Installing Windows Vista Group Policy

How to access the Management Console

With Windows Vista, the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) is built right into the operating system, making Group Policy Management easier and more accessible than before. To access the GPMC in Windows Vista:

Click on the Start Menu
In the Start Search box type gpmc.msc to bring up the console.

To previous users of the GPMC, the console will look familiar as it (along with the Group Policy Object Editor) has remained largely unchanged

To Edit a GPO

Windows Vista Group Policy Management Console allow you to navigate the tree of the domain to a GPO you are interested in. If you have rights to edit a GPO you can:

Right mouse click on the GPO and select Edit.

This will bring up a GPO Editor that will allow you to modify policies on that GPO.

FAQ

Q: What do I want to use the Vista Console to Edit GPO?

A: Microsoft Windows Vista introduce a new format for displaying registry-based policy settings. Registry-based policy settings are now defined using a standards-based, XML file format, known as ADMX files. Because of this, new Windows Vista-based or Windows Server "Longhorn"-based policy settings can only be managed from Windows Vista-based based administrative machines running Group Policy Object Editor or Group Policy Object Editor. Such policy settings are defined only in ADMX files and, as such, are not exposed on the Windows Server 2003, Microsoft Windows XP, or Windows 2000 versions of these tools.

Q: Can I Edit Windows XP or Windows 2003 templates with Vista?

A: The Windows versions of Group Policy Object Editor and Group Policy Management Console support interoperability with versions of these tools on early operating systems and therefore can be used to manage all operating systems that support Group Policy (Windows Vista and Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows 2000), allowing for example, custom ADM files stored in GPO’s to be usable by the new tools.

Q: Are there any benefits for using Vista to edit GPO?

A: One of the benefits of using Windows Vista to manage group policies is that the .ADMX files are kept in a Central Store maintained by ITS. In Windows Vista the Group Policy Object Editor will not copy ADM files to each GPO, but earlier operating systems will. For this reason it is recommended that if you create policies in Windows Vista, edit them with Windows Vista and avoid editing them with earlier versions of Windows.

Return to Windows Vista Support Center

Last Updated: 04/24/2008