Bulk Import Active Directory Users from CSV

This guide shows you how to bulk import Active Directory users from a csv file using the AD Pro Toolkit.

Resources

• User Import CSV Template - CSV template with user examples and multiple user attributes.
• CSV Cheat Sheet - A quick reference PDF that shows the CSV headers and what they map to in Active Directory.
• Automate importing accounts - To automate importing accounts see the automation guides.

Video Demo

If you don’t like videos scroll below to see step by step written instructions.

Step 1: Download the CSV Template

Download the “User Import CSV Template” from the Resources section at the top.

• This CSV includes an example of two user accounts.
• The CSV template includes 33 user attributes. This covers the most common attributes for creating new accounts.
• Additional attributes can be added to the template (see the section Add Additional Attributes for details)

Step 2. Modify CSV Template

Open the CSV template and enter your account details. The below columns are required, all other fields are optional. You can delete the columns you don’t need.

1. SamAccountName = This will be the users logon name.
2. password = users password. Make sure it meets your password requirements.
3. givenName = First name
4. sn = Last name

Example screenshot of the included csv template.

Tips

1. Remove unused columns: You can remove any column from the CSV you don’t need. This can make working with the CSV template much easier. Just make sure you have the 4 required columns listed above, all other columns can be removed.

2. CSV Cheat Sheet: Use the CSV Cheat Sheet from the resources section if you do not understand the column names in the csv template.

2. Run a small test imort: Run a small test import first (1-2 accounts) to ensure the CSV is correct and the accounts import as needed.

Step 3. Open the Bulk Create Users Tool

At this point you should have a csv file filled out with your user details. Now you are ready to start the bulk import process.

1. Click on User Management > Bulk Create Users

2. Click “Browse” and select your CSV file.

   

3. Enable or disable any of the following options:

   

• Enable: This will enable or disable the account when it is created (enabled by default)
• User must change password at next logon: This option will require users to change their password at first logon.
• FirstName LastName: Sets the name format to FirstName + LastName
• LastName, FirstName: Sets the name format to LastName, + FirstName
• Same as user logon name: Sets the name format to logon name (samaccountname)

Step 4. Click “Run” to Start the Import

To start the import click the “Run” button. Logs will be displayed at the bottom of the screen. When it is completed it will show how many accounts where imported.

Step 5. Verify Import of AD Users

To verify the accounts where imported and the account details where configured (according to your CSV file) follow these steps.

1. Click on “User Reports” > All Users
2. Select the OU you imported the accounts into.
3. Click “Columns” to add user properties that you want to verify.
4. Click “Run”.

You can also open Active Directory Users and Computers to check if the accounts where imported.

The advantage to using the AD Pro Toolkit is you can easily verify multiple account attributes at once.

Add Additional User Attributes

You can add additional user attributes to the CSV file, you just need to know the LDAP name. You can find the LDAP name by opening the attribute editor in Active Directory Users and Computers. You could also use PowerShell to list all user account properties.

To see the attribute editor you first need to enable the advanced features in Active Directory Users and Computer

Click view from the top menu then select advanced features.

Now when you open an account you will see the attribute editor tab.

The attribute editor screen will show you all the user LDAP properties.

Now just find the attribute name and add it to the CSV. For example, I want to add information to the other Home telephone section for users.

In the attribute editor, I see the name is “otherHomePhone”. I will add this to the CSV.

All done. That is how you add additional attributes to the CSV file to import with new accounts.