Folder Redirection
You use the Folder Redirection extension to Group Policy
to redirect certain Windows 2000 special folders to network locations. Special folders are those folders such as My Documents and My Pictures that are located under Documents and Settings.
Folder Redirection is located under User Configuration
in the Group Policy console.
Where?
- policy_name Policy
- User Configuration
- Windows Settings
- Folder Redirection
To individualize a user's redirected folder, it is recommended to incorporate %username% into the path; for example,
\\server\share\%username%\My Documents
In addition, you can either redirect a special folder to the same network share for everyone (as described in
To redirect special folders to one location for everyone in the site, domain, or organizational unit) or you can refine the redirection beyond the Group Policy object level.
For example, members of the Users security group could have My Documents redirected to
\\server1\share\%username%\My Documents, while members of the Guests security group could have My Documents redirected to
\\server2\share\%username%\My Documents.
For more information, see To redirect special folders to different locations according to security group membership
Windows 2000 allows the following folders to be redirected:
| Special folder |
Notes |
| Application Data |
A Group Policy setting controls the behavior of Application Data when client side caching is enabled. Look in User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Network\Offline Files in the Group Policy console. |
| Desktop |
|
| My Documents |
See Advantages of redirecting My Documents for details. |
| My Documents\My Pictures |
My Pictures can be redirected independently of My Documents, or it can be made to follow My Documents (to remain its subfolder whenever My Documents is redirected) as it does by default. The default behavior is recommended unless you have a specific reason (such as file share scalability) for separating My Pictures from My Documents. If they are separated, a shortcut takes the place of the My Pictures folder in My Documents. |
| Start Menu |
When Start Menu is redirected, its subfolders always follow. |
Some of the following benefits pertain to redirecting any folder, but redirecting My Documents can be particularly advantageous because this folder tends to become large over time.
- Even if a user logs on to various computers on the network, his or her documents are always available.
- Offline File technology gives users access to My Documents even when they are not connected to the network. For more information, see
To make a file or folder available offline This is particularly useful for those who use laptop computers.
- When roaming user profiles are used, only the network path to the My Documents folder is part of the roaming user profile, not the My Documents folder itself. Therefore, its contents do not have to be copied back and forth between the client computer and the server each time the user logs on or off, and the process of logging on or off can be much faster than it was in Windows NT 4.0.
- Data stored on a shared network server can be backed up as part of routine system administration. This is safer, because it requires no action on the part of the user.
- The system administrator can use Group Policy to set disk quotas, limiting the amount of space taken up by users' special folders.
- Data specific to a user can be redirected to a different hard disk on the user's local computer from the hard disk holding the operating system files. This makes the user's data safer if the operating system needs to be reinstalled.
For more information, see Best practices for Folder Redirection.
Default folder locations
The default locations for special folders that have not been redirected depend on the operating system that was in place previously:
| Operating system |
Location of special folders |
| Windows 2000 new installation (no previous operating system) |
%systemdrive%\Documents and Settings; for example, C:\Documents and Settings |
| Windows 2000 upgrade of Windows NT 4.0 or Windows NT 3.51 |
%systemroot%\Profiles; for example, C:\WinNT\Profiles |
| Windows 2000 upgrade of Windows 95 or Windows 98 with user profiles disabled |
%systemdrive%\Documents and Settings; for example, C:\Documents and Settings |
| Windows 2000 upgrade of Windows 95 or Windows 98 with user profiles enabled |
%systemroot%\Profiles; for example, C:\Windows\System\Profiles |
For more information on user profiles, see
User profiles
The following table summarizes what happens to redirected folders and their contents when the Group Policy object no longer applies.
| Move the contents of special folder to the new location setting |
Policy Removal option |
Results when policy is removed |
| Enabled |
Redirect the folder back to the user profile location when policy is removed |
- The special folder returns to its user profile location.
- The contents are copied, not moved, back to the user profile location.
- The contents are not deleted from the redirected location.
- The user continues to have access to the contents, but only on the local computer.
|
| Disabled |
Redirect the folder back to the user profile location when policy is removed. |
- The special folder returns to its user profile location.
- The contents are not copied or moved to the user profile location.
 Caution
- If the contents of a folder are not copied to the user profile location, the user can no longer see them.
|
| Either Enabled or Disabled |
Leave the folder in the new location when policy is removed |
- The special folder remains at its redirected location.
- The contents remain at the redirected location.
- The user continues to have access to the contents at the redirected folder.
|