AD advanced settings

4 steps 2 min Updated 2 September 2026

Most Active Directory configuration lives on the main Active Directory settings page. This advanced page holds two things that need their own editors: exclusions and AD attribute mappings. They feed the same connector, so a change here affects its next run.

Looking for the year group or intake year mapping? Those are on the Students tab of Active Directory settings, beside the OU paths that use %YG and %IY.

Before you start

You must be a school admin with sync settings permission, with the school selected in the switcher.
Exclusions match on username, so have the accounts you want skipped to hand.

Steps

Step 1: Open AD advanced settings

From Active Directory settings, open Advanced settings (or go to the AD advanced page directly).

Step 2: Set exclusions

In the Exclusions card:

User exclusions — usernames the AD sync should skip entirely.
Group exclusions — groups the AD sync should skip.

Use these to keep specific accounts or groups (for example service accounts, or a group managed by hand in AD) out of the sync so it never touches them.

Step 3: Map AD attributes to source fields

The Field mapping section lets you fill selected AD attributes from a Realsmart source field. For each AD attribute — Office (physicalDeliveryOfficeName), Pager, and Description — pick which Realsmart field supplies it, choosing from: Forename, Surname, Username, MIS ID, UPN/Staff Code, or Job Title (or leave it as "-" to fill nothing).

For example, mapping Description to Job Title writes each staff member's job title into the Description attribute of their AD account.

Step 4: Save

Select Save advanced settings. The connector applies the exclusions and mappings on its next run. Check the effect with Preview the Active Directory export before relying on it.

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