You configure preferences in Active Directory–based Group
Policy. Local Group Policy does not have preferences. Group Policy does
not strictly enforce policy preferences, nor does Group Policy store
preferences in the policy-related branches of the registry. Instead,
Group Policy writes preferences to the same locations in the registry
that an application or operating system feature uses to store the
related setting. This approach allows you to use preferences with
applications and operating system features that aren’t Group
Policy–aware.
Preferences do not disable application or operating system features
in the user interface to prevent their use. Users can change settings
that you’ve configured with policy preferences. However, preferences
overwrite existing settings, and there is no way to recover the original
settings.
As it does with policy settings,
Group Policy refreshes preferences at a regular interval, which is
every 90 to 120 minutes by default. This means that periodically the
preferences you’ve configured will be reapplied to a user’s computer.
Rather than allowing a refresh, you can prevent Group Policy from refreshing individual preferences by choosing to apply preferences only once.
The way you use policy preferences depends on whether you want to
enforce the item you are configuring. To configure an item without
enforcing it, use policy preferences, and then disable automatic
refreshes. To configure an item and enforce the specified configuration,
use policy settings or configure preferences, and then enable automatic
refreshes.
Because preferences apply to both computer configuration and user
configuration settings, you will find a separate Preferences node under
Computer Configuration and User Configuration. In both configuration
areas, you’ll find two top-level subnodes:
Table 1
provides an overview of the available preferences and where they are
located within the configuration areas and the top-level subnodes.
Table 1. Configurable Preferences in Group Policy
|
PREFERENCE TYPE |
LOCATION |
POLICY CONFIGURATION AREA(S) |
|---|
|
Applications | Application |
Windows Settings |
User |
|
Data Sources | Data Source |
Control Panel Settings |
Computer and User |
|
Data Sources | User Data Source |
Control Panel Settings |
User |
|
Devices | Device |
Control Panel Settings |
Computer and User |
|
Drive Maps | Mapped Drive |
Windows Settings |
User |
|
Environment | Environment Variable |
Windows Settings |
Computer and User |
|
Files | File |
Windows Settings |
Computer and User |
|
Folder Options | Folder Options (Windows XP) |
Control Panel Settings |
User |
|
Folder Options | Folder Options (at least Windows Vista) |
Control Panel Settings |
User |
|
Folder Options | File Type |
Control Panel Settings |
Computer |
|
Folder Options | Open With |
Control Panel Settings |
User |
|
Folders | Folder |
Windows Settings |
Computer and User |
|
Ini Files | Ini File |
Windows Settings |
Computer and User |
|
Internet Settings | Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 and 6 |
Control Panel Settings |
User |
|
Internet Settings | Windows Internet Explorer 7 |
Control Panel Settings |
User |
|
Internet Settings | Windows Internet Explorer 8 and 9 |
Control Panel Settings |
User |
|
Internet Settings | Windows Internet Explorer 10 |
Control Panel Settings |
User |
|
Local Users And Groups | Local User |
Control Panel Settings |
Computer and User |
|
Local Users And Groups | Local Group |
Control Panel Settings |
Computer and User |
|
Network Options | Dial-Up Connection |
Control Panel Settings |
Computer and User |
|
Network Options | VPN Connection |
Control Panel Settings |
Computer and User |
|
Network Shares | Network Share |
Windows Settings |
Computer |
|
Power Options | Power Options (Windows XP) |
Control Panel Settings |
Computer and User |
|
Power Options | Power Scheme (Windows XP) |
Control Panel Settings |
Computer and User |
|
Power Options | Power Plan (at least Windows 7) |
Control Panel Settings |
Computer and User |
|
Printers | Local Printer |
Control Panel Settings |
Computer and User |
|
Printers | Shared Printer |
Control Panel Settings |
User |
|
Printers | TCP/IP Printer |
Control Panel Settings |
Computer and User |
|
Registry | Registry Item |
Windows Settings |
Computer and User |
|
Registry | Collection Item |
Windows Settings |
Computer and User |
|
Registry | Registry Wizard |
Windows Settings |
Computer and User |
|
Regional Options |
Control Panel Settings |
User |
|
Scheduled Tasks | Immediate Task (Windows XP) |
Control Panel Settings |
Computer and User |
|
Scheduled Tasks | Immediate Task (at least Windows 7) |
Control Panel Settings |
Computer and User |
|
Scheduled Tasks | Scheduled Task (Windows XP) |
Control Panel Settings |
Computer and User |
|
Scheduled Tasks | Scheduled Task (at least Windows 7) |
Control Panel Settings |
Computer and User |
|
Services | Service |
Control Panel Settings |
Computer |
|
Shortcuts | Shortcut |
Windows Settings |
Computer and User |
|
Start Menu | Start Menu (Windows XP) |
Control Panel Settings |
User |
|
Start Menu | Start Menu (at least Windows Vista) |
Control Panel Settings |
User |
