21.11. Group Policy Preferences

Group Policy Preferences help you configure, deploy, and manage operating system and application settings that you cannot manage by using Group Policy. Examples include mapped drives, scheduled tasks, and Start menu settings. Using Group Policy Preferences is often a better alternative than logon scripts for configuring these settings. Group Policy Preferences are built into the Group Policy Management Console.

Networks customarily have two types of settings: enforced settings (Group Policy) and optional settings (preferences). Enforced settings can’t be changed by users. Preferences, on the other hand, can be changed by users. By specifically deploying preferences, you can create configurations that are more suitable for your organization than the operating system’s default settings. Deploying preferences is usually done through logon scripts or default user profiles.