This exercise walks you through the process of creating a custom MMC snap-in for editing Group Policy settings.
- Click Start > Run, type mmc, and press Enter.
- On the File menu, click Add/Remove Snap-in.
- Click the Add button. In the Add Standalone Snap-in dialog box, select Group Policy Object Editor from the list and click Add.
- In the Select Group Policy Object Wizard, click Browse (note that you can set the scope to Domains/OUs, Sites, or Computers).
- On the Domains/OUs tab, click the New Policy button (located to the right of the Look In drop-down list).
- To name the new object, type Test Domain Policy. Click OK to select the Policy object.
- Place a check mark next to the Allow The Focus Of The Group Policy Snap-in To Be Changed When Launching From The Command Line option. This will allow the context of the snap-in to be changed when you launch the MMC item.
- Click Finish to create the Group Policy object. Click Close in the Add Standalone Snap-in dialog box. Finally, click OK in the Add/Remove Snap-in dialog box to add the new snap-in.
- Next, we’ll make some changes to the default settings for this new GPO. Expand the following items: Test Domain Policy, Computer Configuration, Windows Settings, Security Settings, Local Policies, Security Options.
- Double-click the Interactive Logon: Do Not Display Last User Name option.
- On the Template Security Policy Setting dialog box, place a check mark next to the Define This Policy Setting In The Template option, then select Enabled. Click OK to save the setting.
- In the Group Policy Object Editor, double-click the Interactive Logon: Message Text For Users Attempting To Log On option.
- Place a check mark next to the Define This Policy Setting In The Template option, and then type the following: By logging onto this domain, you specify that you agree to the usage policies as defined by the IT department. Click OK to save the setting.
- In the Group Policy Object Editor, double-click the Interactive Logon: Message Title For Users Attempting To Log On option.
- Place a check mark next to the Define This Policy Setting In The Template option, then type Test Policy Logon Message. Click OK to save the setting.
- To make changes to the user settings, expand the following objects in the Group Policy Object Editor: Test Domain Policy, User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Start Menu & Task Bar.
- Double-click the Add Logoff To The Start Menu option. Note that you can get a description of the purpose of this setting by clicking the Explain tab. You can also see this description in the right pane of the MMC when the policy is selected. Select Enabled, then click OK.
- On the Group Policy Object Editor, expand the following objects: Test Domain Policy, User Configuration, Administrative Templates, System.
- Double-click the Don’t Run Specified Windows Applications option.
- In the Don’t Run Specified Windows Applications Properties dialog box, select Enabled, then click the Show button. To add to the list of disallowed applications, click the Add button. When prompted to enter the item, type wordpad.exe. To save the setting, click OK three times.
- To change network configuration settings, click Test Domain Policy, User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Network, Offline Files. Note that you can change the default file locations for several different network folders.
- To change script settings, click Test Domain Policy ? Computer Configuration ? Windows Settings ? Scripts (Startup/Shutdown). Note that you can add script settings by double-clicking either the Startup or the Shutdown item.
- The changes you have made for this GPO are automatically saved. You can optionally save this customized MMC console by selecting Save As from the Console menu. Then provide a name for the new MMC snap-in (such as Group Policy Test). You will now see this item in the Administrative Tools program group.
- When you are finished modifying the Group Policy settings, close the MMC tool.
