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Creating an Entry Template

An entry template can be created based on an existing LDAP entry. In case an LDAP schema fails to load from the LDAP server, the default LDAP schema can be used, but in this case LDAP Administrator will display a warning in the Schema Status section because entry template creation using the default schema may potentially cause errors.

To create an entry template: 

  1. Select an entry, on which a new template must be based.

  2. Click New Entry Template on the Entry toolbar, or select the same command from the New section of the context menu. The Entry Template wizard will be launched.

The specifically designed Entry Template wizard ensures successful creation of both Shared and Profile Specific entry templates. It consists of three steps:

Step 1: Template General Information

On this page, you need to enter a name for the template being created and to specify whether or not you want this template to be accessible for all server profiles.

A unique name will help you make further use of the template and to distinguish it from the others. By default, the wizard offers a name which is an RDN value of the source entry displayed in the Template Name box. Leave it as is or enter a name of your choice. In case a template with the given name already exists, the wizard will automatically offer you an alternative look-alike name asking you to confirm the change.

You can define an access character to the template by placing a & before the desired mnemonic.

If you want the template to be available for all server profiles, check the Shared template box to assign the template to the Shared group.

If there are no other template parameters you'd like to adjust, click Finish, otherwise, click Next.

Step 2: Template Contents

Select attributes and their values to be stored in your template. By default, all entry attribute values get automatically copied to the template.

Add and remove attributes.  In case you'd like to add some extra attributes to a template, click the arrow on the Add Attribute button and then choose the attribute to add by its name from the list offered. This list contains all the available attributes as defined by the LDAP schema and not yet present in the template. You can also attempt to create a template using extra attributes not specified in the LDAP schema but applicable for the current set of object classes. To add an extra attribute, select Add Extra from the Add Attribute drop-down list. To remove an attribute, select the entire attribute or one of its values and click Remove Attribute or press Del.

Add and remove attribute values.  To add an attribute value, select an 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 or remove such value. To remove an attribute value, select it and click Remove Value or press Shift+Del.

If you need some attributes to include values of other attributes in the course of creating entries, you can use attribute value references.

For example, when creating user entries, the 'cn' attribute often consists of the user's first and last name. In order to avoid specifying the names several times, you can set the following value of the 'cn' attribute in a template: %givenName% %sn%, where %givenName% and %sn% are references to the 'givenName' and 'sn' attributes. The references will be substituted with the values specified by the user during the template-based entry creation, thus generating the 'cn' attribute automatically.

Optional and Required attributes.  Each attribute in a template is marked as either Optional or Required. If an attribute is marked as Required, it means it must be present in the entry being created based on this template. By default, it is up to the LDAP schema whether or not to set this status for an attribute. Required attributes are highlighted in bold. To change attribute status, use the Make Required/Make Optional button.

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.

If there are no other template parameters you'd like to adjust, click Finish, otherwise, click Next.

Step 3: Template Details

The final step is editing template description and its RDN.

By default, a template's description consists of a date and time of creation and a DN of a source entry. A description always appears next to the template name.

Furthermore, each template contains an RDN of the source entry. It is intended for further use for creating entries based on this template. To edit RDN, use the Template RDN section of the dialog. Use Add Value and Remove Value to add/remove RDN parts.

Click Finish to save the template and close the wizard.

See Also