Enforce Show Policies Only

User Configuration\Administrative Templates\System\Group Policy

Description

Prevents administrators from viewing or using Group Policy preferences.

A Group Policy administration (.adm) file can contain both true policies and preferences. True policies, which are fully supported by Group Policy, must use registry entries in the Software\Policies or Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies registry subkeys. Preferences, which are not fully supported, use registry entries in other subkeys.

If you enable this policy, the Show Policies Only command is turned on, and administrators cannot turn it off. As a result, Group Policy displays only true policies; preferences do not appear.

If you disable this policy or do not configure it, the Show Policies Only command is turned on by default, but administrators can view preferences by turning off the Show Policies Only command.

Tips

To find the Show Policies Only command, in Group Policy, click the Administrative Templates folder (either instance), then right-click the same folder, and then point to View.

In Group Policy, preferences have a red icon to distinguish them from true policies, which have a blue icon.