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Posted

Hi all,

 

A few of the female staff have got hitched recently or will be over the holidays and now are requesting that their log on/user name be changed.

 

This may be a really stupid question, but I have never had to do it before and I thought I would ask here for clarification before I try anything out.

 

Can you just go in and overtype the user name or is it a whole new profile job?

 

Kol.

Posted
Right click the username in AD then rename. You will have to change the home folder and any roaming profile directory manually.
Posted
Right click the username in AD then rename. You will have to change the home folder and any roaming profile directory manually.

 

...

 

 

[CENSORED] RM! So, I CAN do this in AD proper... But their AD-skin, management dooblydoo can't. Why the bejeezus did we get it then?!

Posted
I've done this, all you have to do is update the first last and display name. leave the username alone and the folder redirects alone. Then if they are really annoying create an additional email alias.
Posted
i find it easier to just create a new user and copy their data accross

 

If your AD account is linked into other services it wont be. We have our AD linked it a number of services.

Posted (edited)
Right click the username in AD then rename. You will have to change the home folder and any roaming profile directory manually.

 

Cool, thank you! I was hoping it would essentialy be something like this.

 

So, as far as AD is concerned it's still the 'same' account? Is changing the home folder name optional though as long as the profile still points to the correct folder, as it's only the name of the folder that's wrong?

 

Also, although we use home folders and shared drives, we do not use redirected My Documents or mandatory profiles for teachers, so no worries there (and AD is not linked to Exchange or anything else I know of). However, staff still insist on using the C:\ drive, My Documents or the Desktop on their laptop. With the 'right-click - rename' option, they will still be logging into the 'same' account on their laptop or not?

 

Kol.

Edited by Koldov
Posted

 

So, as far as AD is concerned it's still the 'same' account? Is changing the home folder name optional though as long as the profile still points to the correct folder, as it's only the name of the folder that's wrong?

 

 

Yes, I change usernames, but not the folder names. They don't really see them, other then in My Computer.

Posted
Yes, I change usernames, but not the folder names. They don't really see them, other then in My Computer.

 

Could cause issues later down the line for admins.

Posted
I know its not a big job but this is a pain. A few times we've had new staff join, so I create a login, then in September they start and it turns out they got married over the summer and didn't bother to inform anyone their name would be different when they started the job! Also had one who got married, asked for it to be changed, then decided she would prefer to use her maiden name so wanted it changed back again
Posted
Thats what the description field is useful for :)

 

If you do a script to repair permissions for example you will have issues.

Posted (edited)
Could cause issues later down the line for admins.

 

Yes, I thought about that as I typed my question and was looking for the users folder on the server. However, I am the only person who has access to any of this stuff and will be for a long time I hope (a bit anti-best practise though I know).

 

Not sure if you would always be looking at the AD description field whilst browsing for the user's folder? I have no issue creating another folder and copying the contents across to the new one, they never seem to save anything in them anyway, it's always on the local machine somewhere... :( This will mean assigning permissions etc. again?

 

Which brings me to my other question... When they log back in to their laptop with their new AD username, will they still get the 'same' account - same desktop, documents and everything as before?

 

Kol.

Edited by Koldov
Posted

I would just refuse to do this.

 

I alter their last name under their ad account, so that their correct name appears on lock screen / email. End of the day, their account is just an identifier. They are lucky that we are kind enough to set it to such an easy convention (e.g first 6 letters of surname plus first initial). You could be a nasty bastard and make them have something like C1094567b as their username....

 

Tell them that they will loose all of their emails, and that they will have to inform everyone of their new address. That will shut them up :)

Posted

I change the username in AD and create a new email address.

 

Create a new email, transfer everything from the old email to the new and then delete the old email account. I then use the old email name as an alias to the new account, so stuff sent to the maiden name is still received.

 

What I don't do is bother to mess around changing path names and profile names... they sit there under the maiden name, but I haven't had a complaint yet from a newly wed. As long as the public stuff changes... logins and emails... then it's been fine.

Posted
...

 

 

[CENSORED] RM! So, I CAN do this in AD proper... But their AD-skin, management dooblydoo can't. Why the bejeezus did we get it then?!

 

 

Works fine under CC3, done about 6 in the last 2 years.

I also create an exchange mailbox with the original name, and stick a forwarder on it to their new account.

Posted
I would just refuse to do this.

 

I alter their last name under their ad account, so that their correct name appears on lock screen / email. End of the day, their account is just an identifier. They are lucky that we are kind enough to set it to such an easy convention (e.g first 6 letters of surname plus first initial). You could be a nasty bastard and make them have something like C1094567b as their username....

 

Tell them that they will loose all of their emails, and that they will have to inform everyone of their new address. That will shut them up :)

 

Well that is cracking - you are right, they are just lucky we bother to make the IT work for them at all.

 

It's attitudes like that that give us all a bad name. Being wanted to be called by your actual name, is not really to much to ask is it?

  • Thanks 3
Posted

Meh that's nothing. Personally I've put a moratorium on marriage to prevent this ever becoming an issue here.:evil_twisted:

 

I even got the backing of the Head! To quote: "Um, yeah. Good Luck with that"

Posted (edited)

Mattianuk:

 

Get off your vertically challenged horse for a second, and you might be surprised to know that I am - Quote - well liked.

 

I also happen to be a one man band managing nearly 500 PCs, 1000+ users, servers, switches, 1k other things with a plug attached..... To summarise, I cant go for a wee without someone flagging me down. As such, I try my best to remove pointless crap from my job. Generating new AD accounts, moving files, altering mailboxes etc because someone changes their name falls squarely under pointless crap. Some of us also don't have the luxury of our own exchange servers to create aliases et al. Should we keep their original AD account for when they get divorced for the next academic year ? If you have the time to do this, good for you. You have obviously landed a cushy number.

 

Jeez, should I be doing this for kids too ? Some of them have 5 different surnames by the time they leave school (I am not joking).

 

My suggestion is a purely valid one. Altering their surname under their AD account achieves nearly all that the end user wants (Their correct name on the start menu, correct name when they send an email). After all, their username is merely a unique identifier which is commonly set as some combo of their surname et al. They go away happy, I expended minimum of effort.

 

Just trying pass on some experience and knowledge - take it or leave it. Preferably without being criticised for damning the good name of IT people everywhere :D

Edited by vladker

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