Configuring task bar sync in user profiles in active directory

Question

We have multiple users at our customers active directory which have problems with their taskbars. They are working on different machines, a terminal server with Windows Server 2019 installed and a Windows 11 client. On there terminalserver they are using outlook and snipping tool. These two programs are not installed on the Windows 11 machine. When they log off on the terminalserver and start working on the windows 11 machine everything is fine. But when they log off on the windows 11 machine, the user profile syncs. Then they go back to working on the terminalserver with windows server 2019, the user profile syncs again and outlook and snipping tool are both gone from the taskbar and you need to pin them again to it. Also the clock and date from the taskbar is gone and you need to re enable it in the windows settings to have them back. There is no GPO configured to disable time and date in taskbar aswell.

Is there any way to not sync the taskbar with server-saved user profiles? Do you have any other idea?

Kind regards

Answer 1

Hello

There are a few possible ways to prevent the taskbar from syncing across different devices and operating systems. One way is to use the Group Policy Editor to enable or disable sync settings for specific users or groups. You can do this by following these steps:Press the Windows + R keyboard shortcut to open the Run dialog box. Type gpedit.msc in the text box and hit OK.When the User Account Control (UAC) prompt appears, select Yes to proceed.Use the left pane to navigate to the following folder: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Sync your settings.In the right pane, double-click on Do not sync and select Enabled or Disabled as per your preference. Click OK to save the changes.Repeat the same steps for User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Sync your settings.Anther way is to customize the taskbar layout using an XML file and deploy it using a Mobile Device Management (MDM) provider such as Microsoft Intune or Configuration Manager. You can use an existing XML file or create a new one. You can add apps to the taskbar using their Application User Model ID (AUMID) or Desktop Application Link Path. You can also remove default pinned apps and order the apps as you like.

Answer 2

Hello,

thank you for your response! I've tested this but it wasnt working properly. I could also only configure the options inside the computer configuration but could'nt find it in the user configuration. Do you have any other idea as the second option to deploy an XML isn't an option for us?

Kind regards

Answer 3

To prevent the taskbar from syncing with the server-saved user profile, you can disable the "Roaming User Profiles" feature in Active Directory. This can be done by following these steps:

1. Open the Active Directory Users and Computers console.
2. Right-click on the domain name and select "Properties".
3. Click on the "Group Policy" tab.
4. Select the "Default Domain Policy" and click on "Edit".
5. Navigate to "User Configuration" > "Policies" > "Administrative Templates" > "System" > "User Profiles".
6. Double-click on "Do not check for user ownership of Roaming Profile Folders".
7. Select "Enabled" and click on "OK".

This will prevent the taskbar from syncing with the server-saved user profile. However, please note that this will also prevent other user profile settings from syncing between machines.

Alternatively, you can try configuring the taskbar settings using Group Policy. This will ensure that the taskbar is configured the same way on all machines, regardless of the user profile settings. You can do this by following these steps:

1. Open the Group Policy Management console.
2. Create a new Group Policy Object (GPO) and link it to the appropriate Organizational Unit (OU).
3. Navigate to "User Configuration" > "Preferences" > "Windows Settings" > "Registry".
4. Right-click on "Registry" and select "New" > "Registry Item".
5. Configure the following registry keys:

• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Taskband\NumThumbnails = 10
• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Taskband\FavoritesResolve = 1
• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\TaskbarSmallIcons = 0
• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\TaskbarGlomLevel = 1

6. Click on "OK" to save the settings.

These registry keys will configure the taskbar settings on all machines that are affected by the GPO. Please note that you may need to adjust the registry keys to match your specific requirements.

Answer 4

Unfortunately, neither of these options sounds like a good solution for us. We would prefer to configure it in such a way that the user's taskbar does not synchronize on any computer and is saved individually for each computer if that is possible. This is because we use different software on different PCs, and the taskbar is configured differently for each PC.

Answer 5

You can try these two methods:

Use the Local Group Policy Editor:

Press Win + R to open the Windows Run Command dialog box.

Type gpedit.msc and press Enter to open the Local Group Policy Editor.

Navigate to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar.

Double-click the "Lock all taskbar settings" option in the right pane.

From there, select "Enable" in the upper left corner of the screen.

Finally, press "Apply" and then the "OK" button.

This should lock (disable) the taskbar settings.

Use Registry Editor:

Press Win + R to open the Run Command dialog box.

Type Regedit and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.

Next, copy and paste the following command into the address bar at the top and press Enter: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows

Right-click the Windows key and select New > Key.

Name this key Explorer and press Enter.