Windows 7 / Getting Started

Configuring Target Folder Location

If you select either the Basic Redirection or Advanced Redirection option on the Target tab, you have three possible target folder locations from which to choose, plus a fourth location for the Documents folder:

  • Create A Folder For Each User Under The Root Path This is the default setting for the target folder location option. Choosing this option lets you specify a root path for redirecting the selected folder for all users targeted by the GPO. You must specify this path as a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path. For example, if you select this option for the Documents policy setting and the root path \\DOCSRV\DOCS is specified, any users targeted by this GPO will have a folder named \\DOCSRV\DOCS\user_name \Documents created on the file server the next time they start their computers, where user_name is a folder named after the user name of each user targeted by the GPO.
  • Redirect To The Following Location Choose this option if you want to redirect several users to the same redirected folder using the specified UNC path. For example, if you redirect the Desktop folder to \\DOCSRV\DESKTOP and select this option, all users targeted by the GPO will load the same desktop environment when they log on to their computers.
    Another use for this option is to redirect the Start Menu folder to ensure that all targeted users have the same Start menu. If you do this, be sure to configure suitable permissions on the redirected folder to allow all users to access it.
  • Redirect To The Local UserProfile Location Choose this option if you want to redirect a previously redirected folder back to its local user profile location. For example, selecting this option for the Documents policy setting redirects the Documents folder back to %SystemDrive%\Users\user_name\Documents.
  • Redirect To The User's Home Directory This option is available only for the Documents folder. Choosing this option redirects the Documents folder to the user's home folder. (The user's home folder is configured on the Profile tab of the properties sheet for the user's account in Active Directory Users And Computers.) If you also want the Pictures, Music, and Videos folders to follow the Documents folder to the user's home folder, select the Also Apply Redirection Policy To Windows 2000, Windows 2000 Server, Windows XP And Windows Server 2003 Operating Systems option on the Settings tab of the policy setting.

Note You can specify only a UNC path for the root path when redirecting folders to a network share. You cannot specify a mapped drive for this path because network drives are mapped only after all Group Policy extensions have been processed on the client computer.

Note You can use any of the following environment variables within the UNC path you specify for a target folder location in a Folder Redirection policy: %USERNAME%, %USERPROFILE%, %HOMESHARE%, and %HOMEPA TH%. You cannot use any other environment variables for UNC paths specified in Folder Redirection policies because other environment variables are not defined when the Group Policy service loads the Folder Redirection extension (Fdeploy.dll) during the logon process.

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In this tutorial:

  1. Managing Users and User Data
  2. Understanding User Profiles in Windows 7
  3. Types of User Profiles
  4. User Profile Namespace
  5. User Profile Namespace in Windows XP
  6. User Profile Namespace in Windows Vista and Windows 7
  7. Application Compatibility Issue
  8. Disabling Known Folders
  9. Windows 7 Understanding Libraries
  10. Working with Libraries
  11. Including Indexed Folders in a Library
  12. Adding Nonindexed Remote Locations to a Library
  13. Creating Additional Libraries
  14. Managing Libraries
  15. Implementing Corporate Roaming
  16. Understanding Roaming User Profiles and Folder Redirection
  17. Understanding Roaming User Profiles in Earlier Versions of Windows
  18. Understanding Folder Redirection in Earlier Versions of Windows
  19. Enhancements to Roaming User Profiles and Folder Redirection Previously Introduced in Windows Vista
  20. Additional Enhancements to Roaming User Profiles and Folder Redirection Introduced in Windows 7
  21. Improved First Logon Performance With Folder Redirection
  22. Implementing Folder Redirection
  23. Configuring the Redirection Method
  24. Configuring Target Folder Location
  25. Configuring Redirection Options
  26. Configuring Policy Removal Options
  27. Folder Redirection and Sync Center
  28. Considerations for Mixed Environments
  29. Additional Group Policy Settings for Folder Redirection
  30. Troubleshooting Folder Redirection
  31. Implementing Roaming User Profiles
  32. Creating a Default Network Profile
  33. Configuring a User Account to Use a Roaming Profile
  34. Implementing Mandatory Profiles
  35. Implementing Super-Mandatory Profiles
  36. Managing User Profiles Using Group Policy
  37. Working with Offline Files
  38. Enhancements to Offline Files Introduced Previously in Windows Vista
  39. Additional Enhancements to Offline Files Introduced in Windows 7
  40. Understanding Offline File Sync
  41. Modes of Operation in Offline Files
  42. Managing Offline Files
  43. Managing Offline Files Using Windows Explorer
  44. Managing Offline Files Using the Offline Files Control Panel
  45. Managing Offline Files Using Sync Center
  46. Configuring Offline Files on the Server
  47. Managing Offline Files Using Group Policy
  48. Offline Files Policy Settings Introduced in Windows Vista
  49. Additional Offline Files Policy Settings for Windows 7