Customizing the Desktop

  • Article

Group Policy settings should be enforced using Windows 2000 Server and Active Directory. However, when necessary, you can use Group Policy locally to control desktop settings and configuration options such as:

  • Wallpaper and screen saver settings.

  • Start and Programs menu options.

  • Display properties.

The following sections discuss many of the user interface options you can configure, as well as the Group Policy settings that might affect those options. Options that are not set by Group Policy can be configured by the user and are saved in the user's profile. However, when Group Policy settings are in effect, they take precedence over user-implemented configurations.

Overall, there are more than 550 different Group Policy settings, and the best way to see all the different options is to study an installed version of Windows 2000 Professional. For more information about Group Policy settings and using Group Policy in non–Windows 2000 Server networks, see Introduction to Configuration and Management in this book and Group Policy in the Distributed Systems Guide.