If you choose the Search in the Organizational Unit or container option, then you can configure the activity to search for inactive user or computer accounts. The Inactive Accounts object type provides for the following search options:
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Account type to search for: You can choose to search for user accounts only, search for computer accounts only, or search for both user and computer accounts.
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Search for accounts that haven’t logged on in the past number of days: This option allows you to specify the period, in days, that an account is not used to log on, after which the account is considered inactive. The search retrieves a given account if no successful logons to that account have occurred for more days than specified by this option.
The Search activity uses the lastLogonTimeStamp attribute to determine the last time that a specific user or computer successfully logged in. Active Directory updates that attribute only periodically, rather than every time that a user or computer logs in. Normally, the period of update is 14 days. This means that the lastLogonTimeStamp value could be off by as much as 14 days, so the true last login time is later than lastLogonTimeStamp. Hence, it is advisable to choose the login inactivity period of more than 14 days.
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Search for accounts whose password has not changed in the past number of days: This option allows you to specify the password age, in days, after which an account is considered inactive. The search retrieves a given account if the password of the account remains unchanged for more days than specified by this option.
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Search for accounts that expired more than a certain number of days before the current date: This option allows you to specify the number of days after which an expired account is considered inactive. The search retrieves a given account if the account remains in the expired state for more days than specified by this option.
The option to search for inactive accounts is also available when you configure the activity to search for the Users or Computers object type. You can restrict the search to inactive accounts by choosing the appropriate options to determine what accounts are considered inactive. These options are the same as with the Inactive Accounts object type.
The Search filter option allows you to refine your search to locate directory objects based on the properties (attributes) of the objects. For example, you may want to find all the team members in a certain department that report to the manager named John Smith or you may be interested in computer accounts that were not used for a certain time period. In either case, you can use a Search filter to look for specific values in the object properties, thereby ensuring that the search results contain only the objects with the specified properties.
A Search filter is composed of conditions combined using AND or OR logic. Each condition is a certain statement that specifies the criteria the activity must use to determine whether a given object is to be included in the search results.
To create a filter, you need to add at least one condition, but you are not limited in the number of conditions you can add. By using multiple conditions, you can create very complex filters.
You can add, delete, and group filter conditions using different operators. You can even nest condition groups within other condition groups to achieve the results that you want. When the activity runs, the filter is evaluated to determine if the objects found by the search meet the criteria you specified in the filter. If a given object meets the criteria, the object is added to the search results; otherwise, the object is filtered out. If you do not create a filter, then all objects found by the search are included in the search results.
A filter condition is composed of three parts: the name of a certain property, the comparison operator, and the value to compare the property with (comparison value). Some operators do not require a comparison value. When creating a condition, you first choose a certain property. Then, you select the desired comparison operator and, if necessary, specify the comparison value you want. The list from which to select a comparison operator depends on the type of the property you are creating the condition for.
Whether you have to specify a comparison value depends on the comparison operator. The following tables summarize the comparison operators and comparison values that are available.
The comparison operators from which you can choose when configuring a filter condition are as follows.
Table 17: Comparision operators
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equals |
The property value of the object matches the comparison value. |
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does not equal |
The property value of the object does not match the comparison value. |
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greater or equal |
The property value of the object is greater than or equal to the comparison value. |
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less or equal |
The property value of the object is less than or equal to the comparison value. |
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contains |
The property value of the object contains the text specified by the comparison value. |
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does not contain |
The property value of the object does not contain the text specified by the comparison value. |
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starts with |
The text specified by the comparison value occurs at the beginning of the object’s property value. |
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does not start with |
The text specified by the comparison value does not occur at the beginning of the object’s property value. |
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ends with |
The text specified by the comparison value occurs at the end of the object’s property value. |
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does not end with |
The text specified by the comparison value does not occur at the end of the object’s property value. |
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is empty |
The property is not specified on the object. |
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is not empty |
The property of the object has a non-null value. |
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bitwise and |
Each bit of the object’s property value matches the corresponding bit of the comparison value. |
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bitwise or |
Any bit of the object’s property value matches the corresponding bit of the comparison value. |
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matches regular expression |
The object’s property value matches a certain regular expression. This requires the comparison value to be a text string representing the regular expression. |
The comparison values from which you can choose when configuring a filter condition are as follows.
Table 18: Comparison values
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Text string |
A literal string of characters. You can type the string when you configure a filter condition. |
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Property of workflow target object |
The value of a certain property of the target object of the request that started the workflow. You can select the property (typically, a string-value property) when you configure a filter condition. |
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Property of workflow initiator |
The value of a certain property of the user whose request started the workflow. You can select the property (typically, a string-value property) when you configure a filter condition. |
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Changed value of workflow target object property |
The value that is requested to be assigned to a certain property of the target object of the request that started the workflow, which represents the requested change to the property of the target object. You can select the property (typically, a string-value property) when you configure a filter condition. |
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Property of object from workflow data context |
The value of a certain property of the object that will be selected by the Search activity on the basis of the data found in the workflow environment at the time of executing the workflow. When you configure a filter condition in a Search activity, you can choose the property and specify which object you want the activity to select upon evaluating the condition at workflow run time. |
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Value generated by rule expression |
The string value of a certain rule expression. By using a rule expression you can compose a string value based on properties of various objects found in the workflow environment at the time of executing the workflow. |
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Fixed object in directory |
A certain object, such as a user, group, or computer. You can select the desired object in Active Directory when you configure a filter condition. This comparison value is applicable to filter conditions for DN-value properties. |
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Object from workflow data context |
The object that will be selected by the Search activity on the basis of the data found in the workflow environment at the time of executing the workflow. When you configure a filter condition in a Search activity, you can specify which object you want the activity to select upon evaluating the condition at workflow run time. This comparison value is applicable to filter conditions for DN-value properties. |
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Object identified by DN-value rule expression |
The object whose Distinguished Name (DN) is specified by the string value of a certain rule expression. By using a rule expression, you can compose a string value based on properties of various objects found in the workflow environment at the time of executing the workflow. You can create the desired rule expression when you configure a filter condition. This comparison value is applicable to filter conditions for DN-value properties. |
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Object identified by workflow parameter |
The object specified by the value of a certain parameter. You can choose the desired parameter when you configure a filter condition. This comparison value is applicable to filter conditions for DN-value properties. |
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Workflow initiator object |
The user account of the user whose request started the workflow. This comparison value is applicable to filter conditions for DN-value properties. |
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Workflow target object |
The target object of the request that started the workflow. This comparison value is applicable to filter conditions for DN-value properties. |
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Fixed date and time |
A literal date and time value. You can choose the desired date and time when you configure a filter condition. This comparison value is applicable to filter conditions for Date/Time-value properties. |
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Workflow date and time |
A certain point in time relative to the date and time of the Search activity run. You have the option to specify a date that occurs a particular number of days before or after the Search activity run. This comparison value is applicable to filter conditions for Date/Time-value properties. |
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True |
The literal Boolean value of True. |
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False |
The literal Boolean value of False. |
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Value generated by script |
The value returned by a certain script function. You can choose the script function when you configure a filter condition. The Search activity will execute that script function upon evaluating the condition at workflow run time. |
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Workflow parameter value |
The value of a certain workflow parameter. You can choose the desired parameter when you configure a filter condition. |
You can configure a Search activity to subscribe recipients to the notifications of the following events:
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Activity completed successfully: When configured to notify of this event, the activity causes Active Roles to send a notification email if no significant errors occurred during the run of this activity.
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Activity encountered an error: When configured to notify of this event, the activity causes Active Roles to send a notification email if any significant errors occurred during the run of this activity.
The notification settings specify the event to notify of, and notification recipients. When executed by the workflow, the activity prepares a notification message appropriate to the specified event. Active Roles retains the message prepared by the activity, and sends the message to the specified recipients upon occurrence of that event. The notification settings are similar to the notification settings of a Notification activity. For more information, see Notification activity.
When configuring a Search activity, you can choose whether to suppress errors encountered by that activity. The following option is available: Continue workflow even if this activity encounters an error. If this option is not selected (default setting), then an error condition encountered by the activity causes Active Roles to stop the workflow. If you select this option, the workflow continues regardless of whether or not the Search activity or any activity within the Search activity encounters an error condition.
