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Creating New Entry

LDAP Administrator provides three options for creating new LDAP entries, that is based on an existing LDAP schema, on the default LDAP schema, or via templates.

The Schema-Based method requires that you specify a list of object classes for a new entry to contain. This list is provided by the LDAP schema or, if the LDAP schema fails to load from the LDAP server - by the default LDAP schema. Based on the object classes selected, the Entry Creation Wizard will build a list of required and optional attributes for the new entry.

The Template-Based method prompts you to choose an entry template which you'd like your new entry to look like. Each template is supposed to already contain a list of required and optional attributes to be present in a new entry. This method is recommended when you often create similar entries with a resembling set of attributes. Learn more about entry templates.

To create a new LDAP entry: 

  1. Select a parent entry, under which you'd like to create a new entry.

    Note: An entry can't be created under RootDSE because top-level entries are usually defined by the LDAP Server.
  2. Click New Entry on the Entry toolbar to start the the Entry Creation Wizard. If you decide to use an entry template for a new entry creation, click the arrow on the New Entry button and choose the template you need. In this case, the first two steps of the Entry Creation Wizard will be skipped.

The Entry Creation Wizard consists of four steps:

Step 1: Entry Creation Method

At this step you need to choose a method of creation. Both the Schema-Based and the Template-Based methods require the LDAP schema to be fetched. In case it is the default schema that is going to be used, a warning will be displayed in the Schema Status section because entry creation using the default schema may potentially result in errors.

Step 2: Choosing Entry Template or Selecting Object Classes

If you opted for the Schema-Based method at the previous step, the wizard will ask you to:

  • Select Object Classes. All object classes are divided into three groups:

    • Abstract. Abstract object classes are mainly used to derive other object classes. An entry should not belong to abstract object classes only.

    • Structural. Structural object classes are used in the definition of the structure of the names of the objects for compliant entries. An entry should contain at least one structural object class.

    • Auxiliary. Auxiliary object classes are descriptive of entries or classes of entries. An entry may contain none, one, or more auxiliary object classes.

    You can pin frequently used object classes to make them appear at the top of the list in order to have quick access to them.

    To add an object class to an entry being created, select it in the Available object classes list and then click the >> button, or press Space, or double-click. To remove an object class from an entry, select it in the Selected object classes list and then click <<, or double-click. You can also drag-and-drop object classes to move them between the lists.

    After you select at least one object class with an entry, the list of available object classes will be filtered and will contain only the object classes that can be used with the selected object classes. If you want to see all object classes available for this server, check Show all object classes button.

  • Choose an Entry Template. If you opted for the Template-Based method, choose a preferred template from the list and click Next. You can also double-click a template for selection. If originally a template was created using an entry from another LDAP server, the creation process may result in an error due to a mismatch of the two LDAP schemas.

Step 3: Specifying Entry RDN

Specify an RDN for a new entry. Choose an RDN type from the Type box and enter an RDN value to the Value box. LDAP Administrator provides support for multi-valued RDNs. To add a new type-value pair, click Add Value; to remove the last entered type-value pair, click Remove Value.

Step 4: Adding Attributes and Their Values

Specify which attributes the new entry will contain and edit their values. If you don't want an attribute to be included in the new entry, remove it, or just leave its value empty.

Each attribute is marked as either Optional or Required. If an attribute is marked as Required, it must necessarily be present in the new entry. Required attributes are marked in bold.

Add and remove attributes.  You can add an attribute to the entry by clicking the arrow next to the Add Attribute button and then choosing an attribute name from the list displayed. This list contains all the attributes available as defined by the LDAP schema, but not currently present in the entry. You can also attempt to create an entry with some extra attributes not specified in the LDAP schema, but applicable for the current set of object classes. To add extra attributes, select Add Extra from the Add Attribute dropdown list. To remove an attribute, select either the entire attribute or just one of its values and click Remove Attribute or press Del.

To navigate through attributes, hold the Ctrl key and type the name of an attribute you'd like to locate. To navigate through attribute values, do the same while holding Ctrl+Shift.

Add and remove attribute values.  To add a value to an attribute, select the entire attribute or one of its values and click Add Value or press Ins. Please note: a value will only be added to an attribute provided it does not have any empty values. If it does, the application will ask to enter such value. To remove an attribute value, select it and click Remove Value or press Shift+Del.

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