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Managing the Desktop Environment

Group Policy is a powerful tool for managing the computer and user configuration of client computers in enterprise environments. Using Group Policy, administrators can configure, manage, and lock down different aspects of desktop and mobile PCs and the experience of users on these clients. This tutorial describes the new features of Group Policy in the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 operating systems and how they build on the earlier Group Policy enhancements introduced in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.

In this tutorial:

  1. Understanding Group Policy in Windows 7
  2. Group Policy Before Windows Vista
  3. Group Policy in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008
  4. New Group Policy Features in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2
  5. Group Policy Policy Settings in Windows 7
  6. Understanding ADMX Template Files
  7. Types of ADMX Template Files
  8. Local Storage of ADMX Template Files
  9. Considerations When Working with ADMX Template Files
  10. Understanding Multiple Local Group Policy
  11. MLGPOs and Group Policy Processing
  12. Managing Group Policy
  13. Adding ADMX Templates to the Store
  14. Creating and Managing GPOs
  15. Using Starter GPOs
  16. Creating and Managing GPOs Using the GPMC
  17. Creating and Managing GPOs Using Windows PowerShell
  18. Editing GPOs
  19. Configuring Policy Settings
  20. Configuring Preference Items
  21. Managing MLGPOs
  22. Migrating ADM Templates to ADMX Format
  23. Converting ADM Template Files to ADMX Format
  24. Creating and Editing Custom ADMX Template Files
  25. Configuring Group Policy Processing
  26. Using Advanced Group Policy Management
  27. Troubleshooting Group Policy
  28. Enabling Debug Logging
  29. Using Group Policy Log View
  30. Using GPResult