Include additional data to roaming profile?

Question

I am aware that it is possible to exclude folders from roaming profiles in ntuser.ini, or (for central management) preferedly by a GPO setting (User settings - Admin templates - System - roaming profiles - exclude directories from roaming profiles). Thus if I add AppData\Roaming\foo to that setting, that folder will not be sync'ed, so it behaves more or less as if foo were under AppData\Local.

I need a way to include folders. That is, I have a software that stores stuff in AppData\Local\bar, but I want it sync'ed. Unfortunately, I do not find any GPO settings for this pupose. Currently I have a workaround with a logoff-skript that copies AppData\Local\bar to AppData\Roaming\something\bar and a logon-skript that copies everything under AppData\Roaming\something to AppData\Local. But I am not happy with such a workaround and it feels like error prone.

Additionally, I wish I could include the registry settings under HKCU\Software\Classes (i.e., personalized file-typ associations) to the roaming profile. I am aware that this is excluded on purpose (after all, if the settings say that .xyz files hould be used with application XYZ, it may happen that XYZ is not even installed on other machines). But in my case, I am managing a terminal server farm where all farm members have the same software installed, and users complain that e.g. they have to pick their preferred browser or image viewing software every day. (From my research so far, it might help to repeat the above workaround with AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\UserClass.* - but I did not even try that yet as I am not sure if it is a good idea to just wildly copy registry files around or if the destination would even be writable at the time the logon skript runs)

Any idea for (better) solutions to this problem?

Answer 1

As explained in an answer for similar question on TechNet forum, Appdata Local Folder Redirection:

There is no native way to redirect this folder or include it in roaming profiles. Both mechanisms are created to prevent this specific configuration since this folder is designed for storage of components that shouldn't be redirected or roam.

You have two options:

• Copy the folder on logon/logoff like you already do.
• Modify the program "XYZ" to use %APPDATA% instead of %LOCALAPPDATA%. If the information stored on this folder is ment to be roamed / redirected, the program is working unconventionally. You could send a bug report / support ticket, if there isn't already any setting for this. (We can't know as you haven't mention the actual name of this program.)

The UserChoise for Default Browser is stored in HKCU places that should follow the %USERPROFILE%:

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.htm\UserChoice\Progid
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.html\UserChoice\Progid
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.xht\UserChoice\Progid
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.Xhtm\UserChoice\Progid

HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Associations\UrlAssociations\https\UserChoice\Progid
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Associations\UrlAssociations\http\UserChoice\Progid
HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Associations\UrlAssociations\ftp\UserChoice\Progid

Answer 2

Why don't you just add the register commits with a group policy?

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753092(v=ws.11).aspx