In Novell eDirectory™, the Directory Map object is a pointer to a path in the NetWare server file system that represents a particular directory in the file system. It allows you to make simpler references to directories by using a Directory Map object in your login scripts instead of the fixed path. Directory Map objects are available only for NetWare NSS and Traditional volumes.
For instructions, see Section 7.14, Creating and Configuring a Directory Map Object.
Directory Map objects can be especially useful in Novell Client login scripts to point to directories that contain applications or other frequently used files. In Novell Client login scripts, you can map a drive to a Directory Map object instead of to the directory. If the application’s location in the directory structure changes, you can update the path in the Directory Map object instead of changing the related drive maps in numerous login scripts. For information about map command options, see Using Login Scripts
in the Novell Login Scripts Guide.
For example, suppose a word processing application resides in a directory called appsvol:wpapps\oo10. You map a network-search drive to that directory in login scripts you create for users.
Later, you upgrade the word processing application and rename its directory from appsvol:wpapps\oo10 to appsvol:wpapps\oo11. You must modify the path in the network drive map in every login script where that network-search map appears.
If you map the directory path to a Directory Map object instead of a network-search drive, you can avoid tedious modifications of the login scripts. Use the eDirectory plug-in for Novell iManager to create a Directory Map object. For example, create a Directory Map object called default_wpapp, for appsvol:wpapps\oo11. Place a map command in your login scripts that map a search drive to the Directory Map object, rather than to the specific directory. For example:
map ins s2:=.default_wpapp.dept.domain_us
When users log in, their network-search drive is mapped to the default_wpapp Directory Map object, which, in turn, points to appsvol:wpapps\oo11.
Later, if you install a yet another default word processor and change the directory’s name to appsvol:wpapps\superwp, you need to change only the directory path in the default_wpapp Directory Map object. You do not need to change the map command in the login script because the map command still indicates the correct Directory Map object.
For information, see Object Classes and Properties
in the Novell eDirectory 8.8 Administration Guide.