GPO tool

Group Policy made searchable

A free ADMX browser or comparison tool for IT administrators. Search policies, find registry keys, and see exactly what each setting writes to the Windows Registry. Or compare two GPO backups to see exactly what has changed between them.

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Enable Active Desktop

Enables Active Desktop and prevents users from disabling it.

This setting prevents users from trying to enable or disable Active Desktop while a policy controls it.

If you disable this setting or do not configure it, Active Desktop is disabled by default, but users can enable it.

Note: If both the "Enable Active Desktop" setting and the "Disable Active Desktop" setting are enabled, the "Disable Active Desktop" setting is ignored. If the "Turn on Classic Shell" setting ( in User ConfigurationAdministrative TemplatesWindows ComponentsWindows Explorer) is enabled, Active Desktop is disabled, and both of these policies are ignored.

Registry Information

VendorMicrosoft
ProductDesktop
CategoryDesktop
Applies toUser Configuration
Supported onWindows Pre Vista
Registry Key[HKCU]SoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesExplorer
Value NameForceActiveDesktopOn
TypeREG_DWORD