Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Who is Ithicos Solutions? 
    Ithicos Solutions is a small software company specializing is Active Directory solutions. We were founded by Jim McBee, an Exchange consultant, MVP, and author. Please see out About page for the gritty details.
     
  2. Who was ITCS Hawaii? 
    ITCS Hawaii is the small Exchange and Active Directory consulting company  that founded Ithicos Solutions.
     
  3. Can we assign a manager the ability to change other users' attributes?
    Yes. Directory Manager uses the same basic interface as Directory Update, but allows a designated user (typically a manager) to modify other users' attributes (provided they have the proper permissions.)
     
  4. Do you allow the user to reset or change their password?
    Not currently. We are looking at adding a password change/reset feature, as well as a "forgotten password" function. Please contact us if you are interested and let us know what other features you would like to see. You can reach us at support (at) directory-update.com.
     
  5. Can you replace the drop-down list fields with text boxes? 
    Yes. Almost all the fields on the User Information form can be either a drop-down list or a text field. In each field's "tag" in the APPSETTINGS.XML file, look for the type=" " field. This can be set to either type="text" or type="dropdown". If you set it to "dropdown," you need to include <value>XXX</value> tags. See the documentation for more information.  We recommend dropdown lists in order to ensure that users enter only pre-qualified data into attributes; many organizations use the same attributes for the Exchange Address List and Dynamic Distribution Group creation and therefore their content must be accurate.
     
  6. Do you license you source code?
    No, not at present. 
     
  7. I want custom feature X - Will you include that for me? 
    Custom changes are sometimes available for customers at the rate of $75.00 per hour.  Many simple changes sometimes require only one or two hours. Please see our Services page for more details.
     
  8. Will you incorporate feature X in to a future release?
    If a customer asks for something, more than likely we will include it in a future version. The product has been "customer driven" since its inception.
     
  9. What are the limitations of each product?
    Details on the limitations of Directory Update, Directory Manager, Directory Search are detailed in each product's information page.
     
  10. What are the requirements for each product?
    Details on the system requirements for Directory Update, Directory Manager, Directory Search are detailed in each product's information page.
     
  11. We extended our Active Directory schema. Can you include X field on the User Information form? 
    We have tried our best to get all of the most commonly used attributes onto the User Information form. Please review the current version and the current documentation to verify the currently available attributes. If you find that you still need something special, please see the information on custom programming found on our Services page. Additional fields typically require one or two hours of custom programming.
     
  12. Will I get free updates?
    Yes, for one year from date of purchase. We are flexible, though. If we release a new version 14 months after the date of purchase, we will be inclined to give it to you.
     
  13. Can I use the software without customizing it? 
    No. The Ithicos products are designed to be customized for each organization's needs.  The APPSETTINGS.XML file for the product will need to be updated and customized for your organization. The version that ships with the product is generic and serves as a starting point.
     
  14. Will the Ithicos products run on an Exchange Server? 
    They have been tested with Exchange 2003 and Exchange Server 2007 and no conflicts have been observed.
     
  15. Will the Ithicos products run on a SharePoint Server? 
    We have tested this, they do work, but doing this is highly discouraged. We cannot support our products when they run on a SharePoint Server.  Please see TechNote #1 which discusses this in more detail.  Remember that the ASP.NET component of the Application Server is required.
     
  16. Will Ithicos products run on a Windows 2000 server?
    No. Our programming takes advantage of features in Internet Information Server 6.0 (such as ASP.NET) and thus our products will not run Windows 2000 Server.
     
  17. Can you install more than one copy of an Ithicos product on the same Internet Information Server?
    Not at this time. We are looking into allowing multiple instances of to run on the same server, but this is not possible in the current versions.
     
  18. Will Directory Update run on Windows 2003 x64?
    Yes. .NET 2.0 applications are isolated from the platform and thus will run on either the x32 or x64 versions of Windows.
     
  19. Does the service account have to be a member of Administrators or Domain Admins? 
    Not necessarily. An Account Operator can do most everything the service account requires (except update members of Administrative or Operator groups).
     
  20. Should I use SSL for my web site that hosts my Ithicos applications? 
    Yes. We recommend using SSL, otherwise forms-based authentication credentials will be passed over the network in "clear text."
     
  21. Can Ithicos products be used against other LDAP directories?
    Not at this time. Please let us know if you are interested in support for other directory systems.
     
  22. Why are you using a logon form instead of allowing for Integrated Windows Authentication?
    Even though our software works best with Internet Explorer, our original design called for multi-browser, cross-platform support. A logon form support this. However, starting with version 1.2.5 of Directory Update, we do support Integrated Windows Authentication. Please see the current documentation for instructions on enabling support for Integrated Windows Authentication; this is done in the web.config file.