Let my application be controlled by GPOs

Question

I am developing a Windows application. I want my application to be configured using its own GPOs, so that the system administrator can control the behavior of my application for each group and user separately. I did some research, but I just could not find the right solution.

If I create some custom policies, how do they get to the server? I think that policies should consist of "changing registry entries." After that, my application uses these entries on the local computer to configure itselft.

For example, my application has a folder in which data is stored. Let's say this is "C: \ data" by default. This path is stored in a specific registry entry. By defining group policy, an administrator can change this path. Thus, the administrator sets the path to "C: \ subfolder \ data" on the server side. Now the local application should use this folder to store data.

I could not figure out how to solve this. is there any way to get group policies on server / domain controller? I would like to publish my application later, so I definitely prefer the solution using something like an installer package.

Answer 1

“I think that policies should consist of“ changing registry entries. ”After that, my application uses these entries on the local computer to configure itself.”

Yes, this is the best way to do this. Create a registry configuration in HKLM\Software\YourAppNameHere or HKCU\Software\YourAppNameHere (depending on whether you want for each user or for each machine).

Your application should just read the registry entry and not worry about group policies.

You can then create ADM or ADMX files that you can install on the domain controller, or simply document registry entries and allow administrators to create their own group policies or expand the registry key in another way.

Edit: A good example of creating an ADM or ADMX file that simply expands registry keys is in this Microsoft KB article:

• http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918238