Getting User Accounts with identical GivenName and SurName

I am taking a break from writing some custom formatting files to take a look at what is happening on PowerShell.com. One IT Pro is trying to look for all user accounts with the same GivenName and SurName property values. He discovered that this will not work.

Get-ADUser -Filter 'GivenName -eq SurName'

Here is the error message

Get-ADUser : Error parsing query: 'GivenName -eq SurName' Error Message: 'syntax error' at

position: '15'.

At line:1 char:1

+ Get-ADUser -Filter 'GivenName -eq SurName'

+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

+ CategoryInfo : ParserError: (:) [Get-ADUser], ADFilterParsingException

+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : ActiveDirectoryCmdlet:Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.ADF

ilterParsingException,Microsoft.ActiveDirectory.Management.Commands.GetADUser

The problem is that the Get-ADUser cmdlet is looking for a property on the left and a value to match it to on the right. It is not looking to match the values of two properties. At least not in this format. Here is what I came up with.

Get-ADUser -filter * |

Where-Object -FilterScript {$_.GivenName -eq $_.SurName}

We are breaking the “Filter to the left” rule because we simply cannot filter the values of to object properties with the Get-ADUser cmdlet. This is where we can use plan B, Where-Object. Where-Object is there is the previous cmdlet cannot filter the way you want it to.

Well, back to my coding. Thank you for the break.

Comments

How to list all the AD LDS instances on a server

AD LDS allows you to provide directory services to applications that are free of the confines of Active Directory. To list all the AD LDS instances on a server, follow this procedure: Log into the server in question Open a command prompt. Type dsdbutil and press Enter Type List Instances and press Enter . You will receive a list of the instance name, both the LDAP and SSL port numbers, the location of the database, and its status.

How to run GPResult on a remote client with PowerShell

In the past, to run the GPResult command, you would need to either physically visit this client, have the user do it, or use and RDP connection. In all cases, this will disrupt the user. First, you need PowerShell remoting enabled on the target machine. You can do this via Group Policy . Open PowerShell and type this command. Invoke-Command –ScriptBlock {GPResult /r} –ComputerName <ComputerName> Replace <ComputerName> with the name of the target. Remember, the target needs to be online and accessible to you.

Error icon when creating a GPO Preference drive map

You may not have an error at all. Take a look at the drive mapping below. The red triangle is what threw us off. It is not an error. It is simply a color representation of the Replace option of the Action field in the properties of the drive mappings. Create action This give you a green triangle. The Create action creates a new mapped drive for users. Replace Action The Replace action gives you a red triangle. This action will delete and recreate mapped drives for users. The net result of the Replace action is to overwrite all existing settings associated with the mapped drive. If the drive mapping does not exist, then the Replace action creates a new drive mapping. Update Action The Update action will have a yellow triangle. Update will modify settings of an existing mapped drive for users. This action differs from Replace in that it only updates settings defined within the preference item. All other settings remain as configured on the mapped drive. If the

Jason Yoder, MCT

Search This Blog