922549-3814061485-1557022459
Description
-----------
Set the description property on the AccessControl group via the instance parameter.
RELATED LINKS
Online Version: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?linkid=291121
Add-ADGroupMember
Add-ADPrincipalGroupMembership
Get-ADGroup
Get-ADGroupMember
Get-ADPrincipalGroupMembership
New-ADGroup
Remove-ADGroup
Remove-ADGroupMember
Remove-ADPrincipalGroupMembership
SYNOPSIS
Modifies an Active Directory group.
SYNTAX
Set-ADGroup [-Identity] <ADGroup> [-Add <Hashtable>] [-AuthType {Negotiate | Basic}] [-Clear <String[]>]
[-Credential <PSCredential>] [-Description <String>] [-DisplayName <String>] [-GroupCategory {Distribution |
Security}] [-GroupScope {DomainLocal | Global | Universal}] [-HomePage <String>] [-ManagedBy <ADPrincipal>]
[-Partition <String>] [-PassThru] [-Remove <Hashtable>] [-Replace <Hashtable>] [-SamAccountName <String>] [-Server
<String>] [-Confirm] [-WhatIf] [<CommonParameters>]
Set-ADGroup [-AuthType {Negotiate | Basic}] [-Credential <PSCredential>] [-PassThru] [-Server <String>] -Instance
<ADGroup> [-Confirm] [-WhatIf] [<CommonParameters>]
DESCRIPTION
The Set-ADGroup cmdlet modifies the properties of an Active Directory group. 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 group to modify. You can identify a group by its
distinguished name (DN), GUID, security identifier (SID) or Security Accounts Manager (SAM) account name. You can
also set the Identity parameter to an object variable such as $<localGroupObject>, or you can pass a group object
through the pipeline to the Identity parameter. For example, you can use the Get-ADGroup cmdlet to retrieve a
group object and then pass the object through the pipeline to the Set-ADGroup cmdlet.
The Instance parameter provides a way to update a group 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 group object that has been modified,
the Set-ADGroup cmdlet makes the same changes to the original group object. To get a copy of the object to modify,
use the Get-ADGroup 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 Description property of a group object by using three methods:
-By specifying the Identity and the Description parameters
-By passing a group object through the pipeline and specifying the Description parameter
-By specifying the Instance parameter.
Method 1: Modify the Description property for the SecurityLevel2Access group by using the Identity and Description
parameters.
Set-ADGroup -Identity SecurityLevel2Access -Description "Used to authorize Security Level 2 access."
Method 2: Modify the Description property for the SecurityLevel2Access group by passing the SecurityLevel2Access
group through the pipeline and specifying the Description parameter.
Get-ADGroup -Identity "SecurityLevel2Access" | Set-ADGroup -Description "Used to authorize Security Level 2
access."
Method 3: Modify the <property> property for the SecurityLevel2Access group by using the Windows PowerShell
command line to modify a local instance of the SecurityLevel2Access group. Then set the Instance parameter to the
local instance.
$group = Get-ADGroup -Identity "SecurityLevel2Access"
$group.Description = "Used to authorize Security Level 2 access."
Set-ADGroup -Instance $group.
PARAMETERS
-Add <Hashtable>
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
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-AuthType <ADAuthType>
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
Required? false
Position? named
Default value Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.AuthType.Negotiate
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Clear <String[]>
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
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Credential <PSCredential>
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.
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Description <String>
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"
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-DisplayName <String>
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"
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-GroupCategory <ADGroupCategory>
Specifies the category of the group. Possible values of this parameter are:
Distribution or 0
Security or 1
This parameter sets the GroupCategory property of the group. This parameter value combined with other group
values sets the LDAP Display Name (ldapDisplayName) attribute named "groupType".
The following example shows how to specify that a group is a security group.
-GroupCategory security
Required? false
Position? named
Default value Security
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-GroupScope <ADGroupScope>
Specifies the group scope of the group. Possible values of this parameter are:
DomainLocal or 0
Global or 1
Universal or 2
This parameter sets the GroupScope property of a group object to the specified value. The LDAP display name of
this property is "groupType".
The following example shows two ways to set this parameter to DomainLocal.
-GroupScope DomainLocal
-GroupScope 0
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-HomePage <String>
Specifies the URL of the home page of the object. This parameter sets the homePage property of an Active
Directory object. The LDAP Display Name (ldapDisplayName) for this property is "wWWHomePage".
The following example shows how to set this parameter to a URL.
-HomePage "http://employees.contoso.com/sdavis"
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Identity <ADGroup>
Specifies an Active Directory group object by providing one of the following values. The identifier in
parentheses is the LDAP display name for the attribute.
Distinguished Name
Example: CN=saradavisreports,OU=europe,CN=users,DC=corp,DC=contoso,DC=com
GUID (objectGUID)
Example: 599c3d2e-f72d-4d20-8a88-030d99495f20
Security Identifier (objectSid)
Example: S-1-5-21-3165297888-301567370-576410423-1103
Security Accounts Manager (SAM) Account Name (sAMAccountName)
Example: saradavisreports
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.
This example shows how to set the parameter to a distinguished name.
-Identity "CN=saradavisreports,OU=europe,CN=users,DC=corp,DC=contoso,DC=com"
This example shows how to set this parameter to a group object instance named "ADGroupInstance".
-Identity $ADGroupInstance
Required? true
Position? 1
Default value
Accept pipeline input? True (ByValue)
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Instance <ADGroup>
Specifies a modified copy of a group object to use to update the actual Active Directory group 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 group objects that have been retrieved by using the Get-ADGroup 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-ADGroup cmdlet to retrieve an instance of the ADGroup
object. The object is modified by using the Windows PowerShell command line. Then the Set-ADGroup cmdlet saves
the changes to the Active Directory object.
Step 1: Retrieve a local instance of the object.
$groupInstance = Get-ADGroup -Identity "SaraDavisReports"
Step 2: Modify one or more properties of the object instance.
$groupInstance.GroupScope= "Global"
Step3: Save your changes to "SaraDavisReports".
Set-ADGroup -Instance $groupInstance
Required? true
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-ManagedBy <ADPrincipal>
Specifies the user or group that manages the object by providing one of the following property values. Note:
The identifier in parentheses is the LDAP display name for the property.
Distinguished Name
Example: CN=SaraDavis,OU=Europe,CN=Users,DC=corp,DC=contoso,DC=com
GUID (objectGUID)
Example: 599c3d2e-f72d-4d20-8a88-030d99495f20
Security Identifier (objectSid)
Example: S-1-5-21-3165297888-301567370-576410423-1103
SAM Account Name (sAMAccountName)
Example: saradavis
This parameter sets the Active Directory attribute with an LDAP Display Name of "managedBy".
The following example shows how to specify this parameter.
-ManagedBy ContosoAdmins
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Partition <String>
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.
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-PassThru [<SwitchParameter>]
Returns the new or modified object. By default (i.e. if -PassThru is not specified), this cmdlet does not
generate any output.
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Remove <Hashtable>
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
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Replace <Hashtable>
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
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-SamAccountName <String>
Specifies the Security Account Manager (SAM) account name of the user, group, computer, or service account.
The maximum length of the description is 256 characters. To be compatible with older operating systems, create
a SAM account name that is 20 characters or less. This parameter sets the SAMAccountName for an account
object. The LDAP display name (ldapDisplayName) for this property is "sAMAccountName".
The following example shows how to specify this parameter.
-SAMAccountName "saradavis"
Note: If the string value provided is not terminated with a '$' character, the system adds one if needed.
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Server <String>
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"
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Confirm [<SwitchParameter>]
Prompts you for confirmation before running the cmdlet.
Required? false
Position? named
Default value false
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-WhatIf [<SwitchParameter>]
Shows what would happen if the cmdlet runs. The cmdlet is not run.
Required? false
Position? named
Default value false
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
<CommonParameters>
This cmdlet supports the common parameters: Verbose, Debug,
ErrorAction, ErrorVariable, WarningAction, WarningVariable,
OutBuffer, PipelineVariable, and OutVariable. For more information, see
about_CommonParameters (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=113216).
INPUTS
None or Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.ADGroup
A group object is received by the Identity parameter.
A group object that was retrieved by using the Get-ADGroup cmdlet and then modified is received by the
Instance parameter.
OUTPUTS
None or Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.ADGroup
Returns the modified group 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.
-------------------------- EXAMPLE 1 --------------------------
C:\\PS>set-adgroup -server localhost:60000 -Identity "CN=AccessControl,DC=AppNC" -description "Access Group"
-passthru
DistinguishedName : CN=AccessControl,DC=AppNC
GroupCategory : Security
GroupScope : DomainLocal
Name : AccessControl
ObjectClass : group
ObjectGUID : d65f5e8f-36da-4390-9840-8b9fde6282fc
SID : S-1-510474493-936115905-2782881406-1264922549-3814061485-1557022459
Description
-----------
Set the description property of the group AccessControl to "Access Group" on an ADAM instance.
-------------------------- EXAMPLE 2 --------------------------
C:\\PS>get-adgroup -filter 'name -like "Access*"' | set-adgroup -description "Access Group"
Description
-----------
Modify the description on all groups that have a name that starts with access via the pipeline.
-------------------------- EXAMPLE 3 --------------------------
C:\\PS>PS adam:\\DC=AppNC> get-adgroup -filter 'name -like "Access*"' | set-adgroup -description "Access Group"
PS adam:\\DC=AppNC> $group = get-adgroup -server localhost:60000 -Identity "CN=AccessControl,DC=AppNC"
PS adam:\\DC=AppNC> $group.description = "Access Group"
PS adam:\\DC=AppNC> set-adgroup -Instance $group -passthru
DistinguishedName : CN=AccessControl,DC=AppNC
GroupCategory : Security
GroupScope : DomainLocal
Name : AccessControl
ObjectClass : group
ObjectGUID : d65f5e8f-36da-4390-9840-8b9fde6282fc
SID : S-1-510474493-936115905-2782881406-1264922549-3814061485-1557022459
Description
-----------
Set the description property on the AccessControl group via the instance parameter.
RELATED LINKS
Online Version: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?linkid=291121
Add-ADGroupMember
Add-ADPrincipalGroupMembership
Get-ADGroup
Get-ADGroupMember
Get-ADPrincipalGroupMembership
New-ADGroup
Remove-ADGroup
Remove-ADGroupMember
Remove-ADPrincipalGroupMembership