LBE 2.7: Usage

Index: (v2.7)

- Introduction
- Configuration

- Browser configuration file
- Attributes configuration file

- General functions

- View Attribute
- View Entry
- Refresh
- Show error log
- Search
- Find DN

- Directory Manager functions

- Add Attribute
- Delete Attribute
- Edit Attribute
- Add Entry
- Delete Entry
- Edit Entry
- Rename Entry
- Delete Value
- Delete Tree
- Copy Tree
- Rename Tree
- Create Template

- LDIF Functions

- Export
- Import

- Viewers/Editors

- DefaultEditor
- BinaryEditor
- ImageEditor
- SoundEditor (Java 1.2)
- CertificateEditor (Java 1.2)

Introduction:

The LDAP Browser/Editor allows users to view the items stored in a LDAP directory in an hierarchical manner. It also allows modifications of the LDAP contents if the user is logged in as the Directory Manager.

The LDAP objects are displayed in the form of a tree and all attributes of the entries in the form of a table.

The current status of the browser is displayed on the status bar. All status messages are displayed in black, warning messages in yellow and error messages in red.

The DN tree is expanded or collapsed by a double click on a node. With each selection change on a DN tree, attributes for the selected DN will be retrieved and displayed in the attribute table.

The attribute names and values displayed in the attribute table can be sorted in ascending order by clicking on the column names. To sort in descending order hold the shift key down while clicking on the column header.

To display pop-up menus over a tree or table select an entry or an attribute and then press the right mouse button.

The following functions work with multiple selections:

- On table:

- view attribute
- delete attribute
- edit attribute
- delete value

- On tree:

- delete entry

Also, most functions require a DN to be selected on the tree.

Configuration:

Browser configuration file:

Holds host related information such as hostname, port, base dn, directory manger dn, password, etc.

- Default name: browser.config
- Command line: User can specify different config file using the command line switch in the following way: Browser -f config_name
- File format: option=value

Option | Description | Allowed values | Notes
host | hostname | anything |
port | port number | number |
basedn | base dn | anything |
mangerdn | directory manger dn | anything |
password | directory manager password | anything |
version | ldap version | 2 (default), 3 |
autoconnect | automatic connection option | yes or no (default) | if set to yes, host, port, basedn must be specified
mangerlogin | manger login option | yes or no (default) | if set to yes, managerdn and password must be specified
timeout | time limit on a search | 0..n, 0 or not specified - no limit (default) |
limit | number of results limit | 0..n, 0 or not specified - no limit (default) |
libtype | ldap sdk to use | jndi (default) or netscape |
debug | debug mode | yes or no (default) |

Attributes configuration file:

Holds attribute properties information such as which attribute type and attribute editor to use.

- Default name: attributes.config
- Command line: Cannot specify different file from command line.
- File format: attribute=type [, editorname arg1 arg2 arg3... ]

> where:

> > - attribute: attribute name. Must be lowercase.
> > - type: attribute type - string or binary.
> > - editorname: name of an editor - classname - must be accessible from classpath. It is optional. If editor is not specified or it failed to load a default editor will be used for the attribute type.
> > - arg1...argN: arguments passed to the editor (as a single string)

General functions:

View Attribute:

Shows all the selected attributes and values of the selected entry in a separate window. Each attribute is viewed with the default viewer for the value or the viewer specified in the attribute configuration file.

View Entry:

Shows all the attributes and values of the selected entry in a separate window. Each attribute is viewed with the default viewer for the value or the viewer specified in the attribute configuration file.

Refresh:

Refreshes the tree under the selected entry. Use this function if the tree structure has changed but the changes are not visible.

Show error log:

Displays an error log window with N last errors. Any errors encountered during ldap operations will be stored in the log.

Find DN:

Finds the DN on the tree. This function only works when the value of the selected attribute is a valid DN and can be found on the tree.

Search:

Searches the directory using a filter. A search window will appear. Enter the base dn of the search, filter, scope and optionally the attributes to return. If no attributes are specified, the dns of the returned entries will be displayed. Hit the search button to proceed.

The results are returned as a table of attributes. The results can be sorted by columns (just like the attribute table) by clicking on the column header. Sorting treats all values as strings and sometimes numerical data might not seem to be sorted correctly. If an attribute contains multiple values only one is shown. If the returned entry does not contain the specified attribute (the return attribute) 'N/A' will be displayed instead.

The following operations can be performed on the search results: (at least one entry must be selected to display the popup menu)

- Find DN

- finds the dn on the tree and selects it.

- Set DN

- takes the selected entry dn and sets it as new search base dn.

- View Entry

- views the selected entry

- Delete Entry

- deletes the selected entry or entries

- Edit Entry

- edits the selected entry

Directory Manager functions:

All the modifications must follow the LDAP rules, such as:

- cannot delete required attributes,
- cannot add attributes/objects without filling in the required attributes
- cannot use object classes that are not defined on the server side
- etc.

If an error occurs during LDAP modifications the detailed error message will be shown when you position the mouse over the status bar on the bottom of the browser window.

Delete Attribute:

Deletes the selected attribute or attributes of the specified entry. The entry must first be selected on the tree. The confirmation box will appear. Press YES to proceed with removal.

This operation will remove the whole attribute with all its values even if only a single value is selected. Use the Delete Value function to remove just a single value of an attribute.

Delete Value:

Deletes the selected value or values of the specified entry. The values can span across multiple attributes. The entry must first be selected on the tree. The confirmation box will appear. Press YES to proceed with removal.

Delete Tree:

Deletes the selected entry and all its children. The confirmation box will appear. Press YES to proceed with removal.

Copy Tree:

Attempts to duplicate a selected tree. Because of the way it is implemented it might fail as described in notes.

Rename Tree:

Attempts to rename a selected tree. Because of the way it is implemented it might fail as described in notes.

Delete Entry:

Deletes the selected entry or entries on the tree. A confirmation box will appear. Press YES to proceed with removal. This will only work if the entries have no children. To remove entries with children use the Delete Tree function.

Rename Entry:

Renames the selected entry on the tree. It only changes the name, not the base dn or prefix. An input window will appear asking for the new name. Enter just the name of the entry without prefix (e.g 'cn=') and suffix (e.g. 'ou=Airius.com'). Press RENAME to proceed with the change.

Create Template:

Creates a template from the selected entry on the tree. The template is later used to add new entries. A window asking for the template name will appear. Press SAVE to create the template file and add the template name under the Add Entry menu.

The template file contains a list of the attributes of the object it was created from. It is a simple text file and can be easily edited with any text editor.

The template file contains two sections: REQUIRED ATTRIBUTES and OPTIONAL ATTRIBUTES. To set the attribute as required or optional move the attribute name to the appropriate section. To set the attribute type edit the attribute configuration file (see attribute configuration section)

Notes:

- When the template is created all attributes are placed in the optional section by default.
- This version of LDAP Browser/Editor does not check for required attributes.

Edit Entry:

Allows modification of the currently selected entry. An editor window will appear. Each attribute will be edited with either the default editor for the attribute's value or the specific editor as specified in the attribute configuration file.

It is possible to add additional values to an attribute or to delete them by right clicking on the attribute label. (it will highlight when the mouse is over it). It is also possible to add additional attributes in the same manner. Press APPLY to update the entry.

Edit Attribute:

Allows modification of the currently selected attributes of an entry. It works in a similar manner to the Edit Entry function except no new attributes can be added.

Add Entry:

Allows addition of new entries to the directory. It uses object templates created by the Create Template function. It only works when at least one template has been created.

When the template name is selected, an editor window with all the attributes for that entry will be displayed. Fill in the required fields and press APPLY to proceed. If the entry is successfully created, it will be shown and selected on the tree.

Values for the attributes can be added or removed by clicking on the attribute label.

Add Attribute:

Allows addition of a single attribute to the selected entry on the tree. It is necessary to entry the attribute name, specify the attribute type and then fill in values for the attribute.

First, a window prompting for the attribute name and type will appear. Enter the attribute name and select if this attribute should be treated as a string or as a binary. Press OK to continue. Next, an editor window will appear with the attribute name and a single value. To add or remove additional values right click on the attribute label. Press APPLY to add.

If the attribute type is set to binary, it will automatically be added to the attributes configuration file.

Also, if the attribute was previously set in the attributes configuration file to be of a different type or to use a different editor, the current settings will be ignored and previous ones used.

Note: If the attribute already exists in the entry it will overwrite the current values.

LDIF Functions

The Browser supports a simplified version of the LDIF file format. For example, it does not support 'changetypes'. All binary attributes will be Base64 encoded.

Export:

This function saves the selected entry or entries into a LDIF file. Depending on the option chosen only the selected entry will be saved, or the entries below this entry (one level scope) or the entire tree below this entry (sub tree scope).

Import:

This function reads entries from a LDIF file and updates or inserts them into the ldap directory. When inserting and the imported entries already exist in the directory, an appropriate error message will be produced and the entries will be skipped.

Viewers/Editors

Viewers/Editors are used to view and/or edit contents of attributes. They either work with string or binary data. Currently the browser contains the following viewers/editors:

Built-in:

- DefaultEditor - for editing any string values
- BinaryEditor - for editing any binary values
- ImageEditor - for displaying JPEG and GIF images.

Extensions:

- SoundEditor - for playing sounds
- CertificateEditor - for displaying X.509 certificates

DefaultEditor

DefaultEditor is basically a textbox used to edit string values. It is the default editor for any string values.

BinaryEditor

BinaryEditor is a panel that displays the size of the value of an attribute and contains a 'save as' button. It also contains an 'insert from' button when editing the attribute. The 'save as' button saves the current value in a specified file and the 'insert from' button loads the new value from a given file. This editor is the default editor for any binary values.

ImageEditor

ImageEditor displays JPEG or GIF files. It is an extension of the BinaryEditor and depending on the settings it adds an additional button to the panel or displays the image in the panel. By default, the editor adds a 'view' button that displays the image in a separate window when pressed. If the '-autoview' argument is specified, the editor will display the image in the panel automatically. Also, it is possible to resize or scale the image. The switch '-s <value in %>' will scale the image by the specified percentage. The set of switches '-w <width> -h <height>' will resize the image to the specified width and height. Resizing or scaling is a computational intensive process.

ImageEditor arguments syntax:

ImageEditor [-autoview] [ [-s <value>] or [-h <height> -w <width> ] ]

SoundEditor

SoundEditor plays sound files such as WAV, AU, AIFF, RMF and MIDI TYPE 0 and 1. It works only with Java 1.2. SoundEditor is an extension of the BinaryEditor. It adds an additional 'play' button to the panel.

CertificateEditor

CertificateEditor displays the X.509 certificate information. It is also an extension of the BinaryEditor and requires Java 1.2. It adds a 'view' button that displays the certificate info in a separate window. By default, the editor displays the significant parts of the certificate such as the certificate version, issuer DN, subject DN, validation days, key, and algorithm. To display all the info in raw form specify the '-raw' argument.

CertificateEditor arguments syntax:

CertificateEditor [-raw]