[Freeipa-users] Add attributes to default user schema

[Stephen Ingram]

On Thu, Jun 21, 2012 at 2:06 PM, James James <jreg2k at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi everybody,
>
> Is it possible to have a procedure to add new attributes like
> mailAlternateAddress in the default user schema ?


That particular attribute is included in the schema
(objectclass=mailRecipient) so it is easy to add using the ipa
user-mod --addattr command. I then followed Adam Young's instructions
to change the interface such that we could view/edit the new attribute
in the UI:

1. Edit the /usr/lib/python2.7/site-packages/ipalib/plugins/user.py to
include the new field
2. Add an entry to /usr/share/ipa/ui/user.js for the new value
3. Don't forget to restart httpd and refresh your browser cache to
pick up the new fields

We needed that instead of using the multi-valued mail attribute
because there are circumstances where we need to differentiate between
the "master" email address and aliases. It's easy to add though and
works great. I certainly wouldn't want to be in the position of adding
lots of attributes not already included in IPA, but a one or two-off
seems pretty reasonable to manage.

I don't know if it's still in the I'm sure *very* future plans for
IPA, but I remember seeing some application (MTA, mail store) support
mentioned at one time. These sorts of attributes might be nice to have
if and when that happens.

Steve