Group Policy: Item-Level Targeting

KB ID 0001654

Problem

Yesterday I wrote a post about Deploying a ‘Mapped’ Drive to a couple of users using Group Policy. This received a comment that was basically ‘Why not simply use Client Targeting?’ To be fair that’s a good point, I was using a Group Policy Preference and they can be specifically targeted. So here’s how to do that.

Solution

If you do not already have one, create a group for your users.

Create Security Group

Add the users, (as appropriate).

Add Users to Security Group

On a Domain Controller > Administrative Groups > Locate the OU that contains your users (Note: if your users are in multiple OU’s, then after you have created the policy simply ‘Link‘ it to the applicable OUs).

Create Group Policy

Edit the policy.

Edit Group Policy

User Configuration > Preferences > Windows Settings > Drive Maps > New  > Mapped Drive > Action = Create > Location = Set the UNC path to the mapped drive > Tick ‘reconnect’ > Label as ‘What you want the user to see it called’ > Select the drive letter you want.

GPO to Map a Drive

Common tab > Select Item-level targeting  > Targeting > New Item.

Item-Level Targeting

Security Group. (Look at all the other cool stuff you can specify to target this group policy preference!)

Item-Level Targeting Group

Add in your security group > OK > OK > Apply > OK

Item-Level Targeting Domain Group Members

Then either wait, or force a group policy update.

To prove it’s not all ‘Smoke and Mirrors‘, I log on as one of those users and…

Drive Mapped to via GPO

Related Articles, References, Credits, or External Links

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Author: PeteLong

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