Policy Server Guides › Policy Design Guide › Variable-related Dialogs Reference › User Context Variable Editor Dialog › User Context Variable Editor Dialog Fields and Controls

User Context Variable Editor Dialog Fields and Controls

Name field

Name of the user context variable object. This name will be used to identify the variable when incorporating it into a response or policy expression.

The value of the Name field can be no more than 255 characters.

Description field

(Optional) Description of the variable.

The contents of the Description field must be less than 1K.

Item drop down list

Indicates the portion of the user context that provides the value of the variable. The item is selected from a pull down list which includes:

Directory Entry Property

Attribute of a user directory entry.

Directory Namespace

Namespace of the directory, such as LDAP:, WinNT:, or ODBC:.

Directory Path

Directory path of the user directory connection where the user’s context was established. The path uses the following notation:

<directory namespace> // <server>

where <directory namespace> is a namespace such as LDAP:, WinNT:, or ODBC:.

and <server> is the name of server on which the directory server is installed, for example:

server.company.com

Directory Server

Name of the server on which the directory server is installed, for example:

server.company.com

Is User Context Initialized

Boolean value that indicates whether or not the user’s identity is available and the user context has been established.

Session ID

Session ID that has been or will be assigned to the user’s session, depending on whether or not the session has been established.

User Path

Full user path in the following notation:

<directory namespace> // <server> / <user DN>

where <directory namespace> is a namespace such as LDAP:, WinNT:, or ODBC:, <server> is the name of the server on which the directory server is installed, and <user DN> is the distinguished name of the user. For example:

LDAP://server.company.com/uid=user1,ou=people,o=company.com

User Property

Attribute of a user.

Username

Full distinguished name of the user.

Return Type drop down list

Indicates the type of data represented by the variable. Possible return types include the following:

Boolean

The variable returns a value of 1 (true) or 0 (false).

Date

The variable returns a date in the format of YYYY-MM-DD.

Number

The variable returns a number, including integers or decimals.

String

The variable returns a valid string of characters or a null value.

Property field

For user context variables with an Item field selection of Directory Entry Property or User Property, this field contains the name of the attribute of the directory or user that provides the value of the variable.

DN field

For user context variables with an Item field selection of Directory Entry Property, this field provides the distinguished name of the directory entry.

Buffer Size field

For user context variables with an Item field selection of Directory Entry Property or User Property, this field contains the size (in bytes) of the buffer that will store the variable.

Note: For more information about user context, see the Developer’s Guide for C or the Developer’s Guide for Java.