The Local Group Policy Editor window is divided into two sections:
Left pane—
This pane contains a tree-like hierarchy of policy categories, which is
divided into two main categories: Computer Configuration and User
Configuration. The Computer Configuration policies apply to all users
and are implemented before the logon. The User Configuration policies
apply only to the current user and, therefore, are not applied until
that user logs on.
Right pane— This pane contains the policies for whichever category is selected in the left pane.
The
idea, then, is to open the tree’s branches to find the category you
want. When you click the category, its policies appear in the right
pane. For example, Figure 1
shows the Local Group Policy Editor window with the User Configuration,
Administrative Templates, Start Menu and Taskbar category highlighted.
Tip
Windows
comes with another tool called the Local Security Policy Editor, which
displays only the policies found in the Local Group Policy Editor
Computer Configuration, Windows Settings, Security Settings branch. To
launch the Local Security Policy Editor, select Start, type secpol.msc, and press Enter. As you might expect, this snap-in isn’t available in the Windows 7 Home editions.
In
the right pane, the Setting column tells you the name of the policy,
and the State column tells you the current state of the policy. Click a
policy to see its description on the left side of the pane, as shown in
Figure 2. If you don’t see the description, click the Extended tab.
Configuring a Policy
To configure a policy, double-click it. The type of window you see depends on the policy:
For simple policies, you see a window similar to the one shown in Figure 3.
These kinds of policies take one of three states: Not Configured (the
policy is not in effect), Enabled (the policy is in effect and its
setting is enabled), and Disabled (the policy is in effect but its
setting is disabled).
Note
Take note of the Supported On value in the dialog box. This value tells you which versions of Windows support the policy.
Other kinds of policies require extra information when the policy is enabled. For example, Figure 4 shows the window for the Items Displayed in the Places Bar policy .
When the Enabled option is activated, the various text boxes become
enabled, and you use them to type paths for folders you want to display
in the Places bar.
Filtering Policies
I’ve
been saying for years that the Local Group Policy Editor desperately
needs a search feature. There are nearly 3,000 policies and they’re
scattered around dozens of folders. Trying to find the policy you need
by rooting around in the Local Group Policy Editor is like trying to
find a particularly small needle in a particularly large haystack. The
Local Group Policy Editor in Windows Vista included a rudimentary
filtering feature, but it redefined the word useless.
Fortunately,
although the Windows 7 version of the Local Group Policy Editor still
isn’t searchable (unless you export it to a text file by selecting
Action, Export List), it does come with two new features that make it
quite a bit easier to track down a wayward policy:
The
two Administrative Templates branches (one in Computer Configuration
and the other in User Configuration) each come with a new sub-branch
called All Settings. Selecting this branch displays a complete list of
all the policies in that Administrative Templates branch. (Almost all
non-security-related policies are in the Administrative Templates
branches, so that’s why they get singled out for special treatment.)
A beefed-up filtering feature that’s actual useful for cutting the vastness of the policy landscape down to size.
In
combination, these two features make it much easier to find what you’re
looking for. The basic idea is that you select the All Settings branch
that you want to work with, and then set up a filter that defines what
you’re looking for. Local Group Policy Editor then displays just those
policies that match your filter criteria.
To
show you how this works, let’s run through an example. Suppose I want
to find the Items Displayed in Places Bar policy shown earlier in Figure 4. Here’s how I’d use a filter to locate it:
1. | Select the User Configuration, Administrative Templates, All Settings branch.
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2. | Select Action, Filter Options to open the Filter Options dialog box.
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3. | Make sure the Enable Keyword Filters check box is activated.
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4. | Use
the Filter for Word(s) text box to type a word or phrase that should
match the policy you’re looking for. In our example, we know that
“places” is part of the policy name, so I’ll use that as the filter
text.
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5. | Use the associated drop-down list to choose how you want the policy text to match your search text:
- Any— Choose this option to match only those policies that include at least one of your search terms.
- All— Choose this option to match only those policies that include all of your search terms in any order.
- Exact— Choose this option to match only those policies that include text that exactly matches your search phrase.
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6. | Use the Within check boxes to specify where you want the filter to look for matches:
- Policy Setting Title—
Select this check box to look for matches in the policy name. In our
example, “places” is part of the policy name, and it’s a relatively
unique term, so it should suffice to only filter on the title, as shown
in Figure 5.
- Explain Text— Select this check box to look for matches in the policy description.
- Comment—
Select this check box to look for matches in the Comments text. (Each
policy comes with a Comments box that you can use to add your twocent’s
worth about any policy.)
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7. | Click OK.
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With
your filter in place, select Action, Filter On (or click to activate
the Filter button in the toolbar). The Local Group Policy Editor
displays just those policies that match your filter settings. For
example, Figure 6 shows the results when the filter in Figure 5 is turned on. As you can see, the Items Displayed in Places Bar policy is among the results.
