Open-Shell policy definitions

The provided ADMX files can be used by administrators to adjust the settings for multiple users.

Installation

Copy the contents of the PolicyDefinitions folder (including the en-US sub-folder) to C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions.

After that you will be able to use the gpedit.msc tool edit the settings. They will show up under Administrative Templates -> Open-Shell.

To edit a setting, change the policy from Not Configured to Enabled. Setting a policy to Disabled is not supported and has no effect.

State

Each setting has 2 components – state and value. The state can be:

Locked to this value: The value you enter will be used for the setting. Users will not be able to change the setting using the Settings dialog.

Locked to default: The setting will be locked to the default value determined by the software. The default value depends on the current OS version and configuration, current style, etc. The value you enter for the policy will be ignored.

Unlocked: The value you enter will be used to replace the default value of the setting. The users will be able to override the setting from the Settings dialog.

Precedence

There are 4 places where Open-Shell looks for settings. In order of precedence they are:
HKLM\Software\Policies\OpenShell – this is where the Computer Configuration policies are stored
HKLM\Software\OpenShell – this is where you can manually store settings for all users
HKCU\Software\Policies\OpenShell – this is where the User Configuration policies are stored
HKCU\Software\OpenShell – this is where the Settings dialog stores the per-user setting

If a setting is locked in any of the first 3 locations, it will be grayed out in the Settings dialog and users can’t change it.

Localization

You can download translations for the group policy settings. Look for the file PolicyDefinitions.zip
here: http://www.classicshell.net/translations/