How do I configure group policy for Microsoft Edge Favorites?

Question

How do I configure group policy for Microsoft Edge Favorites?

Keith Andrews 46

I'm relatively new to Group Policy, but I do have a pretty good handle on it. Right now I am troubleshooting the Microsoft Edge Favorites policy against a single test user account I've created in our domain. I believe all of the settings are in place, but when I check Edge with the test user logged into Windows 10, I am not seeing the favorites.

I can run gpresult /r and see that the policy is being read by the user, but I'm obviously missing something. I also always make sure I run gpupdate.exe /force before checking.

You can't see it from the screen capture below, but I do have Authenticated Users included in the Delegation for the policy, but the "Apply group policy" setting is not set to allow, as I don't want this to apply to every user just yet. Thanks in advance for any help!

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](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/1c2c4710-75b3-4c2f-a9bc-3d247294df43?platform=QnA)

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](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/ca353a0e-d697-46ce-b4a0-80e056517a3c?platform=QnA)

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](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/09586edc-74fc-4879-92b2-ff42031db79c?platform=QnA)

Anonymous

2023-01-26T06:21:33.48+00:00

Hi @Keith Andrews ,

Does this problem only occur to ManagedFavorites? As to applying group policies to a specific user, there's a tutorial for you to refer to. If the configuration is correct, please check whether you have used the correct value (format) for this policy. More information can be found in the first link.
Keith Andrews 46 Reputation points

2023-01-26T13:15:31.87+00:00

@Anonymous

Hi! So, I have been able to get other policies to work against individual accounts such as creating shortcuts on desktops for users, but for some reason the policies surrounding Microsoft Edge have not been working. I wasn't sure if it was because the user needed to sign into Edge, or if the policy would apply simply from them signing into Windows with their domain account. I took a look at the tutorial you posted and I have made the correct choices with regard to settings within the group policy. I have Authenticated Users in the delegation, but have unticked the "Allow group policy" setting. I have not seen the inaccessible message before. The favorites just never appear where they should. From other tutorials I've followed, you're only supposed to need the "Configure Favorites" and the "Configure Favorites Bar" policies enabled in order for it to work. Thanks for your time!

Keith
Keith Andrews 46 Reputation points

2023-01-26T13:35:48.3866667+00:00
@Anonymous

Also, I have never seen a place where I can input code such as in the example below. The actual "Configure Favorites" policy provides instructions on how to add the URL values in a much different manner. There has also been some varying recommendations as to whether this policy should be created in Computer Configuration, or User Configuration. Right now it is setup in User Configuration.

Not sure where this would be entered within the policy settings:

SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge\ManagedFavorites = [ { "toplevel_name": "My managed favorites folder" }, { "name": "Microsoft", "url": "microsoft.com" }, { "name": "Bing", "url": "bing.com" }, { "children": [ { "name": "Microsoft Edge Insiders", "url": "www.microsoftedgeinsider.com" }, { "name": "Microsoft Edge", "url": "www.microsoft.com/windows/microsoft-edge" } ], "name": "Microsoft Edge links" } ]

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Anonymous

2023-01-26T06:21:33.48+00:00

Hi @Keith Andrews ,

Does this problem only occur to ManagedFavorites? As to applying group policies to a specific user, there's a tutorial for you to refer to. If the configuration is correct, please check whether you have used the correct value (format) for this policy. More information can be found in the first link.
Keith Andrews 46 Reputation points

2023-01-26T13:15:31.87+00:00

@Anonymous

Hi! So, I have been able to get other policies to work against individual accounts such as creating shortcuts on desktops for users, but for some reason the policies surrounding Microsoft Edge have not been working. I wasn't sure if it was because the user needed to sign into Edge, or if the policy would apply simply from them signing into Windows with their domain account. I took a look at the tutorial you posted and I have made the correct choices with regard to settings within the group policy. I have Authenticated Users in the delegation, but have unticked the "Allow group policy" setting. I have not seen the inaccessible message before. The favorites just never appear where they should. From other tutorials I've followed, you're only supposed to need the "Configure Favorites" and the "Configure Favorites Bar" policies enabled in order for it to work. Thanks for your time!

Keith
Keith Andrews 46 Reputation points

2023-01-26T13:35:48.3866667+00:00

@Anonymous

Also, I have never seen a place where I can input code such as in the example below. The actual "Configure Favorites" policy provides instructions on how to add the URL values in a much different manner. There has also been some varying recommendations as to whether this policy should be created in Computer Configuration, or User Configuration. Right now it is setup in User Configuration.

Not sure where this would be entered within the policy settings:

SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge\ManagedFavorites = [ { "toplevel_name": "My managed favorites folder" }, { "name": "Microsoft", "url": "microsoft.com" }, { "name": "Bing", "url": "bing.com" }, { "children": [ { "name": "Microsoft Edge Insiders", "url": "www.microsoftedgeinsider.com" }, { "name": "Microsoft Edge", "url": "www.microsoft.com/windows/microsoft-edge" } ], "name": "Microsoft Edge links" } ]

Answer 1

Anonymous

Hi @Keith Andrews ,

It seems that you're configuring Edge Legacy policies instead of Edge Chromium ones. "Configure favorites" policy for Edge Chromium should look like this:

If your test user is using Edge Chromium, then it is for sure that these policies won't apply to it. You need to download the administrative template for Edge Chromium, and here's a doc for you to refer to.

If your test user is using Edge Legacy, unfortunately Microsoft no longer supports Edge Legacy. We recommend upgrading to Edge Chromium get a better experience and support.

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Best Regards,

Shijie Li

Keith Andrews 46 Reputation points

2023-01-27T15:23:35.87+00:00

Thank you! This definitely helped. I was unaware that the existing settings in Group Policy for Edge were deprecated, and I had to add the new ADMX file to the Central Store. It took a little trial and error, but I finally got it to work.

Just FYI, I had to edit the policy in User Configuration, not Computer Configuration. Also, the documentation that Microsoft includes for this specific policy at [https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/deployedge/microsoft-edge-policies#managedfavorites is incorrect. When adding the value to the policy it should show as it is in the policy example like below:

[{"toplevel_name": "My managed favorites folder"}, {"name": "Microsoft", "url": "microsoft.com"}, {"name": "Bing", "url": "bing.com"}, {"children": [{"name": "Microsoft Edge Insiders", "url": "www.microsoftedgeinsider.com"}, {"name": "Microsoft Edge", "url": "www.microsoft.com/windows/microsoft-edge"}], "name": "Microsoft Edge links"}]

The online documentation shows it starting with "SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge\ManagedFavorites =" which did not allow the policy to run as expected.

Thanks again for your help!

Keith