1. Introduction



Pin Applications to Start Menu Using GPP 10 Aug. 11Table of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Terms and Definitions PAGEREF _Toc300747659 \h 31. Introduction PAGEREF _Toc300747660 \h 41.1 Document Purpose PAGEREF _Toc300747661 \h 41.2 Check List PAGEREF _Toc300747662 \h 41.3 Steps to Pin Application PAGEREF _Toc300747663 \h 41.4 Testing PAGEREF _Toc300747664 \h 81.4 Troubleshooting PAGEREF _Toc300747665 \h 8Terms and DefinitionsTermDefinitionADActive DirectoryGPOGroup PolicyOUOrganization UnitGPPGroup Policy PreferencesGPMCGroup Policy Management Console1. Introduction1.1 Document PurposeThis document explains the process involved in pinning applications to the Start Menu. The technical content is applicable for pinning Microsoft and non-Microsoft applications. I have taken Wireshark application as my example.Note: Not all applications can be pinned, and the applications which cannot be pinned should be made available to the users in other possible ways. 1.2 Check ListBelow check list would be helpful before creating the pin application.FunctionDescriptionDomain Active Directory Domain Organizational UnitOU where we perform the pinning of applicationApplication Name of the application to be pinnedPermissionsAdministrative privileges required for performing registry merge operations.1.3 Steps to Pin ApplicationFollowing are the below steps required to pin applications to start menu using group policy preferences.Step1: Logon to the workstation with administrator credentials and manually pin the required application to start menu (Eg: Wireshark Application)Step2: Take an export of the following registry hive HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StartPage2Step3: Logon to the Windows Server where Group Policy Management Console is installed, this might be a Domain Controller, Additional Domain Controller or a Member Server with GPMC installed Step4: Navigate to the specific Site Domain OU ( Child OU if present ) and create a New GPO and link it to the OU.Step5: Edit the newly created group policy and navigate to (PS: also see the attached diagram) User Configuration Preferences Windows Settings Shortcuts (Right Click) New Shortcut Step6: Following are the fields to be filled in under Shortcut Properties. To get the below details, logon to the Workstation where you have pinned the application and right click on the pinned application and note down the below details. ActionCreateNameC:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\User Pinned\StartMenu\<application name > Target typeFile System ObjectLocation<Specify full path>Target pathPath of application (Eg: C:\Program Files (x86)\Wireshark\wireshark.exe)Arguments<Blank>Start inPath of the application (Eg:C:\Program Files (x86)\Wireshark)Shortcut KeyNoneRunNormal WindowComment<Blank>Icon File PathPath of the icon (Eg: C:\Program Files (x86)\Wireshark\wireshark.exe)Icon Index0 Note1: To get the information for Name field above, user should have administrative privileges on the Workstation Note2: The above fields are specific to Wireshark application and should populate appropriate path for specific ApplicationsStep7: On the server installed with GPMC, backup the following registry location HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StartPage2 Import the registry which you have exported from the Workstation to the server. Note: To perform this action, user should have administrative privileges on the server.Step8: Once you have completed above step, open GPMC, edit the GPO and navigate to GPO User Configuration Preferences Windows Settings Registry (right click) New Registry Item which will open up New Registry Properties ( please see the diagram below ) Step9: Following are the fields to be filled in for the Registry Properties and they should be in the same Order mentioned below.ActionUpdateHiveHKEY_CURRENT_USERKey PathSoftware\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StartPage2Value NameProgramsCacheValue TypeREG_BINARYActionUpdateHiveHKEY_CURRENT_USERKey PathSoftware\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StartPage2Value NameFavoritesResolveValue TypeREG_BINARY ActionUpdateHiveHKEY_CURRENT_USERKey PathSoftware\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StartPage2Value NameFavoritesValue TypeREG_BINARYActionUpdateHiveHKEY_CURRENT_USERKey PathSoftware\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StartPage2Value NameFavoritesChangesValue TypeREG_BINARYActionUpdateHiveHKEY_CURRENT_USERKey PathSoftware\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StartPage2Value NameFavoritesVersionValue TypeREG_BINARYActionUpdateHiveHKEY_CURRENT_USERKey PathSoftware\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StartPage2Value NameProgramsCacheSMPValue TypeREG_BINARYStep10: close all the windows and perform the test on the workstations.1.4 Testing Following are the steps required to test the policy on the workstation.Step1: Logon to the workstation with standard user or user with administrative credentials, the workstation should be part of active directory domain.Step2: Users can wait for the Group policy refresh cycle which is 90 +/- 30 minutes or force the settings to get applied by running gpupdate /force from the command prompt. Step3: Navigate to the Start Menu to check for the pinned application.1.4 Troubleshooting In the event of users unable to see the pinned application, following are the below steps need to be performed by the support engineers or Group policy administrators.Step1: Run Gpresult on the workstation to check if all desired policy got applied , if the policy hasn’t got applied, Support / administrators has to troubleshoot network connectivity or check for the error messages from the GPResult.Step2: If the policy got applied to the workstation , but users are unable to view the settings, then edit the Group policy preferences by logging on the server and validate the settings for both Registry shortcut and Application shortcut. End of Document ................
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