4.16 Managing Windows Preferences

Using Universal Policy Administrator, you can now configure and manage various settings for Windows operating systems.

The Windows Preferences allows administrator to configure and set preferences rather than enforce policies, giving users more flexibility while still maintaining administrative control. Windows Preferences can be used to manage settings related to the Windows registry, files and folders, shortcuts, printers, network shares, and more.

The Windows Preferences lets you create multiple preference items with each preference extension. The preference items are categorized as Computer Preferences and User Preferences. The Computer Preferences and User Preferences are further categorized as Windows Settings and Control Panel Settings.

NOTE:Preference items exist only if a administrator creates them, and each preference item contains multiple properties.

Computer Preferences - Windows Settings	Computer Preferences - Control Panel Settings
Environment	Data Sources
Files	Devices
Folders	Folder Options
Ini Files	Local Users and Groups
Registry	Network Options
Network Shares	Power Options
Shortcuts	Printers
	Scheduled Tasks
	Services

User Preferences - Windows Settings	User Preferences - Control Panel Settings
Drive Maps	Data Sources
Environment	Devices
Files	Folder Options
Folders	Internet Settings
Ini Files	Local User and Groups
Registry	Network Options
shortcuts	Power Options
	Printers
	Regional Options
	Scheduled Tasks
	Start Menu

Preference Extension	Description
Environment	Creates, modifies, or deletes a persistent user or system environment variable.
Drive Maps	Creates, configures, or deletes dynamic a drive mapping.
Files	Copies or replaces files and configures their attributes, or deletes files.
Folders	Creates folders and configures their attributes, or deletes folders and their contents.
Ini Files	Creates or changes a property/value pair in an .ini file, or deletes part or all of an .ini file.
Registry	Creates, modifies, or deletes a setting in the Windows registry.
Network Shares	Creates, modifies, or deletes a share. Can configure Access-Based Enumeration.
Shortcuts	Creates, modifies, or deletes a shortcut to a file system object (such as a file, folder, drive, share, or computer), a shell object (such as a printer, desktop item, or control panel item), or a URL (such as a Web page or an FTP site).
Data Sources	Configures an ODBC system or other user data source.
Devices	Enables or disables a class or type of hardware device.
Folder Options	Modifies Folder Options in Windows Explorer, associates a file extension with a particular program, or associates a file extension with a particular class of files.
Local Users and Groups	Creates, modifies or deletes local users (performing tasks such as setting passwords) or local security groups (performing tasks such as creating restricted groups and modifying the list of members).
Network Options	Creates, modifies, or deletes a virtual private network (VPN) or dial-up network (DUN) connection.
Power Options	Configures power management options, either modifying power options or creating, modifying, or deleting a power scheme.
Printers	Creates, modifies, or deletes a local, shared, or TCP/IP printer connection.
Scheduled Tasks	Creates, modifies, or deletes a scheduled task in the Control Panel.
Services	Modifies an operating system service.
Internet Settings	Modifies Internet settings.
Regional Options	Configures how most programs format numbers, currencies, dates, and times for end users.
Start Menu	Modifies the look and feel of the Start menu.

To Create Windows Preference Settings:

Log in to the Web Console as an Administrator.
Navigate to the Universal Policies tab.
Select a Universal Policy from the Universal Policies tab in the Web Console and click Windows Group Policy.
In the Windows Group Policy tab click Windows Preferences to view the preference items categorized as Computer Preferences and User Preferences.
Select the preference settings you want to include in your policy.
Click +New to open the Properties tab.
On the Properties tab, select the settings needed for the preference item and click OK.
In the Windows Preferences tab, click Save.

NOTE:Specifications with * are mandatory to be entered.

To Update Windows Preference Settings:

Log in to the Web Console as an Administrator.
Navigate to the Universal Policies tab.
Select a Universal Policy from the Universal Policies tab in the Web Console and click Windows Group Policy.
In the Windows Group Policy tab click Windows Preferences to view the preference items categorized as Computer Preferences and User Preferences.
Select the preference setting you want to update in your policy.
In the Preferences tab, click on the preference you want to update.
Update the setting as per requirements (Edit, Delete, Enable, Disable, Move Up, Move Down and Share).
In the Windows Preferences tab, click Save.