How do I use Intune configuration profiles to hide specific folders from This PC (3D Objects, Music, Videos) so the user cannot see them?

Question

I'm trying to configure an Intune configuration policy to disable the known folders "Music", "Videos" and "3D Objects" from appearing in File Explorer. I've already hidden the C drive, I just want to ensure the only folders users can see are Desktop Documents Downloads and Pictures, most of these are auto sync'd with OneDrive (Downloads is necessary to keep), but Videos and Music are not - which is a problem because I want to ensure we can reimage and delete profiles on these PCs without fear of losing work.

As I work in Education, I'd rather not leave it up to students to make sure they don't lose their work by saving it in the wrong folder.

I found the Disable Known Folders policy but despite using the Canonical Name "My Videos" and "My Music" I haven't been able to get the policy to work. Could anyone advise me on best practice on how to do this? I'm sure I'm missing something obvious on this. Do I have to name the file path C:(USER)\Videos? If so, what should i replace (USER) with to ensure it applies to whatever User account is currently logged in?

Answer 1

@Scott Collier (SHHS), Thanks for posting in Q&A. For the policy you configure, based on my checking, I find it will prevent the underlying file or directory from being created via the known folder API. If the folder exists before the policy is applied, the folder must be manually deleted since the policy only blocks the creation of the folder. So it is not working on our side.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/client-management/mdm/policy-csp-admx-windowsexplorer#disableknownfolders

And I don't find other built in policy in Intune can do this.

After researching more, I find it seems we can use registry key to hide it. You can test on one device and if it can work, then I think you can consider do it via PowerShell Script. If the script can work, then we can consider deploy the script via Intune:

https://superuser.com/questions/1470599/hide-3d-objects-from-this-pc

Note: Non-Microsoft link, just for the reference.

Meanwhile, for the GUID of the default windows known folder, here is a link for the reference:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/shell/knownfolderid#constants

Hope the above information can help.

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