Policy preferences are configured and managed differently
from policy settings. You define preferences by specifying a management
action, an editing state, or both.
Working with Management Actions
While you are viewing a particular preference area, you can use
management actions to specify how the preference should be applied. Most
preferences support the following management actions:
-
Create Creates a preference item on a user’s computer. The preference item is created only if it does not already exist.
-
Replace Deletes an
existing preference item and then re-creates it, or creates a
preference item if it doesn’t already exist. With most preferences, you
have additional options that control exactly how the Replace operation
works. Figure 1 shows an example.
-
Update Modifies
designated settings in a preference item. This action differs from the
Replace action in that it updates only settings defined within the
preference item. All other settings remain the same. If a preference
item does not exist, the Update action creates it.
-
Delete Deletes a
preference item from a user’s computer. With most preferences, you have
additional options that control exactly how the Delete operation works.
Often, the additional options will be the same as those available with
the Replace operation.
The management action controls how the preference item is applied, or the removal of the item when it is no longer needed. Preferences that support management actions include those that configure the following:
-
Applications
-
Data sources
-
Drive maps
-
Environment
-
Files
-
Folders
-
Ini files
-
Local users and groups
-
Network options
-
Network shares
-
Printers
-
Registry items
-
Scheduled tasks
-
Shortcuts
Working with Editing States
A small set of preferences supports editing states, which present
graphical user interfaces from Control Panel utilities. With this type
of preference, the item is applied according to the editing state of
each setting in the related interface. The editing state applied cannot
be reversed, and there is no option to remove the editing state when it
is no longer applied.
Preferences that support editing states include those that configure the following:
-
Folder options
-
Internet settings
-
Power options
-
Regional options
-
Start menu settings
Note
Only standard folder options support editing states.
Because each version of an application and the Windows operating
system can have a different user interface, the related options are tied
to a specific version. For example, you must configure folder option
preference items for Windows Internet Explorer 8 and 9 are configured
separately from preference items for Windows Internet Explorer 10.
By default, when you are working with this type of preference, every
setting in the interface is processed by the client and applied, even if
you don’t specifically set the related value. This effectively
overwrites all existing settings applied through this interface. The
editing state of each related option is depicted graphically as follows:
When limited space on the interface prevents underlining, a green
circle is displayed as the functional equivalent of the solid green line
(meaning that the setting will be delivered and processed on the
client) and a red circle is used as the functional equivalent of a
dashed red line (meaning that the setting will not be delivered or
processed on the client). Figures Figure 2 and Figure 3 show examples of preference items that use editing states.
You can use the following function keys to manage the editing state of options:
-
F5 Enables the
processing of all settings on the selected tab. This is useful if you
disabled processing of some settings and later decide that you want all
settings on a tab to be processed.
-
F6 Enables the
processing of the currently selected setting on the selected tab. This
is useful if you disabled a setting and later decide you want the
setting to be processed.
-
F7 Disables the
processing of the currently selected setting on the selected tab. This
is useful to prevent one setting from being processed on the client.
-
F8 Disables the
processing of all settings on the selected tab. This is useful to
prevent all settings on a tab from being processed on the client. It is
also useful if you want only a few settings to be enabled.
Note
Keep in mind that the value associated with an option is separate
from the editing state. Setting or clearing an option will not change
the editing state.
Working with Alternative Actions and States
A few preferences support neither management actions nor editing states. Preferences of this type include those that configure devices, immediate tasks, and services.
With devices, as shown in Figure 4,
you use the Action list to enable or disable a particular class and
type of device. With immediate tasks, the related preference creates a
task. The task runs and then is deleted automatically. With services,
you use the related preference to configure an existing service.
