Redirect My Documents to the home directory based on security group membership

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

To redirect My Documents to the home directory based on security group membership

  1. Open a Group Policy object that is linked to the site, domain, or organizational unit that contains the users whose My Documents folders you want to redirect.

  2. In the console tree, double-click Folder Redirection to display My Documents.

    Where?

    • Group Policy object\User Configuration\Windows Settings\Folder Redirection\My Documents.

  3. Right-click My Documents, and then click properties.

  4. On the Target tab, in Setting, click Advanced - Specify locations for various user groups.

  5. Click Add.

  6. In the Specify Group and Location dialog box, under Security Group Membership, type the name of the security group, or click Browse to search for it.

  7. Under Target Folder Location, click Redirect to the user's home directory, and then click OK.

  8. In the My Documents properties dialog box, click OK.

Notes

  • To complete this procedure, you must be logged on as a member of the Domain Administrators security group, the Enterprise Administrators security group, or the Group Policy Creator Owners security group.

  • To open Group Policy Object Editor, see Related Topics.

  • This option is intended only for organizations that have already deployed home directories and that want to maintain compatibility with their existing home directory environment.

  • If you redirect My Documents to the home directory, domain administrators have full control over the user's My Documents folder. This is the case even if you select the Grant the user exclusive rights to My Documents check box on the Settings tab in the My Documents properties dialog box.

  • Redirection to the home directory requires a client computer running Windows XP Professional, Windows XP 64-bit Edition (Itanium), or a Windows Server 2003 operating system. It does not work for Windows 2000 clients, Windows NT clients, or Windows XP Home Edition clients.

  • In home directory redirection, security is not checked, and permissions are not changed. Folder Redirection assumes that the administrator has set directory security correctly. This relaxed security is why redirection to the home directory is only recommended if it is needed for backward compatibility.

  • In home directory redirection, no ownership checks are made. Normally, folder redirection fails if a user is not the owner of the folder to which he or she is being redirected. Because redirection to the home directory is intended for use in a legacy environment, this ownership check is skipped.

  • Users must have the home directory property set correctly on their user object in Active Directory. The client computer finds out the path for the user's home directory from the user object in Active Directory at logon time. Users who are affected by Folder Redirection policy must have this path set correctly, or folder redirection will fail.

Information about functional differences

  • Your server might function differently based on the version and edition of the operating system that is installed, your account permissions, and your menu settings. For more information, see Viewing Help on the Web.

See Also

Concepts

Redirect Special Folders to the Same Location for All Users
Redirect Special Folders to Different Locations Based on Security Group Membership
Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) Filters
Folder Redirection