PowerShell Script #1 — Manage Active Directory Users: Create, Edit and Disable Accounts

Overview

Managing Active Directory users manually through ADUC is repetitive and error-prone. Every onboarding means clicking through the same wizard, setting the same groups, enforcing the same naming convention. AD User Manager v4 is a free PowerShell GUI tool that wraps the core ActiveDirectory cmdlets into a single window — create, edit, copy, and disable accounts without ever opening ADUC.

This is Script #1 in the series 10 PowerShell Scripts to Automate Your Windows Sysadmin Routine.

Prerequisites

• Windows Server 2012 R2 or later with Active Directory Domain Services
• PowerShell 5.1 or later (built-in on Windows 10 / Server 2016+)
• RSAT ActiveDirectory module (Get-ADUser, New-ADUser, Set-ADUser, Disable-ADAccount)
• An account with delegation rights to create users, modify groups, and disable accounts

Download and First Run

Save the script to a folder such as C:\Scripts\ADUserManager. Open a PowerShell session as Administrator and run:

# Allow script execution (once per machine)
Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

# Launch the GUI
.\AD_Admin_anavem_v4.ps1

The script connects to your current AD domain automatically on startup via Get-ADDomain. The status bar at the top shows the connected domain and DC name.

Create a New User Account

In the Create User tab, fill in the required fields. The tool automatically generates the SAMAccountName and UPN from the first and last name.

1. Enter First Name, Last Name, and Job Title.
2. Select the target OU from the dropdown (pre-loaded on connect).
3. Click Generate Password — a 14-character random password is created and copied to clipboard.
4. Optionally click Load Groups, then select the security groups to assign.
5. Click Create User.

New-ADUser -Name "$displayName" -GivenName "$first" -Surname "$last" `
  -SamAccountName "$sam" -UserPrincipalName "$upn" `
  -Path "$ou" -AccountPassword (ConvertTo-SecureString "$pwd" -AsPlainText -Force) `
  -Enabled $true -ChangePasswordAtLogon $true
Add-ADGroupMember -Identity "$group" -Members "$sam"

Edit an Existing User

In the Edit User tab, search by name or SAMAccountName, select the account, update the fields you need, then click Save Changes.

Set-ADUser -Identity "$sam" -Title "$title" -Department "$dept" `
  -EmailAddress "$email"

Copy a Template User (Onboarding)

In the Copy User tab, enter the SAMAccountName of the template account. The OU path and group memberships load automatically. Fill in the new user details, then click Create from Template.

Disable a User Account (Offboarding)

In the Block/Enable tab, search for the departing user and click Disable Account.

Disable-ADAccount -Identity $sam

Full Script

The complete source code of AD_Admin_anavem_v4.ps1 is provided below. You can also download the .ps1 file directly.

Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Windows.Forms
Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Drawing
Import-Module ActiveDirectory -ErrorAction Stop
[System.Windows.Forms.Application]::EnableVisualStyles()

# --- Colours ---
$cbg     = [System.Drawing.Color]::FromArgb(246, 248, 252)
$cwhite  = [System.Drawing.Color]::White
$cheader = [System.Drawing.Color]::FromArgb(13, 17, 38)
$cside   = [System.Drawing.Color]::FromArgb(13, 17, 38)
$csearch = [System.Drawing.Color]::FromArgb(37, 99, 235)
$ccreate = [System.Drawing.Color]::FromArgb(3, 122, 70)
$cedit   = [System.Drawing.Color]::FromArgb(37, 99, 235)
$cblock  = [System.Drawing.Color]::FromArgb(180, 22, 22)
$ccopy   = [System.Drawing.Color]::FromArgb(88, 28, 175)
$cgreen  = [System.Drawing.Color]::FromArgb(3, 130, 72)
$corange = [System.Drawing.Color]::FromArgb(194, 78, 10)
$cred    = [System.Drawing.Color]::FromArgb(180, 22, 22)
$cgray   = [System.Drawing.Color]::FromArgb(71, 85, 105)
$ctext   = [System.Drawing.Color]::FromArgb(15, 23, 42)
$csub    = [System.Drawing.Color]::FromArgb(71, 85, 105)
$cborder = [System.Drawing.Color]::FromArgb(203, 213, 225)
$cinput  = [System.Drawing.Color]::FromArgb(248, 250, 255)
$crowalt = [System.Drawing.Color]::FromArgb(239, 244, 255)
$cshadow = [System.Drawing.Color]::FromArgb(196, 207, 226)

# --- Fonts ---
$fhdr    = New-Object System.Drawing.Font("Segoe UI Semibold", 16, [System.Drawing.FontStyle]::Bold)
$fnorm   = New-Object System.Drawing.Font("Segoe UI", 10)
$flbl    = New-Object System.Drawing.Font("Segoe UI", 9)
$flblb   = New-Object System.Drawing.Font("Segoe UI", 9, [System.Drawing.FontStyle]::Bold)
$fbtn    = New-Object System.Drawing.Font("Segoe UI Semibold", 9, [System.Drawing.FontStyle]::Bold)
$fbtnlg  = New-Object System.Drawing.Font("Segoe UI Semibold", 10, [System.Drawing.FontStyle]::Bold)
$fnav    = New-Object System.Drawing.Font("Segoe UI", 10, [System.Drawing.FontStyle]::Bold)
$fsmall  = New-Object System.Drawing.Font("Segoe UI", 8)
$fhero   = New-Object System.Drawing.Font("Segoe UI Semibold", 13, [System.Drawing.FontStyle]::Bold)
$fmono   = New-Object System.Drawing.Font("Consolas", 9)

function pt($x, $y) { return New-Object System.Drawing.Point($x, $y) }
function sz($w, $h) { return New-Object System.Drawing.Size($w, $h) }

function L($t, $x, $y, $w = 155, $h = 26) {
    $l = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.Label
    $l.Text = $t; $l.Location = pt $x $y; $l.Size = sz $w $h
    $l.Font = $flbl; $l.ForeColor = $csub
    $l.BackColor = [System.Drawing.Color]::Transparent
    $l.TextAlign = [System.Drawing.ContentAlignment]::MiddleLeft
    return $l
}

function TBox($x, $y, $w = 290, $h = 32, $v = "") {
    $t = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.TextBox
    $t.Location = pt $x $y; $t.Size = sz $w $h
    $t.Font = $fnorm; $t.BackColor = $cinput; $t.ForeColor = $ctext
    $t.BorderStyle = "FixedSingle"; $t.Text = $v
    return $t
}

function Btn($t, $x, $y, $w = 175, $h = 44, $bg = $csearch, $fg = $cwhite) {
    $b = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.Button
    $b.Text = $t; $b.Location = pt $x $y; $b.Size = sz $w $h
    $b.FlatStyle = "Flat"; $b.FlatAppearance.BorderSize = 0
    $b.BackColor = $bg; $b.ForeColor = $fg; $b.Font = $fbtnlg
    $b.Cursor = [System.Windows.Forms.Cursors]::Hand
    return $b
}

function Connect-AD {
    try {
        $d = [System.DirectoryServices.ActiveDirectory.Domain]::GetCurrentDomain()
        $script:ADDomain = $d.Name
        $script:ADDC = $d.FindDomainController().Name
        Write-Host "Connected to $($script:ADDomain) via $($script:ADDC)"
    } catch {
        Write-Host "AD connection failed: $_" -ForegroundColor Red
    }
}

Connect-AD

$form = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.Form
$form.Text = "AD User Manager v4 - anavem.com"
$form.Size = sz 1130 870
$form.StartPosition = "CenterScreen"
$form.BackColor = $cbg
$form.Font = $fnorm

$pHdr = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.Panel
$pHdr.Dock = "Top"; $pHdr.Height = 76; $pHdr.BackColor = $cheader
$form.Controls.Add($pHdr)

$lblHdrTitle = New-Object System.Windows.Forms.Label
$lblHdrTitle.Text = "AD User Manager"; $lblHdrTitle.Font = $fhdr
$lblHdrTitle.ForeColor = $cwhite; $lblHdrTitle.Location = pt 14 18
$lblHdrTitle.AutoSize = $true
$pHdr.Controls.Add($lblHdrTitle)

$form.ShowDialog()

The above is a condensed reference version. Download the full script for the complete GUI with all tabs, search, group management, and activity log.

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