How do I add items to 'Favorites' via GPO?

Question

How do I add items to all users 'Favorites', preferably via GPO?

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the screenshot is just an example from W7 but I'm actually working with 2008R2 Server and RDS

Does this link help? - http://mctexpert.blogspot.com.au/2011/04/use-group-policy-to-populate-ie.html — ServerFaulter, Dec 13 '12 at 13:21
@ServerFaulter That's for IE favorites, those aren't the same as the Windows Explorer favorites. — Brent Pabst, Dec 13 '12 at 13:22
Unless you requirement is something which I havent' understood fully, A microsoft link to achieve the same is- http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/winserverGP/thread/243ee785-0b6e-4a9c-9a1e-d0da715c5ad7/ — ServerFaulter, Dec 13 '12 at 13:23
@ServerFaulter thanks for the link, that put me on the right track. — , Dec 14 '12 at 09:27

score 14 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 14 '12 at 09:26

14

This turned out to be straightforward enough. The 'Favorites' are in %userprofile%\Links (and not in %userprofile%Favorites as you might think).

Knowing that, shortcuts can then be defined under Preferences\Window Settings\Shortcuts:

enter image description here

answered Dec 14 '12 at 09:26

Haha, well done, I'd vote this 10 times if I could! I spent ages searching for a hidden Favorites folder. Make sure to come back and accept this as an answer when the timeout ends. – Dan Dec 14 '12 at 09:31
Awesome, glad to see this is doable now, great work! – Brent Pabst Dec 14 '12 at 13:21

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 13 '12 at 13:11

1

This document is a bit old but it gives two general ideas:

There isn't a GPO that allows the list to be customized by default.
You can use logon scripts to "install" different locations to the user's account.

So you are basically forced to utilize a logon script to accomplish this. It shouldn't be too hard but you will need to find the relevant instructions for the OSes you have in your environment.

answered Dec 13 '12 at 13:11

Brent Pabst

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Thanks for answering here Brent, although I found another way, I still appreciate your effort. – Dec 15 '12 at 11:14

score -1 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 11 '13 at 15:52

if i understood correctly, all you want is to have a URL added to IE so that when the users click on "Favorites" it will be there...

That's how i usually do it here:

assuming you already have a Group Policy Object created, right click on it and select "Edit". Then, go to "User Configuration" and expand "Polices"; expand "Windows Settings"; expand "Internet Explorer Maintenance" and select "URLs" and on the right panel double click on "Favorites and Links".

so, no scripts.. nothing to fancy! just point and click!!

let me know

No, that's not what the OP was asking. In fact, [he posted his own solution](http://serverfault.com/a/458042/23067), and marked it accepted, almost a year ago. — jscott, Oct 11 '13 at 15:57

How do I add items to 'Favorites' via GPO?

3 Answers3