Managing The Windows 2000 Registry

Managing Policies

The Administrative Templates extensions to Group Policies handle all Registry-based policies in Windows 2000. In other words, Administrative Templates provide a mechanism for administrators to configure user interface settings that are stored in the Registry.

Two administrative template extensions can be enabled for a GPO, one for computers and one for users. In GUI terms, these extensions enable Administrative Template nodes in the console tree under Computer Configuration and under User Configuration. (Refer back to Figure 7-3 for a console tree that includes both Administrative Templates nodes.) Until administrative templates are added, however, these nodes are empty.

What Is an Administrative Template?

Administrative templates are ASCII text files, usually with a .adm extension, that tell the Group Policy interface what Registry settings an administrator can set. The template files specify what categories and subcategories should appear under the Administrative Templates node and how policy options are displayed. The Group Policy interface translates the template files into the GUI representation you see, from the intermediate folders down to the policy settings.

The Windows 2000 syntax for administrative templates encompasses the previous template syntax. You can use older NT 4.0-style administrative templates to create user interfaces in Group Policy, however, new templates can’t be used with the System Policy Editor.

It’s not a good idea, however, to allow NT ...