The Ldifde Tool Stops Importing .ldif Files If an Attribute Contains Blank Spaces (271517)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server

This article was previously published under Q271517

SYMPTOMS

When you use the Ldifde tool to export Active Directory objects to an .ldif file, if some of the objects have one or more attibutes whose values contain blank or empty spaces, the import process may stop and you may receive the following error message when you try to import these objects into the Active Directory:
An error on line 12: Invalid Syntax
The server side error is "The parameter is incorrect."
0 entries modified successfully.
An error has occurred in the program.

CAUSE

This behavior can occur because the Request For Comments (RFC) 2849 specification requires attributes with blank or empty spaces to be treated differently thn those that do not have blank or empty spaces.

RESOLUTION

To work around this behavior, modify the .ldif import file so that attributes with blank or empty spaces are filled with values.

STATUS

The behavior is by design.

MORE INFORMATION

To view the RFC 2849 specification, view the following RFC Web site, and then search for the RFC specification number:

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:11/20/2003
Keywords:kbbug kbenv kbnofix KB271517