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Using System Policies
System Policies are a method by which you can restrict
certain capabilities and settings depending who is logged in.

You can also customize the Desktop, Programs folder and Start Menu

These are only the basics to help get you started.

Enabling User Profiles
Creating a Policy File
Using Group Polieies
Setting the Registry to use the Policy file

 

Enabling User Profiles
Before you can use System Profiles, you need to enable User Profiles.
These allow each user to have their own desktop and network configuration.
1. Open the Control Panel
2. Double-click on the Passwords icon
3. Click on the User Profiles tab
4. Check Users can customize their desktop settings as well as the other options you want under this.
5. Reboot the computer
6. To enable during installation, see the section on Installing Windows95

Creating a Policy File
1. Run POLEDIT.EXE
2. This can be found on the CD in the \ADMIN\APPTOOLS\POLEDIT directory
3. Select File / New File
Poledit 3
4. If there are settings you want to change for everyone, double-click on the Default User Icon.

This will open a window with all the settings that can be changed.
5. If you want to create a policy for a user, you first need to create a new user.

Click on Edit / Add User
Type in the name of a user you want to set policies for and double click on that icon.
Poledit 5
6. In either case a window will come up with all the restrictions and settings available.
Poledit 6
7. To set a restriction, simply click on the box by the one you want to set.

For example, click on the + by Control Panel and the following restrictions can apply.

Note: With Restrict Display Control Panel selected, additional choices are shown at the bottom of the screen.
Poledit 4

Restrictions and Settings are:

Control Panel

  • Display, Network, Passwords, Printer, and System Control Panels

Desktop

  • Set the Wallpaper and Color Scheme

Network

  • Disable File and Printer Sharing

Shell

  • Custom Folders
    • Custom Program, Desktop, Startup, Network Neighborhood, StartMenu and Hide StartMenu Subfolders.

    Restrictions

    • Remove Run Command, Remove "folders" and "settings" from the taskbar, Remove Find, Hide Drives in "My computer", Hide "Network Neighborhood", No "Entire Network", No workgroup contents in Network Neighborhood, Hide All items on the Desktop, Disable Shutdown, Don't save settings on exit.
8. When you are finished, save the file.

Using Group Policies

In addition to assigning policies to a specific user, you can assign them to users that are in an NT or Netware Group

The advantage of this is that you can assign one policy that will effect many users. This way you don't need to create as many separate user policies.

Group Policies needs to be installed on each client.
1. Insert the Windows95 CD
2. Open the Control Panel
3. Double-click on the Add/Remove Programs icon
4.. Click on the Windows Setup tab
5. Click on the Have Disk button
6. Browse to the \ADMIN\APPTOOLS\POLEDIT directory on the CD.
7. Click on the next two OK buttons.
8. Highlight the Groups Policies box and click on the Install button.
9. This will install GROUPPOL.DLL in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory as well as make a few registry changes.
10. When you create a policy file, you can now use Add Group. Anyone in that NT or Netware group will have the policies you set applied.

Setting the Registry to use the Policy File
1. Select File / Open Registry
Poledit 1
2. Double-click on the Local Computer Icon
3. Click on the + by Network
4. Check Remote Update
5. In the Update Mode box, select Manual
6. In the Path for manual update: box, type in the path and filename for the policy file you just created in the previous section.

This can also be a UNC if it is on a server. The syntax would then be \\server\share\directory\policy_file_name
Poledit 2
7. Click on the OK box
8. To enable System Policies automatically during installation, see the section on Installing Windows95

Whenever User1 (in this example) logs on to the computer,
they will get their restrictions
which can be different from the default or any other user.

It is also possible to have the policy file reside on any NT server

The advantage is that you only would need to update it in one location

The only change necessary is to specify a UNC connection to the NT server for the location of the policy file
e.g. \\server_name\share_name\policy_file.pol

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