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Getting started

The main window

Main window

Area Purpose
Menus File, Edit, View, Settings, Analyse, Labs, Help
Toolbar create an object (OU, container, user, group, computer, gMSA, policy, PSO) under the selected object; Relations, Graph, Security audit, Export PNG
Active Directory Structure the domain tree, with a search bar (name, type or description) and badges: tier, linked GPO, DEL delegation, AUDIT finding
AD Sites below the tree: sites, their subnets and domain controllers
Object Details name, type, DN, tier, Markdown sheet, actions, Security section
Status bar latest message and object counts per type

A first domain

On startup, SMAD-X loads contoso.com: a domain in production for two years, with three sites (Paris, Lyon and the default site), business OUs, GPOs, PSOs and a few common deviations the audit reveals. The named administrators (adm-…) are members of GG-Tier0-Admins, itself a member of Domain Admins. File > New Structure (sample) (Ctrl+Shift+N) reloads it at any time.

File > New Domain... (Ctrl+N), enter the DNS name (for example corp.local), choose the Windows Server version of the first domain controller (2019, 2022 or 2025) and whether to apply tier classification. SMAD-X creates the AD DS that this version installs, without any change:

  • the Builtin container (all its groups: Administrators, Account Operators, Print Operators, Pre-Windows 2000 Compatible Access…), Users (built-in accounts and groups), Computers, ForeignSecurityPrincipals, Keys, LostAndFound, Managed Service Accounts, Program Data, Infrastructure, NTDS Quotas, TPM Devices;
  • System, with AdminSDHolder, Password Settings Container and Policies (Default Domain Policy and Default Domain Controllers Policy);
  • the Domain Controllers OU and DC01;
  • the default password policy: 7 characters, complexity, history of 24, maximum age of 42 days, no lockout;
  • what is specific to the version: the System\SOA-Policies container on 2022, the OpenSSH Users, External Trust Accounts and Forest Trust Accounts groups on 2025;
  • the join quota: any user can join 10 computers to the domain (ms-DS-MachineAccountQuota).

Nothing is hardened: auditing a new domain shows what an installation leaves to fix.

File > Open... (Ctrl+O) loads a .smad-x.json. A file from an older version is converted on load; a file written by a newer version of SMAD-X is refused with a clear message.

Adding and editing objects

  1. Select the parent container in the tree.
  2. Click the object type in the toolbar, or right-click the parent.
  3. Fill in the details panel. The DN is computed automatically.
Action Shortcut
Rename F2
Copy / paste (with children) Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V
Delete Del
Undo / redo Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y

SMAD-X enforces AD rules: forbidden characters, length, unique names, and allowed child types (a container cannot hold OUs, for example).

A new name is confirmed with Enter or by leaving the field; Esc cancels it. As in the directory, renaming an object updates everything that refers to it: group memberships, PSOs, linked GPOs, owners, delegations and site domain controllers. Deleting an object removes these references; the status bar says how many were touched.

Each object's sheet

Every object has a Markdown description. Built-in objects come with sheets written in English and French: role, security notes, recommendations. Switching language translates these original sheets, never the ones you wrote or changed. Edit switches to editing, and File > Import Description (.md)... replaces the sheet with a file.

AD sites

Sites window

Analysis > View sites... (Ctrl+Shift+S) manages the topology: sites, subnets, domain controllers, replication links, with a table and a graph view.

Language and theme

View > Language and View > Theme switch the language (English, French) and the theme (dark, light) without restarting.

Going further