Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista : Creating Custom .adm Templates - A Simple .adm Template

To get an idea of what an .adm template looks like, we will review a simple snippet from the System.adm template. You can look at the entire System.adm template to see what the code looks like for a complete .adm template.

CLASS USER
CATEGORY !!DesktopLockDown
   POLICY !!DisableTaskMgr
     EXPLAIN !!DisableTaskMgr_Explain
     VALUENAME "DisableTaskMgr"
     VALUEON NUMERIC 1
     VALUEOFF NUMERIC 0
     KEYNAME "Software\Policies\System"
   END POLICY
END CATEGORY
[strings]
DisableTaskMgr="Disable Task Manager"
DisableTaskMgr_Explain="Prevents users from starting Task Manager"
DesktopLockDown="Desktop Settings"

This policy setting defines the following behavior:

• When enabled, this policy setting creates a registry key called DisableTaskMgr and sets its value to 1. The VALUEON tag implements this behavior. After this policy is implemented, users cannot start Task Manager.

• When disabled, this policy setting creates a registry key called DisableTaskMgr and sets its value to 0. The VALUEOFF tag implements this behavior. After this policy is implemented, users can start Task Manager.

• In both cases, the DisableTaskMgr registry key is created below HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\System in the registry. Note that the key is created under CLASS USER and not under CLASS MACHINE, because this is a user policy setting. You will find this policy under the User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Classic Administrative Templates\Desktop Settings node within the GPME, as shown in Figure 1.

  Figure 1. Custom .adm templates will place the GPO settings under the Classic Administrative Templates node in the GPME.

  

• When set to Not Configured, this policy setting deletes the registry key called DisableTaskMgr. In this case, users can start Task Manager. Note that in the Not Configured case, you will only see the deletion for a true policy setting, not a “preference,” outside the true policy settings registry hive.