Creating user accounts is one of the most common tasks in Active Directory. In this guide, I’ll show you how to create new user accounts using Active Directory Users and Computers (ADUC).
Table of Contents
How to Create a User in Active Directory
Step 1. Open Active Directory Users and Computers MMC. By default, this tool is located at start -> Windows Administrative Tools.
Step 2. Right-click the OU where you want to create the new user account, select new, and then click user
If you have not created additional organizational units, you can put the new account in the Users folder. In my example, I’m adding the account in the Winadpro Users OU that I have created.
Step 3. Enter User Account Details. Fill out the following details for the user account.
- First name: This will be the account’s first name
- Last name: This is the user’s last name
- Initials: Fill in the user’s middle initials. This is optional but can be used if there are conflicts when creating the user logon name.
- Full name: This will fill in automatically.
- User logon name: This is the name used to log into windows domain. You will want to come up with a naming convention for logon names: The two most popular methods I’ve seen are first initial and last name and complete first name and last name. For an in-depth look at naming conventions see my article Active Directory user naming conventions.
Below is an example of the account details filled out.
Step 4. Enter a new password and enter it again to confirm
It’s recommended to select “User must change password at next logon”. This will force users to change their password the first time they logon.
Click Next.
The user account is now created.
Step 5. Add additional user details.
At this point, you may need to open the account and add additional information such as: Address, Profile path, Logon script, office details, and add the user to other Active Directory groups.
Active Directory User Templates
User templates let you save pre-configured settings like department, OU, group memberships, and naming format. When you create a new user, select a template and the fields are populated automatically. This eliminates repetitive data entry and ensures every account is created with the correct attributes.
To create a user template with the AD Pro Toolkit enter the account details you want to reuse and click “Save As” to create a template.
Then when you go to create a new user select your template and it will auto fill in the details from your saved template.
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