ADSIEdit

ADSI Edit is an LDAP editor for managing objects in Active Directory. This Active Directory tool lets you view objects and attributes that are not exposed in the Active Directory Management Console.

ASDI Edit is part of the Windows Server 2003 Support Tools. If you copy the support tools to your computer instead of installing the tools you will need to register the Adsiedit.dll.

ADSI Edit is an MMC you can open by going to start -> Run and typing in adsiedit.msc.

When you open ADSI Edit it will attempt to load the configuration for the domain to which the user is logged on. Once you get the naming context correct you will notice the layout is similar to Active Directory Users and Computer. An example of using ADSI Edit is changing permission on the GAL in exchange 2003.

Normally you change objects security permissions through the security tab but exchange does not have an Access Control security tab for the GAL. The only way to access these security settings is with the ADSI edit tool.

ADSIEdit is not a tool intended for an Administrator to use on a daily basis. At times it is a must have tool for modifying attributes in Active Directory that cannot be managed using the Active Directory manage console.

Company: Microsoft
Website: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc773354%28WS.10%29.aspx
Tutorial: GAL anonymous access with ADSI Edit