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WindowsPrincipal Class

Updated: January 2010

Allows code to check the Windows group membership of a Windows user.

Namespace:  System.Security.Principal
Assembly:  mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)

'Declaration
<SerializableAttribute> _
<ComVisibleAttribute(True)> _
<HostProtectionAttribute(SecurityAction.LinkDemand, SecurityInfrastructure := True)> _
Public Class WindowsPrincipal _
	Implements IPrincipal
'Usage
Dim instance As WindowsPrincipal

NoteNote:

The HostProtectionAttribute attribute applied to this type or member has the following Resources property value: SecurityInfrastructure. The HostProtectionAttribute does not affect desktop applications (which are typically started by double-clicking an icon, typing a command, or entering a URL in a browser). For more information, see the HostProtectionAttribute class or SQL Server Programming and Host Protection Attributes.

The WindowsPrincipal class is primarily used to check the role of a Windows user. The WindowsPrincipal.IsInRole overloads let you check the user role by using different role contexts.

TopicLocation
How to: Create a WindowsPrincipal Object.NET Framework: Security
How to: Create a WindowsPrincipal Object.NET Framework: Security

The following example demonstrates how to use the IsInRole method overloads. The WindowsBuiltInRole enumeration is used as the source for the relative identifiers (RIDs) that identify the built-in roles. The RIDs are used to determine the roles of the current principal.

Imports System
Imports System.Threading
Imports System.Security.Permissions
Imports System.Security.Principal

Class SecurityPrincipalDemo

    Public Shared Sub DemonstrateWindowsBuiltInRoleEnum()
        Dim myDomain As AppDomain = Thread.GetDomain()

        myDomain.SetPrincipalPolicy(PrincipalPolicy.WindowsPrincipal)
        Dim myPrincipal As WindowsPrincipal = CType(Thread.CurrentPrincipal, WindowsPrincipal)
        Console.WriteLine("{0} belongs to: ", myPrincipal.Identity.Name.ToString())
        Dim wbirFields As Array = [Enum].GetValues(GetType(WindowsBuiltInRole))
        Dim roleName As Object
        For Each roleName In wbirFields
            Try 
                ' Cast the role name to a RID represented by the WindowsBuildInRole value.
                Console.WriteLine("{0}? {1}.", roleName, myPrincipal.IsInRole(CType(roleName, WindowsBuiltInRole)))
                Console.WriteLine("The RID for this role is: " + Fix(roleName).ToString())

            Catch
                Console.WriteLine("{0}: Could not obtain role for this RID.", roleName)
            End Try 
        Next roleName
        ' Get the role using the string value of the role.
        Console.WriteLine("{0}? {1}.", "Administrators", myPrincipal.IsInRole("BUILTIN\" + "Administrators"))
        Console.WriteLine("{0}? {1}.", "Users", myPrincipal.IsInRole("BUILTIN\" + "Users"))
        ' Get the role using the WindowsBuiltInRole enumeration value.
        Console.WriteLine("{0}? {1}.", WindowsBuiltInRole.Administrator, myPrincipal.IsInRole(WindowsBuiltInRole.Administrator))
        ' Get the role using the WellKnownSidType. 
        Dim sid As New SecurityIdentifier(WellKnownSidType.BuiltinAdministratorsSid, Nothing)
        Console.WriteLine("WellKnownSidType BuiltinAdministratorsSid  {0}? {1}.", sid.Value, myPrincipal.IsInRole(sid))

    End Sub 'DemonstrateWindowsBuiltInRoleEnum

    Public Shared Sub Main()
        DemonstrateWindowsBuiltInRoleEnum()

    End Sub 'Main
End Class 'SecurityPrincipalDemo 

System.Object
  System.Security.Principal.WindowsPrincipal

Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.

Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98

The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.

.NET Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0

Date

History

Reason

January 2010

Added Remarks and Example sections.

Customer feedback.

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