Drive Map preference items allow you to create, replace, update, and delete mapped drives and their associated properties. Before you create a Drive Map preference item, you should review the behavior of each type of action possible with this extension.

Creating a Mapped Drive item

To create a new Mapped Drive preference item

  1. Open the Group Policy Management Console. Right-click the Group Policy object (GPO) that should contain the new preference item, and then click Edit.

  2. In the console tree under User Configuration, expand the Preferences folder, and then expand the Windows Settings folder.

  3. Right-click the Drive Maps node, point to New, and select Mapped Drive.

  4. In the New Drive Properties dialog box, select an Action for Group Policy to perform. (For more information, see "Actions" in this topic.)

  5. Enter drive map settings for Group Policy to configure or remove. (For more information, see "Drive map settings" in this topic.)

  6. Click the Common tab, configure any options, and then type your comments in the Description box. (For more information, see Configure Common Options.)

  7. Click OK. The new preference item appears in the details pane.

Actions

This type of preference item provides a choice of four actions: Create, Replace, Update, and Delete. The behavior of the preference item varies with the action selected and whether the drive letter already exists.

Create

Create a new mapped drive for users.

Delete

Remove a mapped drive for users.

Replace

Delete and recreate mapped drives for users. The net result of the Replace action is to overwrite all existing settings associated with the mapped drive. If the drive mapping does not exist, then the Replace action creates a new drive mapping.

Update

Modify settings of an existing mapped drive for users. This action differs from Replace in that it only updates settings defined within the preference item. All other settings remain as configured on the mapped drive. If the drive mapping does not exist, then the Update action creates a new drive mapping.

Drive map settings

Location

To configure a new drive mapping or recreate a drive mapping, type a fully qualified UNC path for the network share (such as \\server\sharename, \\server\hiddenshare$, or \\server\sharename\foldername).

This field accepts preference processing variables. Press F3 to display a list of variables from which you can select.

To modify an existing drive mapping (identified by drive letter), leave this field blank.

This option is available only if the action selected is Create, Replace, or Update.

Reconnect

To save this mapped drive in the user's settings and attempt to restore it at each subsequent logon, select this check box. Otherwise, the drive is mapped, but not saved in the user's settings.

This option is available only if the action selected is Create, Replace, or Update.

Label as

To provide a descriptive label that appears next to the drive letter, type the label in this field.

This field accepts preference processing variables. Press F3 to display a list of variables from which you can select.

This option is available only if the action selected is Create, Replace, or Update.

Drive Letter

Select the mapped drives (identified by drive letter) to configure:

  • To assign the first available drive letter to the mapped drive, select Use first available, starting at, and then select a drive letter at which to begin checking for availability. This option is available only if the action selected is Create, Replace, or Update.

  • To assign a specific drive letter to the mapped drive, select Use, and then select a drive letter. This option is available only if the action selected is Create, Replace, or Update, and if you have typed a location.

  • To modify an existing drive mapping (identified by drive letter), select Existing, and then select a drive letter. This option is available only if the Location field is blank, and the action selected is Update.

  • To delete all drive mappings from a particular drive letter onward, select Delete all, starting at, and then select a drive letter at which to begin deleting drive mappings. Physical drives are skipped without error. This option is available only if the action selected is Delete.

  • To delete a specific mapped drive, select Delete, and then select the drive letter. This option is available only if the action selected is Delete.

Connect as

To implement a drive mapping using credentials other than those of the currently logged on user, type the credentials to be used. This option is available only if the action selected is Create, Replace, or Update.

Security Note

This password is stored as part of the GPO in SYSVOL and is discoverable, although obscured. If you choose to store passwords in preference items, you should consider creating dedicated accounts for this purpose, and never store administrative passwords in preference items.

Hide/Show this drive

Configure the visibility of the mapped drive:

  • To make no change to the visibility of the mapped drive, select No change. This does not take precedence over the Hide/Show all drives setting.

  • To prevent the drive from being displayed in Windows Explorer, select Hide this drive. This takes precedence over the Hide/Show all drives setting.

  • To allow this drive to be displayed in Windows Explorer, select Show this drive. This takes precedence over the Hide/Show all drives setting.

This option is available only if the action selected is Create, Replace, or Update.

Hide/Show all drives

Configure the visibility of all mapped and physical drives in Windows Explorer. The options are comparable to those for Hide/Show this drive, but apply globally to all drives.

Additional considerations

  • Hide/Show this drive options have precedence over Hide/Show all drives. For example, if a Drive Map preference item has the Hide/Show this drive option set to Hide this drive and the Hide/Show all drives option set to Show all drives, then all drives are visible except the drive designated as hidden.

  • You can use a Drive Map preference item to configure the visibility of a physical drive rather than a mapped drive. To do so, select the Update action, leave the Location field blank, select the drive letter of the physical drive, and then configure the Hide/Show this drive and Hide/Show all drives options.

  • You can use item-level targeting to change the scope of preference items.

  • Preference items are available only in domain-based GPOs.

Additional references

  • Drive Maps Extension
  • Environment Extension