Understand sync rule expressions in Azure AD Connect with our Rule Tool

If you’ve ever looked at sync rules in Azure AD Connect and tried to understand them – or even edit them – you may have found it frustrating! That’s why we have created our free-to-download Azure AD Connect Rule Tool.

In this video, I explain and demo the Rule Tool, and show why you need it:

What does the Azure AD Connect Rule Tool enable you to do?

Reformats text into a logical, readable format. It changes the layout using line breaks and indents so you can follow the code and understand what’s going on
Highlights the parameters that “belong” to a function – i.e. select a bracket and see its partner highlighted
Suggests fixes for functions and MIM properties where you have made a typo
Keeps a list of operators (+, -, >, Or, || etcetera) and flags invalid ones
Indents IIF command parameters are indented and function parameters (eg Left) are indented relative to their placement
Colours are used to highlight to component type – eg Blue for commands, Green for operators, etc.
Shows you when something is wrong
Intelligent code completion and additional information to help you get the syntax right first time:

Highlights parameters that “belong”. Where’s the matching bracket? Click on a parameter in the Rule Tool to reveal its partner:

Highlights expression parameters that “belong”. Where are the IIF arguments?

The Azure AD Connect Rule Tool is free to use forever! No licence required, no catches.

Why did we create the Azure AD Connect Rule Tool?

Out-of-the-box, Azure AD Connect’s Synchronization Rules Editor has a very small window (see below) so it’s very hard to see what’s happening.

Obviously a ‘Copy and Paste’ into Notepad makes life a bit easier, but this is what you see:

IIF(IsPresent([isCriticalSystemObject]) || IsPresent([sAMAccountName]) = False || [sAMAccountName] = “SUPPORT_388945a0” || Left([mailNickname], 14) = “SystemMailbox{” || Left([sAMAccountName], 4) = “AAD_” || (Left([mailNickname], 4) = “CAS_” && (InStr([mailNickname], “}”) > 0)) || (Left([sAMAccountName], 4) = “CAS_” && (InStr([sAMAccountName], “}”) > 0)) || Left([sAMAccountName], 5) = “MSOL_” || CBool(IIF(IsPresent([msExchRecipientTypeDetails]) ,BitAnd([msExchRecipientTypeDetails],&H21C07000) > 0 ,NULL)) || CBool(InStr(DNComponent(CRef([dn]),1),”\\0ACNF:”)>0), True, NULL)

Users have come to expect a high level of sophistication when viewing or editing syntax, and for this reason we have created the Azure AD Connect Rule Tool, which includes color-coding, syntax checking and intelligent code completion (like Microsoft’s Intellisense):

The image above shows an expression displayed in the Rule Tool – it is part of a key rule which you may have seen when you explored the rules which were created during your install process. It’s the one provided in the inbound rule called “In from AD – User Join”, and defines the Transformation expression for the cloudFiltered Target attribute. The rule is complex and contains many hard-coded constants. We are sure you will find understanding and editing this far easier in the Rule Tool!

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