Changing import/export for user profiles
SharePoint 2010
synchronization is a two way process—import and export. As stated in the
previous recipe, import/export is mutually exclusive and must be
configured at the property level.
By default, all properties
are import only. This is because when the first synchronization takes
place, we want to populate the profile properties in SharePoint and not
Active Directory.
As users work with the system
and the data matures, it makes sense that some properties should be
written back to Active Directory.
This recipe shows how to
change the flow (import/export) of data for one property, Picture, to go
from SharePoint to Active Directory.
Getting ready
You must have farm-level
administrative permissions to the Central Administration site. There
must be an instance of the User Profile Service running.
How to do it...
1. Open the Central Administration screen and click Application Management.
2. The third section is Service Applications. Under this section, click Manage service applications.
3. Find the User Profile Service Application and left-click to the right of the name—the line will be highlighted. Click Manage on the ribbon.
4. Under the People section, click Manage User Properties.
5. Navigate to the property named Picture. Hover over the property until you see a drop-down list. Click the Edit option from the list as shown here:
6. Navigate to the Add New Mapping section.
7. Click the drop-down labeled Direction and select Export from the list.
How it works...
Updating is a two-way process
done at a granular (property) level. Utilizing the synchronization
database and user profile database, the process performs the correct
method based on the direction setting for the property.
In order for SharePoint to allow a user to edit a property, the Edit Setting property, on the edit user profile property page, must be set to allow users to update values.
There's more...
Properties must have a mapping from SharePoint, back to Business Connectivity Services or the directory.
Adding a user subtype for user profile
Subtypes are a way of
classifying users with a more granular set of properties. Companies have
many types of users. Here are some of the types:
This recipe will show how to create a subtype and classify someone.
Getting ready
You must
have farm-level administrative permissions to the Central Administration
site. The User Profile Service should be running with users from Active
Directory.
How to do it...
1. Open the Central Administration screen and click Application Management.
2. The third section is Service Applications. Under this section, click Manage service applications.
3. Find User Profile Service Application and left-click to the right of the name— the line will be highlighted. Click Manage on the ribbon.
4. Under the section named People, click Manage User Sub-types.
5. The following page will be displayed:
Enter the value as Consultant for the Name as well as the Display Name… field.
How it works...
SharePoint 2010 creates everyone under the Default User Profile Subtype. All subtypes show up under the Remove Existing Sub-types section as shown in the following screenshot:
The administrator simply needs to select the subtype and click Remove.
There's more...
When editing a user's
profile, the administrator can reclassify them by subtype. A drop-down
appears at the top of the edit page. The administrator can change the
subtype and then click Save.
A case
where this may have to be applied is when a person is hired by a
company on contract; such employees need to be reclassified.
