diff --git a/lib/authentication/LDAPAuthenticator.inc b/lib/authentication/LDAPAuthenticator.inc
index fbb972f..36e69aa 100644
--- a/lib/authentication/LDAPAuthenticator.inc
+++ b/lib/authentication/LDAPAuthenticator.inc
@@ -15,38 +15,79 @@ require_once("$default->owl_fs_root/lib/authentication/Authenticator.inc");
  * @package lib.authentication
  */
 class LDAPAuthenticator extends Authenticator {
-     
-     /**
-      * The LDAP server to connect to
-      */
-     var $ldapServer;
-     /**
-      * The base LDAP DN to perform authentication against
-      */
-     var $ldapDN;
-     
-     /**
-      * Creates a new instance of the LDAPAuthenticator
-      *
-      * @param string the LDAP server to connect to for validation
-      * @param string the dn branch to perform the authentication against
-      */
-     function LDAPAuthentication($ldapServer, $ldapDN) {
-         $this->ldapServer = $ldapServer;
-         $this->ldapDN = $ldapDN;         
-     }
-     
-     /**
-      * Checks the user's password against the LDAP directory
-      *
-      * @param string the name of the user to check
-      * @param string the password to check
-      * @return boolean true if the password is correct, else false
-      */
-     function checkPassword($userName, $password) {
-         global $default;
-         $ldap = new AuthLdap();
-         
-     }
+
+    /**
+     * The LDAP server to connect to
+     */
+    var $sLdapServer;
+    /**
+     * The base LDAP DN to perform authentication against
+     */
+    var $sBaseDN;
+    /**
+     * The LDAP accessor class
+     */
+    var $oLdap;
+
+    /**
+     * Creates a new instance of the LDAPAuthenticator
+     *
+     * @param string the LDAP server to connect to for validation (optional)
+     * @param string the dn branch to perform the authentication against (optional)
+     */
+    function LDAPAuthentication($sLdapServer = "", $sLdapDN = "") {
+        global $default;
+
+        $this->sLdapServer = strlen($sLdapServer) > 0 ? $sLdapServer : $default->system->get("ldapServer");
+        $this->sBaseDN = strlen($sLdapDN) > 0 ? $sLdapDN : $default->system->get("ldapRootDn");
+
+        // initialise and setup ldap class
+        $this->oLdap = new AuthLdap();
+        $this->oLdap->server = array($this->sLdapServer);
+        $this->oLdap->dn = $this->sBaseDN;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Checks the user's password against the LDAP directory
+     *
+     * @param string the name of the user to check
+     * @param string the password to check
+     * @return boolean true if the password is correct, else false
+     */
+    function checkPassword($sUserName, $sPassword) {
+        global $default;
+
+        return $oLdap->checkPass($sUserName, $sPassword);
+    }
+
+
+    /**
+     * Searches the LDAP directory for users matching the supplied search string.
+     * 
+     * @param string the username to search for
+     * @param array the attributes to return from the search
+     * @return array containing the users found
+     */
+    function searchUsers($sUserNameSearch, $aAttributes) {
+        global $default;
+
+        // connect and search
+        if ( $this->oLdap->connect() ) {
+            // search for the users
+            // append and prepend wildcards
+            $aUserResults = $this->oLdap->getUsers("*" . $sUserNameSearch . "*", $aAttributes);
+            //return $aUserResults;
+            if ($aUserResults) {
+                // return the array
+                return $aUserResults;
+            } else {
+                // the search failed, return empty array
+                return false;
+            }
+        } else {
+            $_SESSION["errorMessage"] = "LDAP error: (" . $this->oLdap->ldapErrorCode . ") " . $this->oLdap->ldapErrorText;
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
 }
 ?>