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The Group Policy Editor is a great component of Windows Vista that enables you to make dozens of advanced settings changes that are hidden from normal users. This works by defining various rules, called the policy, that tell Windows how to behave.

The collection of policies is what is known as Group Policy, of which there are two types: local and domain based. Local is when the policy resides in and is controlled on the local computer. Domain-based policy is when the policy resides on an Active Directory domain controller that multiple computers are connected to. Domain policy is primarily used only in businesses that need a way to control multiple computers from a central location. In this book, you use local Group Policy to configure the Start panel because most of you are customizing your home computer and do not have it connected to a domain controller. The actual policies and way you set them are the same for both types of group policies, so you can apply these same techniques to a domain policy if desired.

The policies are set and modified using the, you guessed it, Group Policy Editor. This is the tool that you will be using to set the policies to help you customize the Start panel. First, I show you how to use the policy editor, and then I go over all the policies relevant to customizing the Start panel and explain how to use them.

Setting policies with the Group Policy Editor

Using the Group Policy Editor is a lot like using the Registry Editor. It is based on a hierarchical structure of sections that all policies are organized within. All policies are divided into two sections: Computer Policies and User Policies. Computer Policies are settings that apply to components of Windows Vista such as hardware and global feature settings. User Policies are settings that can vary between users on a computer. This is where most of the policies that you will use to customize the look of your interface are located.

Now that you know the basics of the Group Policy Editor, also known as gpedit, let’s dive in and start using the policy editor:

1. Click the Start button, enter gpedit.msc in the search box, and press Enter.
2. After the Group Policy Editor has loaded, you will see the hierarchical structure and Computer & User policies sections mentioned previously
3. Navigate through User Configuration\Administrative Template and then select Start Menu and Taskbar.
4. You will now see a list of all policies that you can configure. Right-click a policy that you want to configure and select Properties.
5. On the Policy Properties screen, select the option to turn on the policy or set the policy value, and then press OK
6. Exit the policy editor and log off and back on. Some policy changes may require a reboot.

Now that you know how to use the Group Policy Editor, the next section shows you all the policies and briefly describes what they do.

list of all the group policies that will help you customize the Start panel (and menu) and the taskbar.

As you can see, there are dozens of useful group policies that will help you customize your desktop more than any other method. Additionally, these policies can be used in a Domain Policy that governs all Windows Vista computers connected to a domain.