Best Practices for Authoring ADMX Files

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Applies To: Windows Server 2008

Here are some best practices to use when authoring an ADMX file.

  1. All ADMX files are authored as one language neutral file (.admx) and a set of language-dependent files that will be localized for all supported languages (.adml).

  2. To avoid duplicate nodes from being displayed in the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) or the Local Group Policy Editor, do not use the same category name that has been previously defined under a parent category. For example, if your company created an .admx file with a category based on the company name, then creating a second .admx file with that company name category will result in the GPMC or the Local Group Policy Editor, creating two nodes with the same name. Instead create a custom base file that all your company .admx files will reference. For more information see Creating a Custom Base ADMX File.

  3. To avoid circular referencing, one .admx file should not reference another .admx file's category elements. Instead, a component base category should be placed in a separate base file built for referencing from multiple .admx files. For more information see Creating a Custom Base ADMX File.

  4. Each policy namespace for an .admx file must be unique. The policy namespace is defined in the target Element of the .admx file.

  5. XML is case sensitive. You must enter all elements and attributes in the same case as presented in this reference.