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Set-ADOrganizationalUnit
Post
NAME Set-ADOrganizationalUnit
SYNOPSIS
Modifies an Active Directory organizational unit.
SYNTAX
Set-ADOrganizationalUnit [-Identity] <ADOrganizationalUnit> [-Add <Hashtable>] [-AuthType {Negotiate | Basic}]
[-City <String>] [-Clear <String[]>] [-Country <String>] [-Credential <PSCredential>] [-Description <String>]
[-DisplayName <String>] [-ManagedBy <ADPrincipal>] [-Partition <String>] [-PassThru] [-PostalCode <String>]
[-ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion <Boolean>] [-Remove <Hashtable>] [-Replace <Hashtable>] [-Server <String>]
[-State <String>] [-StreetAddress <String>] [-Confirm] [-WhatIf] [<CommonParameters>]
Set-ADOrganizationalUnit [-AuthType {Negotiate | Basic}] [-Credential <PSCredential>] [-PassThru] [-Server
<String>] -Instance <ADOrganizationalUnit> [-Confirm] [-WhatIf] [<CommonParameters>]
DESCRIPTION
The Set-ADOrganizationalUnit cmdlet modifies the properties of an Active Directory organizational unit. 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 organizational unit to modify. You can identify an
organizational unit by its distinguished name (DN) or GUID.
You can also set the Identity parameter to an object variable such as $<localADOrganizationalUnitObject>, or you
can pass an object through the pipeline to the Identity parameter. For example, you can use the
Get-ADOrganizationalUnit cmdlet to retrieve an organizational unit object and then pass the object through the
pipeline to the Set-ADOrganizationalUnit cmdlet.
The Instance parameter provides a way to update an organizational unit 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 organizational unit
object that has been modified, the Set-ADOrganizationalUnit cmdlet makes the same changes to the original
organizational unit object. To get a copy of the object to modify, use the Get-ADOrganizationalUnit object. When
you specify the Instance parameter you should not pass the Identity 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 ManagedBy property of an organizational unit object by using three
methods:
-By specifying the Identity and the ManagedBy parameters
-By passing an organizational unit object through the pipeline and specifying the ManagedBy parameter
-By specifying the Instance parameter.
Method 1: Modify the ManagedBy property for the "AccountingDepartment" organizational unit by using the Identity
and ManagedBy parameters.
Set-ADOrganizationalUnit -Identity "AccountingDepartment" -ManagedBy "SaraDavisGroup"
Method 2: Modify the ManagedBy property for the "AccountingDepartment" organizational unit by passing the
"AccountingDepartment" organizational unit through the pipeline and specifying the ManagedBy parameter.
Get-ADOrganizationalUnit -Identity ""AccountingDepartment"" | Set-ADOrganizationalUnit -ManagedBy "SaraDavisGroup"
Method 3: Modify the ManagedBy property for the "AccountingDepartment" organizational unit by using the Windows
PowerShell command line to modify a local instance of the "AccountingDepartment" organizational unit. Then set the
Instance parameter to the local instance.
$organizational unit = Get-ADOrganizationalUnit -Identity "AccountingDepartment"
$organizational unit.ManagedBy = "SaraDavisGroup"
Set-ADOrganizationalUnit -Instance $organizational unit.
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 <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
-City <String>
Specifies the user's town or city. This parameter sets the City property of a user. The LDAP display name
(ldapDisplayName) of this property is "l".
The following example shows how set this parameter.
-City "Las Vegas"
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
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
-Country <String>
Specifies the country or region code for the user's language of choice. This parameter sets the Country
property of a user object. The LDAP Display Name (ldapDisplayName) of this property is "c". This value is not
used by Windows 2000.
The following example shows how set this parameter.
-Country "IN"
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
-Identity <ADOrganizationalUnit>
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
Required? true
Position? 1
Default value
Accept pipeline input? True (ByValue)
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Instance <ADOrganizationalUnit>
Specifies a modified copy of an organizational unit object to use to update the actual Active Directory
organizational unit 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 organizational unit objects that have been retrieved by using the
Get-ADOrganizationalUnit 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-ADOrganizationalUnit cmdlet to retrieve an instance of the
ADOrganizationalUnit object. The object is modified by using the Windows PowerShell command line. Then the
Set-ADOrganizationalUnit cmdlet saves the changes to the Active Directory object.
Step 1: Retrieve a local instance of the object.
$organizationalUnitInstance = Get-ADOrganizationalUnit -Identity "OU=Accounting,DC=corp,DC=contoso,DC=com"
Step 2: Modify one or more properties of the object instance.
$organizationalUnitInstance.ManagedBy = "CN=SaraDavisGroup,CN=Europe,CN=Users,DC=corp,DC=contoso,DC=com"
Step3: Save your changes to Accounting.
Set-ADOrganizationalUnit -Instance $organizationalUnitInstance
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
-PostalCode <String>
Specifies the user's postal code or zip code. This parameter sets the PostalCode property of a user. The LDAP
Display Name (ldapDisplayName) of this property is "postalCode".
The following example shows how to set this parameter.
-PostalCode "28712"
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion <Boolean>
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
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
-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
-State <String>
Specifies the user's or Organizational Unit's state or province. This parameter sets the State property of a
User or Organizational Unit object. The LDAP display name (ldapDisplayName) of this property is "st".
The following example shows how set this parameter.
-State "Nevada"
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-StreetAddress <String>
Specifies the organizational unit's street address. This parameter sets the StreetAddress property of a
organizational unit object. The LDAP display name (ldapDisplayName) of this property is "street".
The following example shows how to set this parameter.
-StreetAddress "1200 Main Street"
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.ADOrganizationalUnit
An organizational unit object is received by the Identity parameter.
An organizational unit object that was retrieved by using the Get-ADOrganizationalUnit cmdlet and then
modified is received by the Instance parameter.
OUTPUTS
None or Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.ADOrganizationalUnit
Returns the modified organizational unit 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-ADOrganizationalUnit -Identity "OU=UserAccounts,DC=FABRIKAM,DC=COM" -Description "This Organizational
Unit holds all of the users accounts of FABRIKAM.COM"
Description
-----------
Sets the description of the OrganizationalUnit with distinguishedName OU=UserAccounts,DC=FABRIKAM,DC=COM.
-------------------------- EXAMPLE 2 --------------------------
C:\\PS>Set-ADOrganizationalUnit -Identity "OU=UserAccounts,DC=FABRIKAM,DC=COM" -ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion
$false
Description
-----------
Sets the ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion property to $false on the OrganizationalUnit with distinguishedName
OU=UserAccounts,DC=FABRIKAM,DC=COM.
-------------------------- EXAMPLE 3 --------------------------
C:\\PS>Set-ADOrganizationalUnit -Identity "OU=AsiaPacific,OU=Sales,OU=UserAccounts,DC=FABRIKAM,DC=COM" -Country
"AU" -StreetAddress "45 Martens Place" -City Balmoral -State QLD -PostalCode 4171 -Replace @{co="Australia"}
Description
-----------
Sets the Country, City and State, PostalCode and co properties on the OrganizationalUnit
'OU=AsiaPacific,OU=Sales,OU=UserAccounts,DC=FABRIKAM,DC=COM'.
-------------------------- EXAMPLE 4 --------------------------
C:\\PS>$EuropeSalesOU = Get-ADOrganizationalUnit "OU=Europe,OU=Sales,OU=UserAccounts,DC=FABRIKAM,DC=COM"
$EuropeSalesOU.Country = "UK"
$EuropeSalesOU.StreetAddress = "22 Station Rd"
$EuropeSalesOU.City = "QUARRINGTON"
$EuropeSalesOU.PostalCode = "NG34 0NI"
$EuropeSalesOU.co ="United Kingdom"
Set-ADOrganizationalUnit -Instance $EuropeSalesOU
Description
-----------
Creates a new OrganizationalUnit using the OrganizationalUnit
'OU=Europe,OU=Sales,OU=UserAccounts,DC=FABRIKAM,DC=COM' as a template.
-------------------------- EXAMPLE 5 --------------------------
C:\\PS>Set-ADOrganizationalUnit -Identity "OU=Managed,DC=AppNC" -Server "FABRIKAM-SRV1:60000" -Country "UK"
Description
-----------
Set the Country property of the OrganizationalUnit 'OU=Managed,DC=AppNC' in an AD LDS instance.
RELATED LINKS
Online Version: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?linkid=291123
Get-ADOrganizationalUnit
New-ADOrganizationalUnit
Remove-ADOrganizationalUnit
SYNOPSIS
Modifies an Active Directory organizational unit.
SYNTAX
Set-ADOrganizationalUnit [-Identity] <ADOrganizationalUnit> [-Add <Hashtable>] [-AuthType {Negotiate | Basic}]
[-City <String>] [-Clear <String[]>] [-Country <String>] [-Credential <PSCredential>] [-Description <String>]
[-DisplayName <String>] [-ManagedBy <ADPrincipal>] [-Partition <String>] [-PassThru] [-PostalCode <String>]
[-ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion <Boolean>] [-Remove <Hashtable>] [-Replace <Hashtable>] [-Server <String>]
[-State <String>] [-StreetAddress <String>] [-Confirm] [-WhatIf] [<CommonParameters>]
Set-ADOrganizationalUnit [-AuthType {Negotiate | Basic}] [-Credential <PSCredential>] [-PassThru] [-Server
<String>] -Instance <ADOrganizationalUnit> [-Confirm] [-WhatIf] [<CommonParameters>]
DESCRIPTION
The Set-ADOrganizationalUnit cmdlet modifies the properties of an Active Directory organizational unit. 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 organizational unit to modify. You can identify an
organizational unit by its distinguished name (DN) or GUID.
You can also set the Identity parameter to an object variable such as $<localADOrganizationalUnitObject>, or you
can pass an object through the pipeline to the Identity parameter. For example, you can use the
Get-ADOrganizationalUnit cmdlet to retrieve an organizational unit object and then pass the object through the
pipeline to the Set-ADOrganizationalUnit cmdlet.
The Instance parameter provides a way to update an organizational unit 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 organizational unit
object that has been modified, the Set-ADOrganizationalUnit cmdlet makes the same changes to the original
organizational unit object. To get a copy of the object to modify, use the Get-ADOrganizationalUnit object. When
you specify the Instance parameter you should not pass the Identity 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 ManagedBy property of an organizational unit object by using three
methods:
-By specifying the Identity and the ManagedBy parameters
-By passing an organizational unit object through the pipeline and specifying the ManagedBy parameter
-By specifying the Instance parameter.
Method 1: Modify the ManagedBy property for the "AccountingDepartment" organizational unit by using the Identity
and ManagedBy parameters.
Set-ADOrganizationalUnit -Identity "AccountingDepartment" -ManagedBy "SaraDavisGroup"
Method 2: Modify the ManagedBy property for the "AccountingDepartment" organizational unit by passing the
"AccountingDepartment" organizational unit through the pipeline and specifying the ManagedBy parameter.
Get-ADOrganizationalUnit -Identity ""AccountingDepartment"" | Set-ADOrganizationalUnit -ManagedBy "SaraDavisGroup"
Method 3: Modify the ManagedBy property for the "AccountingDepartment" organizational unit by using the Windows
PowerShell command line to modify a local instance of the "AccountingDepartment" organizational unit. Then set the
Instance parameter to the local instance.
$organizational unit = Get-ADOrganizationalUnit -Identity "AccountingDepartment"
$organizational unit.ManagedBy = "SaraDavisGroup"
Set-ADOrganizationalUnit -Instance $organizational unit.
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 <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
-City <String>
Specifies the user's town or city. This parameter sets the City property of a user. The LDAP display name
(ldapDisplayName) of this property is "l".
The following example shows how set this parameter.
-City "Las Vegas"
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
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
-Country <String>
Specifies the country or region code for the user's language of choice. This parameter sets the Country
property of a user object. The LDAP Display Name (ldapDisplayName) of this property is "c". This value is not
used by Windows 2000.
The following example shows how set this parameter.
-Country "IN"
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
-Identity <ADOrganizationalUnit>
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
Required? true
Position? 1
Default value
Accept pipeline input? True (ByValue)
Accept wildcard characters? false
-Instance <ADOrganizationalUnit>
Specifies a modified copy of an organizational unit object to use to update the actual Active Directory
organizational unit 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 organizational unit objects that have been retrieved by using the
Get-ADOrganizationalUnit 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-ADOrganizationalUnit cmdlet to retrieve an instance of the
ADOrganizationalUnit object. The object is modified by using the Windows PowerShell command line. Then the
Set-ADOrganizationalUnit cmdlet saves the changes to the Active Directory object.
Step 1: Retrieve a local instance of the object.
$organizationalUnitInstance = Get-ADOrganizationalUnit -Identity "OU=Accounting,DC=corp,DC=contoso,DC=com"
Step 2: Modify one or more properties of the object instance.
$organizationalUnitInstance.ManagedBy = "CN=SaraDavisGroup,CN=Europe,CN=Users,DC=corp,DC=contoso,DC=com"
Step3: Save your changes to Accounting.
Set-ADOrganizationalUnit -Instance $organizationalUnitInstance
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
-PostalCode <String>
Specifies the user's postal code or zip code. This parameter sets the PostalCode property of a user. The LDAP
Display Name (ldapDisplayName) of this property is "postalCode".
The following example shows how to set this parameter.
-PostalCode "28712"
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion <Boolean>
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
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
-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
-State <String>
Specifies the user's or Organizational Unit's state or province. This parameter sets the State property of a
User or Organizational Unit object. The LDAP display name (ldapDisplayName) of this property is "st".
The following example shows how set this parameter.
-State "Nevada"
Required? false
Position? named
Default value
Accept pipeline input? false
Accept wildcard characters? false
-StreetAddress <String>
Specifies the organizational unit's street address. This parameter sets the StreetAddress property of a
organizational unit object. The LDAP display name (ldapDisplayName) of this property is "street".
The following example shows how to set this parameter.
-StreetAddress "1200 Main Street"
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.ADOrganizationalUnit
An organizational unit object is received by the Identity parameter.
An organizational unit object that was retrieved by using the Get-ADOrganizationalUnit cmdlet and then
modified is received by the Instance parameter.
OUTPUTS
None or Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.ADOrganizationalUnit
Returns the modified organizational unit 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-ADOrganizationalUnit -Identity "OU=UserAccounts,DC=FABRIKAM,DC=COM" -Description "This Organizational
Unit holds all of the users accounts of FABRIKAM.COM"
Description
-----------
Sets the description of the OrganizationalUnit with distinguishedName OU=UserAccounts,DC=FABRIKAM,DC=COM.
-------------------------- EXAMPLE 2 --------------------------
C:\\PS>Set-ADOrganizationalUnit -Identity "OU=UserAccounts,DC=FABRIKAM,DC=COM" -ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion
$false
Description
-----------
Sets the ProtectedFromAccidentalDeletion property to $false on the OrganizationalUnit with distinguishedName
OU=UserAccounts,DC=FABRIKAM,DC=COM.
-------------------------- EXAMPLE 3 --------------------------
C:\\PS>Set-ADOrganizationalUnit -Identity "OU=AsiaPacific,OU=Sales,OU=UserAccounts,DC=FABRIKAM,DC=COM" -Country
"AU" -StreetAddress "45 Martens Place" -City Balmoral -State QLD -PostalCode 4171 -Replace @{co="Australia"}
Description
-----------
Sets the Country, City and State, PostalCode and co properties on the OrganizationalUnit
'OU=AsiaPacific,OU=Sales,OU=UserAccounts,DC=FABRIKAM,DC=COM'.
-------------------------- EXAMPLE 4 --------------------------
C:\\PS>$EuropeSalesOU = Get-ADOrganizationalUnit "OU=Europe,OU=Sales,OU=UserAccounts,DC=FABRIKAM,DC=COM"
$EuropeSalesOU.Country = "UK"
$EuropeSalesOU.StreetAddress = "22 Station Rd"
$EuropeSalesOU.City = "QUARRINGTON"
$EuropeSalesOU.PostalCode = "NG34 0NI"
$EuropeSalesOU.co ="United Kingdom"
Set-ADOrganizationalUnit -Instance $EuropeSalesOU
Description
-----------
Creates a new OrganizationalUnit using the OrganizationalUnit
'OU=Europe,OU=Sales,OU=UserAccounts,DC=FABRIKAM,DC=COM' as a template.
-------------------------- EXAMPLE 5 --------------------------
C:\\PS>Set-ADOrganizationalUnit -Identity "OU=Managed,DC=AppNC" -Server "FABRIKAM-SRV1:60000" -Country "UK"
Description
-----------
Set the Country property of the OrganizationalUnit 'OU=Managed,DC=AppNC' in an AD LDS instance.
RELATED LINKS
Online Version: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?linkid=291123
Get-ADOrganizationalUnit
New-ADOrganizationalUnit
Remove-ADOrganizationalUnit