This article describes in detail how to properly import a list of user accounts from an AppleShare IP server for use with Apple File Services in Mac OS X Server.

Step One

First view the Users and Groups List from the Web & File Admin application. Select the users that need to be exported. Note: Either choose Select All or use the Command key to select individual users.

Step Two

From the File menu choose Export Users and Groups and designate a filename to save a tab-delimited text file. For Export Attributes select all available options, however note that Mac OS X Server only takes advantage of the Internet Alias option (explained below).

Step Three

Copy the text file to a volume on Mac OS X Server by connecting to the server as "Administrator" using the administrator password.

Exporting Users from AppleShare IP 6.3

AppleShare IP 6.3 introduced XML support for importing and exporting Users & Groups. You cannot export from AppleShare IP 6.3 to a tab delimited text file, only XML.

A workaround is to use the User & Group Manager that comes with the Apple Network Administration Toolkit (ANAT). This software will allow you to export your Users to a tab delimited text file that you can then import into Mac OS X Server. If you do not have this software, then you can download a demo version of this from: http://asu.info.apple.com/swupdates.nsf/artnum/n10107

This is considered an unsupported workaround because the User & Group Manager is not supported using AppleShare IP 6.x. Apple recommends making a backup of your Users & Groups prior to using this utility on your AppleShare IP 6.x Server. This is the only current Apple solution for exporting users from AppleShare IP 6.3 to a file for your Mac OS X Server to then import.

Importing Users into Mac OS X Server

Note: At this time exporting of passwords from ASIP 5.x, 6.0, 6.1 and 6.2 is not supported due to the security reason of having plain text in the exported file. It is recommended that users change their password when first connected to the Apple File Server. For this reason you will want to consider the implications of importing options explained below.

Step One
Open the NetworkManager application (under Server Administration in the Apple Menu) and view the Users tabbed screen.

Step Two
Click the "Load users from file" button (farthest button on bottom of screen). See Figure 1.




Figure 1, "Load users from file" button.

Step Three
In the "Import Users" window click the "Edit options for loading users from file" button. See Figure 2.

Figure 2 , "Edit options for loading users from file" button.

Step Four
In the "User Import Options" window make sure the file format is set for "AppleShare IP." See Figure 3.




Figure 3, User Import Options window.

Step Five
Leave all options at their default with consideration for the following:

File contains internet aliases: This option will use the ASIP mail/internet alias for the user?s account when logging into Mac OS X Server. If no alias was set in ASIP, the username is created from the ASIP username.

File contains password: This feature is not currently supported.

User Account Name: Determines how the Unix-compliant username is generated from the ASIP username, especially if it is more than a one-word name. It is best to choose "Last name" for password simplicity explained below.

Password: Change to "Same as user account". This way the assigned password will be easy for users when they first connect to Apple File Services.

User ID Numbers: Leave this set to "Automatic".

User Default Group: Change this to the group named "macos". This is the default group used for new Apple File Services accounts and can be changed later.

Unix Shell: If you want these users to have access to only Apple File Services and not any Unix services (e.g., local server login or telnet), type "/bin/false" in the box.

Home Directory: If these users will not have access to Unix services, then change to "As listed in import file" which will not generate unnecessary home directories for them.

Step Six
In the "Import Users" window click the "Select and import" button. See Figure 4. Select the exported text file to import. A list of users and their settings will appear in the table. At this time you may edit any of the text entries.




Figure 4 , "Select and import" button.

Step Seven
Close the window and save the changes when prompted. At this time you will likely be prompted for an administrator name and password. The new users will now appear in the User list.

Step Eight
As a final step the new accounts must be enabled. Select only the new disabled users (in gray text) and click the button "Disable login for selected user(s)" which enable the accounts for login with Apple File Services.

Note: For more customized configurations consider first editing the exported file in a spreadsheet such as Microsoft Excel. Make sure to save the edited file in a tab-delimited text format before importing into Mac OS X Server.

For further information on configuring user account options for Apple File Services, please see the following article:

Article 60063: " Mac OS X Server: Using Apple File Services Remote Administration "