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Application Options - Linked Attributes

In this dialog, you can the handling for linked attributes.

Application options: Linked Attributes

If you activate this handling here, your current connection in the regarding LEX LDAP session is affected by this setting. If you want to activate this permanently for a saved LDAP connection profile, go to the Advanced Tab in the LDAP connection dialog.


LEX knows three different Types of linked attributes:

  • Attributes pairs which are backlink references to each other. The attribute values have to be LDAP distinguished names. On one side, the attribute points to another object. This object has an attribute that contains the LDAP name of the first object.

    Mutual change linked attribute handling

    So this configuration leads to the following behavior: If you change the value of such a linked attribute, LEX changes the according backink at the other object as well:

    Value on object 1 is written - and the backlink value on object 2 is written also!

    An important example: If you change the attribute "groupMembership" for Novell eDirectory user objects, you have to change the "uniqueMember" value of the regarding group object as well. If you configure a linked attribute pair for "groupMembership/uniqueMember", you don't have to bother about this any more.

  • Attribute pairs which are backlink references to each other, with the difference that one side is reserved to the system and cannot be written by a user. So if you define the according backlink pair in LEX, and you try to write the read-only backlink attribute, LEX detects this, and writes the linked attribute for the other object only! The read-only side is NOT written in this case:

    Read Only backlink attribute handling

    Value on object 1 is NOT written - only the reference on the other side is written. This is the desired behavior in cases where the system sets some backlinked attributes automatically and do not allow LDAP users to set the values.

    An important example: You cannot change the Active Directory attribute "memberOf", you have to change the "member" value of the regarding group object instead. If you configure a linked attribute pair for "member/memberOf", you don't have to bother about this any more.

  • Attribute pairs of the same object which are just coupled to each other - if you change the first attribute, the second attribute is set to the same value.

    Read Only backlink attribute handling

    Value on attribute 1 is written - the same value is written to attribute 2 as well.

    An important example: If you change the attribute "groupMembership" for Novell eDirectory user objects, you have to change the "securityEquals" value of the same object as well. If you configure a linked attribute pair for "groupMembership/securityEquals", you don't have to bother about this any more.

LEX can handle the last linked attribute pair together with the first link relationship. So if you configured the correct linked pairs, and you change the 'groupMembership' value of an eDirectory user, LEX can change the 'securityEquals' on the same object and the 'uniqueMember' backlink of the regarding group object in a row!

These are the options of the linked attribute dialog:

Activate automatic value handling for linked attributes

This can activate / deactivate the handling for linked values. Only the pairs which are in the list for the different LDAP directory systems are handled by LEX. However, LEX tries to detect linked pairs from the current LDAP directory information (e.g. the schema).

You can save this configuration for a given connection in the LEX connection profile editor on the 'Advanced' tab.

When you open one of the linked pair lists for the different LDAP director systems, you get the Linked Attribute Pair dialog:

Linked Attributes Editor Dialog

 

Add

You can add new linked attribute pair configurations here. If you clicked on an existing attribute pair, it is shown in the upper part of the dialog window, and the button label changes to Replace. You can choose on of the three pair relationships which are described above - additionally, you can configure the orientation of the link (only right side is written, only left side, or both....).

The link relationship button

You can define the kind of relationship between the two selected attributes. Basically there are three different relationship, which were explained in detail at the top of this topic.

Linked Attributes relationships

 

Delete

This removes the marked attribute pairs from the list.

 

Reset Default


This resets the list to the default values which comes with LEX and which LEX can detect from the current environment.