Types of ADMX Template Files

There are two types of ADMX template files:

• ADMX language-neutral files These files have the extension .admx and surface the actual registry-based policy settings that you can configure using the Group Policy Management Editor user interface. Windows 7 has more than one hundred different .admx files-generally one for each category of Group Policy settings. For example, the RemovableStorage.admx file contains the registry-based settings that surface in the Local Group Policy Editor under Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\System\Removable Storage Access and User Configuration\Policies \Administrative Templates\System\Removable Storage Access.
• ADML language-specific files These files have the extension .adml and comply with the ADML syntax. For each .admx file, there can be multiple .adml files, one for each installed language. These .adml files provide the localized display text for ADM settings in the Group Policy Management Editor using the currently installed language of the user. For example, consider an administrator of a global enterprise who resides in the United States. This administrator creates a GPO from his administrative workstation running Windows 7 with RSAT that is configured to use U.S. English as its default language. If an administrator in Germany then browses the same domain and uses the GPMC to edit this GPO, the policy settings will be displayed in German in the Group Policy Management Editor because this administrator's workstation is configured to use German as its default language. This multilingual Group Policy behavior will occur as long as .adml files for both English and German are found in the central store so that administrators in different geographical locations can access them.

Supported on and Requirements Text

Microsoft Team Says: Group Policy is an enterprise configuration management system. ADMX files are always supersets of previous operating systems' registry-based policy settings. This allows an administrator to support management of multiple operating systems from a single platform. The Group Policy Management Editor registry-based policy settings display values for the "Requirements:" (in extended view) or "Supported on:" (in the Properties page) context of an ADM policy setting to allow an administrator to determine which systems will be affected by different ADMX policy settings. The policy setting will apply to a specific operating system version based on the "Supported on:" text information. Note: If the policy setting is not applicable to a client workstation operating system, it will not have any effect.