Folder Redirection
User settings and user files are typically stored in the local user profile, under the Users folder. The files in local user profiles can be accessed only from the current computer, which makes it difficult for users who use more than one computer to work with their data and synchronize settings between multiple computers. Two technologies exist to address this problem: Roaming Profiles and Folder Redirection. Both technologies have their advantages, and they can be used separately or together to create a seamless user experience from one computer to another. They also provide additional options for administrators managing user data.
Folder Redirection lets administrators redirect the path of a folder to a new location. The location can be a folder on the local computer or a directory on a network file share. Users can work with documents on a server as if the documents were based on a local drive. The documents in the folder are available to the user from any computer on the network. Folder Redirection is located under Windows Settings in the console tree when you edit domain-based Group Policy by using the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC). The path is [Group Policy Object Name]\User Configuration\Policies\Windows Settings\Folder Redirection.
Recent changes to Folder Redirection
Folder Redirection now includes the following features:
- The ability to redirect more folders in the
user profile folders than in earlier Windows operating systems.
This includes the Contacts, Downloads,
Favorites, Links, Music, Saved Games,
Searches, and Videos folders.
- The ability to apply settings for redirected
folders to Windows® 2000, Windows 2000 Server®, Windows XP, and
Windows Server 2003 computers. You have the option to apply
the settings that you configure on
Windows Server® 2008 R2, Windows® 7, Windows
Server 2008, or Windows Vista® only to computers that are
running those operating systems, or to apply them to computers that
are running earlier Windows operating systems also. For these
earlier Windows operating systems, you can apply these settings to
folders that can be redirected. These are the Application
Data, Desktop, My Documents, My Pictures,
and Start Menu folders. This option is available in the
Settings tab in the Properties for the folder, under
Select the redirection settings for [FolderName].
- The option to have the Music,
Pictures, and Videos folders follow the
Documents folder. In Windows operating systems earlier than
Windows Vista, these folders were subfolders of the
Documents folder. By configuring this option, you resolve
any issues related to naming and folder structure differences
between and earlier and more recent Windows operating systems. This
option is available in the Target tab in the
Properties for the folder, under Settings.
- The ability to redirect the Start Menu
folder to a specific path for all users. In Windows XP, the
Start Menu folder could be redirected only to a shared
target folder.
Note | |
This capability is new only to the Start Menu folder. All other redirectable folders in Windows Vista and later versions can also be redirected to a specific path for all users. |
Folders that can be redirected
You can use the GPMC to redirect folders.
Folder in Windows 7 and Windows Vista | Equivalent Folder in Earlier Windows Operating Systems |
---|---|
AppData/Roaming |
Application Data |
Contacts |
Not Applicable |
Desktop |
Desktop |
Documents |
My Documents |
Downloads |
Not Applicable |
Favorites |
Not Applicable |
Links |
Not Applicable |
Music |
Not Applicable |
Pictures |
My Pictures |
Saved Games |
Not Applicable |
Searches |
Not Applicable |
Start Menu |
Start Menu |
Videos |
Not Applicable |
Advantages of Folder Redirection
- Even if users log on to different computers
on the network, their data is always available.
- Offline File technology (which is turned on
by default) gives users access to the folder even when they are not
connected to the network. This is especially useful for people who
use portable computers.
- Data that is stored in a network folder can
be backed up as part of routine system administration. This is
safer because it requires no action by the user.
- If you use Roaming User Profiles, you can use
Folder Redirection to reduce the total size of your Roaming Profile
and make the user logon and logoff process more efficient for the
end-user. When you deploy Folder Redirection with Roaming User
Profiles, the data synchronized with Folder Redirection is not part
of the roaming profile and is synchronized in the background by
using Offline Files after the user has logged on. Therefore, the
user does not have to wait for this data to be synchronized when
they log on or log off as is the case with Roaming User
Profiles.
- Data that is specific to a user can be
redirected to a different hard disk on the user's local computer
from the hard disk that holds the operating system files. This
makes the user's data safer in case the operating system has to be
reinstalled.
- As an administrator, you can use Group Policy
to set disk quotas, limiting how much space is taken up by user
profile folders.
Selecting a Folder Redirection target
The Target tab of the folder's Properties box enables you to select the location of the redirected folder on a network or in the local user profile. You can choose between the following settings:
- Basic—Redirect everyone's folder to the
same location. This setting enables you to redirect everyone's
folder to the same location and is applied to all users included in
the Group Policy object (GPO). For this setting, you have the
following options in specifying a target folder location:
- Create a folder for each user under the
root path. This option creates a folder in the form
\\server\share\User Account Name\Folder Name. Each user has
a unique path for their redirected folder.
- Create a folder for each user under the
root path. This option creates a folder in the form
\\server\share\User Account Name\Folder Name. Each user has
a unique path for their redirected folder.
Note | |
If you enable the Also apply redirection policy to Windows 2000, Windows 2000 Server, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 operating systems option on the Settings tab, this option is not available for the Start Menu folder. |
- Redirect to the following location.
This option uses an explicit path for the redirection location.
This can cause multiple users to share the same path for the
redirected folder.
- Redirect to the local user profile
location. This option moves the location of the folder to the
local user profile under the Users folder.
- Advanced—Specify locations for various
user groups. This setting enables you to specify redirection
behavior for the folder based on the security group memberships for
the GPO.
- Follow the Documents folder. This
option is available only for the Music, Pictures, and
Videos folders. This option resolves any issues related to
naming and folder structure differences between Windows 7 and
Windows Vista, and earlier Windows operating systems. If you
choose this option, you cannot configure any additional redirection
options or policy removal options for these folders, and settings
are inherited from the Documents folder.
Note | |
This behavior also occurs by default if you enable the Also apply redirection policy to Windows 2000, Windows 2000 Server, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 operating systems option on the Settings tab when you configure redirection settings for the Documents folder. |
- Not configured. This is the default
setting. This setting specifies that policy-based folder
redirection was removed for that GPO and the folders are redirected
to the local user profile location or stay where they are based on
the redirection options selected if any existing redirection
policies were set. No changes are being made to the current
location of this folder.
Configuring additional settings for the redirected folder
In the Settings tab in the Properties box for a folder, you can enable these settings:
- Grant the user exclusive rights. This
setting is enabled by default and is a recommended setting. This
setting specifies that the administrator and other users do not
have permissions to access this folder.
- Move the contents of [FolderName] to the
new location. This setting moves all the data the user has in
the local folder to the shared folder on the network.
- Also apply redirection policy to Windows
2000, Windows 2000 Server, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003
operating systems. This enables folder redirection to work
withWindows 7 and Windows Vista, and earlier Windows
operating systems. This option applies only to redirectable folders
in earlier Windows operating systems, which are the Application
Data, Desktop, My Documents, My Pictures,
and Start Menu folders.
Note | |
The AppData/Roaming (previously Application Data in earlier Windows operating systems) folder in Windows Vista now contains several folders that were previously under the root folder of the User Profile folder in earlier Windows operating systems. For example, in earlier Windows operating systems, the Start Menu folder was not under the Application Data folder. It might not make sense to redirect all the folders under Application Data when you enable the Also apply redirection policy to Windows 2000, Windows 2000 Server, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 operating systems setting. Therefore, if you choose this setting, Windows 7 and Windows Vista do not redirect the following folders automatically: Start Menu, Network Shortcuts, Printer Shortcuts, Templates, Cookies, Sent To. If you do not choose this setting, Windows 7 and Windows Vista automatically redirect all folders under the Application Data folder. |
- Policy Removal. The following table
summarizes the behavior of redirected folders and their contents
when the GPO no longer applies, based on your selections for policy
removal. The following policy removal options are available in the
Settings tab, under Policy Removal.
Policy Removal option | Selected setting | Result | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Redirect the folder back to the user profile location when policy is removed |
Enabled |
|
||||
Redirect the folder back to the user profile location when policy is removed |
Disabled |
|
||||
Leave the folder in the new location when policy is removed |
Either Enabled or Disabled |
|
Additional considerations
- For step-by-step information about how to use
folder redirection, see Specify the Location of
Folders in a User Profile.