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Variables in Preference Items
Applies To: Windows Server 2008
Preference extensions support Windows environment variables and generate a number of additional process environment variables. Any variable may be used in a configuration parameter value. Each Help document states whether variables are supported in a specific field.
 Note |
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| Using Registry Match Targeting targeting items, you can define variables at client run-time, and have these control behavior using the Environment Variable Targeting targeting items or as values in a preference item setting. |
Windows environment variables
The Windows environment is a list of variables saved as name/value pairs. To see the current list of variables, type SET at the command prompt. Each process, including the desktop, has a list of variables unique to the process. When one process launches another, normally a copy of the environment of the launching process is passed to the launched process. Typically, environment variable names are enclosed between two percent signs (for example, %ProgramFiles%). Windows resolves the environment variable when an application requests the value associated to the name.
Preference process variables
Preference extensions implement the process variables listed below.
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Note |
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| Variables are not case sensitive. |
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%AppDataDir% |
The current user's Application Data directory. |
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%BinaryComputerSid% |
The SID of the computer in hexadecimal format. |
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%BinaryUserSid% |
The SID of the current user in hexadecimal format. |
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%CommonAppdataDir% |
The "all users" Application Data directory. |
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%CommonDesktopDir% |
The "all users" Desktop directory. |
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%CommonFavoritesDir% |
The "all users" Explorer Favorites directory. |
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%CommonProgramsDir% |
The "all users" Programs directory. |
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%CommonStartMenuDir% |
The "all users" Start Menu directory. |
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%CommonStartUpDir% |
The "all users" Startup directory. |
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%ComputerName% |
The NetBIOS name of the computer. |
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%CurrentProcessId% |
The numeric identity of the main client process. |
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%CurrentThreadId% |
The numeric identity of the main client thread. |
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%DateTime% |
The current time (UTC). |
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%DateTimeEx% |
The current time (UTC) with milliseconds. |
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%DesktopDir% |
The current user's desktop directory. |
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%DomainName% |
The domain name or workgroup of the computer. |
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%FavoritesDir% |
The current user's Explorer Favorites directory. |
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%LastError% |
The last error code encountered during configuration. |
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%LastErrorText% |
The last error code text description. |
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%LdapComputerSid% |
The SID of the computer in LDAP escaped binary format. |
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%LdapUserSid% |
The SID of the current user in LDAP escaped binary format. |
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%LocalTime% |
The current local time. |
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%LocalTimeEx% |
The current local time with milliseconds. |
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%LogonDomain% |
The domain of the current user. |
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%LogonServer% |
The domain controller that authenticated the current user. |
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%LogonUser% |
The user name of the current user. |
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%LogonUserSid% |
The SID of the current user. |
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%MacAddress% |
The first detected MAC address on the computer. |
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%NetPlacesDir% |
The current user's My Network Places directory. |
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%OsVersion% |
The operating system: Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, or Unknown. |
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%ProgramFilesDir% |
The Windows Program Files directory. |
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%ProgramsDir% |
The current user's Programs directory. |
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%RecentDocumentsDir% |
The current user's Recent Documents directory. |
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%ResultCode% |
The client's exit code. |
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%ResultText% |
The client's exit code text description. |
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%ReversedComputerSid% |
The SID of the computer in reversed byte order hexadecimal format. |
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%ReversedUserSid% |
The SID of the current user in reversed byte order hexadecimal format. |
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%SendToDir% |
The current user's Send to directory. |
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%StartMenuDir% |
The current user's Start Menu directory. |
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%StartUpDir% |
The current user's Startup directory. |
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%SystemDir% |
The Windows system directory. |
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%SystemDrive% |
The name of the drive from which the operation system is running. |
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%TempDir% |
The current user's Temp directory as determined by Windows API. |
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%TimeStamp% |
The time stamp of the configurations being executed. |
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%TraceFile% |
The path/name of the trace file. |
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%WindowsDir% |
The Windows directory. |
Preference extensions provide a list of variables from which you can choose to insert into text boxes. You can open the dialog box from any text box that is:
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Not disabled.
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Not read only.
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Not restricted to a numeric value.
To enter a variable
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Open the Group Policy Management Console. Right-click the Group Policy object (GPO) that contains the preference item you want to configure, and then click Edit.
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Place the cursor in the desired box.
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To enter a preference process variable, press F3, select a variable from the list, and then click Select to insert the variable in the box.
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To enter an existing Windows environment variable, type the variable in the box.Note
You can prevent the resolution of a variable before it is applied to client computers (so that the variable rather than the resolved value appears in the preference setting on client computers). To do so for a preference process variable, clear the Resolve Variable check box. This inserts <> between the %% delimiters and the variable name (for example, %<ProgramFiles>%). Preference extensions remove < > characters from the text and leave the unresolved variable. You can also use this syntax with a Windows environment variable.
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To enter a preference process variable, press F3, select a variable from the list, and then click Select to insert the variable in the box.
Additional references
