Standard or Default Desktop Settings for All Users

[Anthony Bouch]

I must have tried this a dozen times now.

Could anyone please tell me how to create a standard set of settings
including all of the folder and desktop settings - so that whenever a new
user logs onto a PC - they see these settings and not the usual Windows XP
Theme and default Microsoft settings.

We run an image scanning and indexing service managing a lot of files daily.
So there are several settings for every PC and every user that I want as
default.

I really want the status bar to appear as a default in every Window on every
PC - I also want to show the extensions for all known file types (not hide
them which is the default). And I always want the full path in the title
bar. And last but not least - I always want the My Network Places to appear
in the start menu.

We have about 15 PCs (XP Pro) connected to a Windows 2000 domain controller.
All of the users use local profiles (no roaming). What I really want is for
anyone to walk over to any PC and if they've never logged on to that
particular PC before - to have them see 'our' standard settings - not
Microsoft's.

I've tried creating a Config account - making all the setting changes - and
then copying everything from this user's Document and Settings folder to the
All Users folder. All of my recent attempts fail. Whenever a new user logs
in they get the new XP Theme and Microsoft defaults (I would like to use the
Classic Theme).

Any help, advice, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm a little
frustrated at how difficult this has turned out to be for what must be a
common requirement in most organizations.

Regards,

Tony

[Doug Knox MS-MVP]

Use the Group Policy Editor, GPEDIT.MSC to make the changes. This will
also incorporate them into the Default user account's settings, so a new
user will wind up with the same settings.

--
Doug Knox, MS-MVP Windows XP/ Windows Smart Display
Win 95/98/Me/XP Tweaks and Fixes
http://www.dougknox.com
--------------------------------
Associate Expert
ExpertZone - http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
--------------------------------
Please reply only to the newsgroup so all may benefit.
Unsolicited e-mail is not answered.

"Anthony Bouch" > wrote in message
...
> I must have tried this a dozen times now.
>
> Could anyone please tell me how to create a standard set of settings
> including all of the folder and desktop settings - so that whenever a new
> user logs onto a PC - they see these settings and not the usual Windows XP
> Theme and default Microsoft settings.
>
> We run an image scanning and indexing service managing a lot of files
> daily.
> So there are several settings for every PC and every user that I want as
> default.
>
> I really want the status bar to appear as a default in every Window on
> every
> PC - I also want to show the extensions for all known file types (not hide
> them which is the default). And I always want the full path in the title
> bar. And last but not least - I always want the My Network Places to
> appear
> in the start menu.
>
> We have about 15 PCs (XP Pro) connected to a Windows 2000 domain
> controller.
> All of the users use local profiles (no roaming). What I really want is
> for
> anyone to walk over to any PC and if they've never logged on to that
> particular PC before - to have them see 'our' standard settings - not
> Microsoft's.
>
> I've tried creating a Config account - making all the setting changes -
> and
> then copying everything from this user's Document and Settings folder to
> the
> All Users folder. All of my recent attempts fail. Whenever a new user logs
> in they get the new XP Theme and Microsoft defaults (I would like to use
> the
> Classic Theme).
>
> Any help, advice, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm a
> little
> frustrated at how difficult this has turned out to be for what must be a
> common requirement in most organizations.
>
> Regards,
>
> Tony
>
>

[Anthony Bouch]

Are you saying that all of the custom settings we require:

1) Show the extensions for all known file types
2) Display full path in the title bar
3) Show status bar
4) Show My Network Places in the start menu
5) Use the Classic Theme and not the new XP Theme

Can all be made using Group Policy? I'll have a look when I'm back in the
office but I don't recall seeing options for all of these.

Tony


"Doug Knox MS-MVP" > wrote in message
...
> Use the Group Policy Editor, GPEDIT.MSC to make the changes. This will
> also incorporate them into the Default user account's settings, so a new
> user will wind up with the same settings.
>
> --
> Doug Knox, MS-MVP Windows XP/ Windows Smart Display
> Win 95/98/Me/XP Tweaks and Fixes
> http://www.dougknox.com
> --------------------------------
> Associate Expert
> ExpertZone - http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
> --------------------------------
> Please reply only to the newsgroup so all may benefit.
> Unsolicited e-mail is not answered.
>
> "Anthony Bouch" > wrote in message
> ...
> > I must have tried this a dozen times now.
> >
> > Could anyone please tell me how to create a standard set of settings
> > including all of the folder and desktop settings - so that whenever a
new
> > user logs onto a PC - they see these settings and not the usual Windows
XP
> > Theme and default Microsoft settings.
> >
> > We run an image scanning and indexing service managing a lot of files
> > daily.
> > So there are several settings for every PC and every user that I want as
> > default.
> >
> > I really want the status bar to appear as a default in every Window on
> > every
> > PC - I also want to show the extensions for all known file types (not
hide
> > them which is the default). And I always want the full path in the title
> > bar. And last but not least - I always want the My Network Places to
> > appear
> > in the start menu.
> >
> > We have about 15 PCs (XP Pro) connected to a Windows 2000 domain
> > controller.
> > All of the users use local profiles (no roaming). What I really want is
> > for
> > anyone to walk over to any PC and if they've never logged on to that
> > particular PC before - to have them see 'our' standard settings - not
> > Microsoft's.
> >
> > I've tried creating a Config account - making all the setting changes -
> > and
> > then copying everything from this user's Document and Settings folder to
> > the
> > All Users folder. All of my recent attempts fail. Whenever a new user
logs
> > in they get the new XP Theme and Microsoft defaults (I would like to use
> > the
> > Classic Theme).
> >
> > Any help, advice, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm a
> > little
> > frustrated at how difficult this has turned out to be for what must be a
> > common requirement in most organizations.
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Tony
> >
> >
>

[Doug Knox MS-MVP]

You'd have to take a look through GPEDIT to be sure. Additionally, you can
use REGEDIT to apply these settings to the Default user portion of the
Registry, so that they will apply to all new users as well
(www.dougknox.com, Win XP Tips, Advanced Registry Editing).

--
Doug Knox, MS-MVP Windows XP/ Windows Smart Display
Win 95/98/Me/XP Tweaks and Fixes
http://www.dougknox.com
--------------------------------
Associate Expert
ExpertZone - http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
--------------------------------
Please reply only to the newsgroup so all may benefit.
Unsolicited e-mail is not answered.

"Anthony Bouch" > wrote in message
...
> Are you saying that all of the custom settings we require:
>
> 1) Show the extensions for all known file types
> 2) Display full path in the title bar
> 3) Show status bar
> 4) Show My Network Places in the start menu
> 5) Use the Classic Theme and not the new XP Theme
>
> Can all be made using Group Policy? I'll have a look when I'm back in the
> office but I don't recall seeing options for all of these.
>
> Tony
>
>
> "Doug Knox MS-MVP" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Use the Group Policy Editor, GPEDIT.MSC to make the changes. This will
> > also incorporate them into the Default user account's settings, so a new
> > user will wind up with the same settings.
> >
> > --
> > Doug Knox, MS-MVP Windows XP/ Windows Smart Display
> > Win 95/98/Me/XP Tweaks and Fixes
> > http://www.dougknox.com
> > --------------------------------
> > Associate Expert
> > ExpertZone - http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
> > --------------------------------
> > Please reply only to the newsgroup so all may benefit.
> > Unsolicited e-mail is not answered.
> >
> > "Anthony Bouch" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > I must have tried this a dozen times now.
> > >
> > > Could anyone please tell me how to create a standard set of settings
> > > including all of the folder and desktop settings - so that whenever a
> new
> > > user logs onto a PC - they see these settings and not the usual
> > > Windows
> XP
> > > Theme and default Microsoft settings.
> > >
> > > We run an image scanning and indexing service managing a lot of files
> > > daily.
> > > So there are several settings for every PC and every user that I want
> > > as
> > > default.
> > >
> > > I really want the status bar to appear as a default in every Window on
> > > every
> > > PC - I also want to show the extensions for all known file types (not
> hide
> > > them which is the default). And I always want the full path in the
> > > title
> > > bar. And last but not least - I always want the My Network Places to
> > > appear
> > > in the start menu.
> > >
> > > We have about 15 PCs (XP Pro) connected to a Windows 2000 domain
> > > controller.
> > > All of the users use local profiles (no roaming). What I really want
> > > is
> > > for
> > > anyone to walk over to any PC and if they've never logged on to that
> > > particular PC before - to have them see 'our' standard settings - not
> > > Microsoft's.
> > >
> > > I've tried creating a Config account - making all the setting
> > > changes -
> > > and
> > > then copying everything from this user's Document and Settings folder
> > > to
> > > the
> > > All Users folder. All of my recent attempts fail. Whenever a new user
> logs
> > > in they get the new XP Theme and Microsoft defaults (I would like to
> > > use
> > > the
> > > Classic Theme).
> > >
> > > Any help, advice, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm a
> > > little
> > > frustrated at how difficult this has turned out to be for what must be
> > > a
> > > common requirement in most organizations.
> > >
> > > Regards,
> > >
> > > Tony
> > >
> > >
> >
>
>