DirectoryContext Class

Definition

Namespace:

System.DirectoryServices.ActiveDirectory

Assembly:

System.DirectoryServices.dll

The DirectoryContext class identifies a specific directory and the credentials that are used to access the directory.

public ref class DirectoryContext

public class DirectoryContext

type DirectoryContext = class

Public Class DirectoryContext

Inheritance

Object

DirectoryContext

Remarks

A directory context must be created before accessing the methods and properties of a System.DirectoryServices.ActiveDirectory directory object such as a domain or forest.

When creating a directory context, the process' current credentials or alternate credentials can be applied to that context by using the appropriate constructor. These credentials determine the permissions that are in effect when the program accesses directory objects. Because Active Directory Domain Services objects might be protected against retrieval or modification by non-administrative users, the use of alternate credentials with permission to access the target objects is sometimes necessary for proper program functionality.

The following table contains a list of the target types that are allowed and a description of the format of the target string.

Target type	DirectoryContextType member	Target name format
Domain Controller	DirectoryServer	The DNS name of the domain controller.
AD LDS Instance	DirectoryServer	The DNS name of the AD LDS server and the LDAP port number, for example, ad_lds_instance.fabrikam.com:389.
Domain	Domain	The DNS name of the domain, for example, sales.corp.fabrikam.com.
Forest	Forest	The DNS name of the forest, for example, corp.fabrikam.com.
Application Partition	ApplicationPartition	The DNS name of the application partition.
AD LDS Configuration Set	ConfigurationSet	One of the keywords that is associated with the service connection point registered by AD LDS instances for the configuration set.

Constructors

DirectoryContext(DirectoryContextType, String, String, String)	Initializes a new instance of the DirectoryContext class of the specified type that contains the specified target, user name, and password.
DirectoryContext(DirectoryContextType, String, String)	Initializes a new instance of the DirectoryContext class of the specified type that contains the specified user name and password.
DirectoryContext(DirectoryContextType, String)	Initializes a new instance of the DirectoryContext class of the specified type that contains the specified name and the credentials of the current user context.
DirectoryContext(DirectoryContextType)	Initializes a new instance of the DirectoryContext class of the specified type that contains the credentials of the current user context.

Properties

ContextType	Gets the type of the context object.
Name	Gets the name of the context.
UserName	Gets the user name of the context.

Methods

Equals(Object)	Determines whether the specified object is equal to the current object. (Inherited from Object)
GetHashCode()	Serves as the default hash function. (Inherited from Object)
GetType()	Gets the Type of the current instance. (Inherited from Object)
MemberwiseClone()	Creates a shallow copy of the current Object. (Inherited from Object)
ToString()	Returns a string that represents the current object. (Inherited from Object)