User Sync Settings and Lifecycle Behavior
This article covers how to configure automated rules for user account handling based on changes in Active Directory, plus the scheduling and review steps that complete setup.
Settings overview
Setting | What it's for | Options |
Password Notifications | Decide how new users get their initial passwords |
|
Status Sync | Choose how to reflect a user's AD account status changes in Zoho One |
|
Mail Notifications | Choose whether to notify synced users |
|
When User Leaves Selected OU | Define what happens in Zoho One when a user is moved out of a selected/synced AD OU |
|
Important: the Status Sync ↔ OU-departure dependency
There is a crucial interaction between Setting 2 and Setting 4. "When User Leaves Selected OU" is only available if Status Sync is set to Reflect. If you choose Do nothing for Status Sync, the system cannot manage user status based on OU membership, and the "When User Leaves Selected OU" setting will become disabled and unavailable.
Example
Assume user Dexter is moved out of their synced OU in Active Directory:
Status Sync | When Dexter Leaves OU setting | Action in AD | Result in Zoho One |
Reflect in Zoho One | Disable in Zoho One | Dexter is removed from OU but still active in AD | Dexter's Zoho account is disabled (OU rule applies) |
Do nothing | (field disabled - no choice available) | Dexter is removed from OU | Dexter's Zoho account remains active but is no longer synced |
Hard deletion propagation from Active Directory
When Zoho Directory Identity Connect is enabled, Active Directory acts as the primary source for user discovery. If a user is deleted or disabled in Active Directory, the resulting action in Zoho One depends on your Status Sync setting:
When Status Sync is set to Reflect, users disabled or removed in Active Directory are disabled (not deleted) in Zoho One by default.
If your organization requires users to be completely deleted from Zoho One instead of just disabled, contact Zoho One Support to get this particular configuration enabled. Enabling deletion propagation will permanently remove users in Zoho One when they are disabled/deleted in Active Directory.
For step-by-step instructions on deleting users and handling ownership transfers, see How to Delete a User
Note on admin deletion: Each Identity Connect configuration is tied to a Zoho One admin. To ensure uninterrupted sync, the system will not allow deletion or disablement of an owner-admin. You must first use Change Ownership in the tray app to transfer dependencies to another admin before the original account can be removed. Attempting deletion directly will be blocked, and the account will be placed in a "delete-pending" state until dependencies are cleared.Deleting a directory-synced user from Zoho One
Deleting a user in Zoho One does not remove the user from Active Directory.
Warning on data loss: If "Delete in Zoho One" is enabled, removing a user from Active Directory will permanently erase their Zoho mail, files, and service data. This cannot be recovered even if the user is re-synced later from Active Directory.
Common sync scenarios after user deletion
Scenario | Action in Zoho One | Action in AD | Manual Sync Result | Scheduled Sync Result |
Manual recreation | User deleted | User exists & meets criteria | User appears in "Users to Create" | User is automatically recreated |
Complete removal | User deleted | User deleted | No action | No re-provisioning (user remains deleted) |
Mixed Zoho & AD actions (or) Conflicting actions | User deleted | User disabled/moved out of synced OU | Depends on Status Sync setting | Depends on Status Sync setting |
This table illustrates typical outcomes. Actual results depend on your specific sync criteria and status settings.
Schedule sync
- Set frequency (Daily/Weekly/Monthly) and time of sync. Click Save and Next.
Changes in Active Directory are reflected based on the configured sync schedule and may not appear immediately in Zoho One.
Review and finalize sync
- Review and select users from the imported list to add to Zoho One, using these filters:
- New Users - Found in your directory but not yet in Zoho One.
- Users to Update - Existing Zoho One users whose info will be updated from your directory in the next sync.
- Marked for Activation/Disable - Users who will be activated or disabled based on their directory status. Review this category carefully before syncing to avoid unintended access changes.
- Ignored - Users who don't meet the defined sync criteria.
- Click Add and Continue, review the summary, and click Finish to complete setup.
Setup is now complete. Active Directory users and groups will sync automatically based on the rules you've defined. To check on agent health or sync status going forward, see Monitoring and Troubleshooting.
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