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Filter by Using Property filters

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Applies To: Windows Server 2008

The Group Policy Management Console allows you to change the criteria for displaying Administrative Template policy settings. By default, the editor displays all policy settings, including unmanaged policy settings. However, you can use property filters to change how the Group Policy Management Console displays Administrative Template policy settings.

There are three inclusive property filters that you can use to filter Administrative Templates. These property filters include:

  • Managed

  • Configured

  • Commented

Managed

There are two kinds of Administrative Template policy settings: Managed and Unmanaged. The Group Policy service governs Managed policy settings and removes a policy setting when it is no longer within scope of the user or computer.

The Group Policy service does not govern unmanaged policy settings. These policy settings are persistent. The Group Policy service does not remove unmanaged policy settings, even if the policy setting is not within scope of the user or computer. Typically, you use these types of policy settings to set preferences for operating system components that are not policy enabled. You can also use unmanaged policy settings for application settings.

The Managed property filter has three states: Any, Yes, and No. Setting this property filter to Any causes the Group Policy Management Console to display all Administrative Template policy settings. Setting this property filter to Yes causes the editor to show only managed Administrative Template policy settings, hiding all unmanaged Administrative Template policy settings. Setting this property filter to No causes the editor to show only unmanaged Administrative Template policy settings, hiding all managed Administrative Template policy settings.

To set the Administrative Templates Managed property filter

  1. Open the Group Policy Management Console. Right-click the Group Policy object you want to edit and then click Edit.

  2. Right-click Administrative Templates located under Computer Configuration\Policies or User Configuration\Policies. Click Filter Options.

  3. In the Managed list, click the appropriate filter.

  4. Click OK to apply the new filter settings, and close the Filter Options dialog box.

Configured

You can configure Administrative Template policy settings to one of three states: Not Configured, Enabled, and Disabled. Not Configured is the default state for all policy settings. Policy settings set to Not Configured do not affect users or computers. Enabling an Administrative Template policy setting activates the policy setting. When Enabled, the action described in the title of the policy setting applies to the user or computer. When Disabled, the opposite action described in the title of the policy setting applies to the user or computer. Usually Not Configured and Disabled policy settings produce the same results. The difference is that Not Configured policy settings do not apply to the user, but Disabled policy settings apply to a user.

Each Administrative Template policy setting provides detailed information about its Enabled, Disabled, and Not Configured states. You can view this information on the Explain tab of each Administrative Template policy setting. Or, you can view this information for the selected policy setting in the Extended View of the editor.

The Configured property filter has three states: Any, Yes, and No. Setting this property filter to Any causes the Group Policy Management Console to display all Administrative Template policy settings and is the default setting for this filter. Setting this property filter to Yes causes the editor to show only configured Administrative Template policy settings, hiding not configured policy settings. Setting this property filter to No causes the editor to show only not configured Administrative Template policy settings, hiding configured policy settings.

To set the Administrative Templates Configured property filter

  1. Open the Group Policy Management Console. Right-click the Group Policy object you want to edit and then click Edit.

  2. Right-click Administrative Templates located under Computer Configuration\Policies or User Configuration\Policies. Click Filter Options.

  3. In the Configured list, click the appropriate filter.

  4. Click OK to apply the new filter settings, and close the Filter Options dialog box.

Commented

Each Administrative Template policy setting has a comment property. The Commented property allows you to enter text associated with a specific policy setting.

The Commented property filter has three states: Any, Yes, and No. Setting this property filter to Any causes the Group Policy Management Editor to display all Administrative Template policy settings and is the default setting for this filter. Setting this proper filter to Yes causes the editor to show only commented Administrative Template policy settings, hiding policy settings without comments. Setting this property filter to No causes the editor to show only Administrative Template policy settings without comments, hiding commented policy settings.

To set the Administrative Templates Commented property filter

  1. Open the Group Policy Management Console. Right-click the Group Policy object you want to edit and then click Edit.

  2. Right-click Administrative Templates located under Computer Configuration\Policies or User Configuration\Policies. Click Filter Options.

  3. In the Commented list, click the appropriate filter.

  4. Click OK to apply the new filter settings and close the Filter Options dialog box.

Additional considerations

  • Filters are inclusive; therefore, select items you want to display rather than items you want to be removed.

  • Filters do not work with Classic Administrative Templates.