Set an Exception in Linked Group Policy so particular settings are not inherited and replace with custom setting

Question

I have a global group policy which holds several policy settings and configurations. Within this global policy I have a Folder redirect set.

I have linked this global policy to one of my OUs but would like to ensure that our other settings are inherited with the exception of the default setting in the Folder redirect policy. I would like to change the path to a custom path and not the default in the global.

I have already created a security group which comprises of users that should have this setting applied. How do I make this a realisation?

I already attempted to change the path in the child OU but I realised it always took precedence over the global OU. I was thinking of loopback processing but wasn't too sure if this will be applicable in anyway. I also heard there is a registry hack that could cater for this ....any ideas?

Answer 1

Configuring a group policy that overrides another group policy for a specific set of users is easily done. In your case you need to do the following:

1. Create an Active Directory security group for the users that need the custom setting, for example Custom Redirected Folder Users. Make the users that should receive this setting a member of the group.
2. Create and configure as desired a group policy object to store your custom Folder Redirection settings.

3. On the GPO's Scope tab in the Group Policy Management console below the Security Filtering box click Add.... Add the security group you created in step 1. This gives the users of this group permission to apply the settings in this GPO:

   

4. On the GPO's Delegation tab click Advanced... in the bottom right.

5. In the Security Settings dialog, select the Authenticated Users security principle in the top pane then clear the Apply group policy permission. This prevents users other than those in your security group from being able to apply the GPO's settings:

   

6. Link the GPO to an OU that contains the target users.

   Note: If you link it to the same OU that contains the "global" settings you wish to override, then you must ensure the GPO with your custom settings has a higher precedence than the GPO with the "global" settings. Do this as follows:

   a. In Group Policy Management, in the left pane select the OU to which both GPOs have been linked.

   b. On the Linked Group Policy Objects tab select the GPO containing your custom settings, then click the Up arrow until is is above the global settings GPO in the link order.