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Profiles

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Applies To: Windows Server 2008

Policy settings in this node control roaming profile and home directory settings for Terminal Services sessions.

The full path of this node in the Group Policy Management Console is:

Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Terminal Services\Terminal Server\Profiles

Note

If you are using the Local Group Policy Editor, Policies is not part of the node path.

Available policy settings

Name Explanation Requirements

Set path for TS Roaming User Profile

This policy setting allows you to specify the network path that Terminal Services uses for roaming user profiles.

By default, Terminal Services stores all user profiles locally on the terminal server. You can use this policy setting to specify a network share where user profiles can be centrally stored, allowing a user to access the same profile for sessions on all terminal servers that are configured to use the network share for user profiles.

If you enable this policy setting, Terminal Services uses the specified path as the root directory for all user profiles. The profiles are contained in subfolders named for the account name of each user.

To configure this policy setting, type the path to the network share in the form of \\Computername\Sharename. Do not specify a placeholder for the user account name, because Terminal Services automatically adds this when the user logs on and the profile is created. If the specified network share does not exist, Terminal Services displays an error message on the terminal server and will store the user profiles locally on the terminal server.

If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, user profiles are stored locally on the terminal server. You can configure a user’s profile path on the Terminal Services Profile tab on the user’s account Properties dialog box.

Note
The roaming user profiles enabled by the policy setting apply only to Terminal Services connections. A user might also have a Windows roaming user profile configured. The Terminal Services roaming user profile always takes precedence in a Terminal Services session.

To configure a mandatory Terminal Services roaming user profile for all users connecting remotely to the terminal server, use this policy setting together with the Use mandatory profiles on the terminal server policy setting located in Computer Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Terminal Services\Terminal Server\Profiles. The path set in the Set path for TS Roaming User Profile policy setting should contain the mandatory profile.

At least Windows Server 2003

Set TS User Home Directory

This policy setting allows you to specify whether Terminal Services uses the specified network share or local directory path as the root of the user's home directory for a Terminal Services session.

To use this setting, select the location for the home directory (network or local) in the Location list. If you choose to place the directory on a network share, type the Home Dir Root Path in the form \\Computername\Sharename, and then select the drive letter to which you want the network share to be mapped.

If you choose to keep the home directory on the local computer, type the Home Dir Root Path in the form "Drive:\Path" (without quotes), without environment variables or ellipses. Do not specify a placeholder for user alias, because Terminal Services automatically appends this at logon.

Note

The Drive Letter field is ignored if you choose to specify a local path. If you choose to specify a local path but then type the name of a network share in Home Dir Root Path, Terminal Services places user home directories in the network location.

If you enable this policy setting, Terminal Services creates the user's home directory in the specified location on the local computer or the network. The home directory path for each user is the specified Home Dir Root Path and the user's alias.

If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, the user's home directory is as specified at the server.

At least Windows Server 2003

Use mandatory profiles on the terminal server

This policy setting allows you to specify whether Terminal Services uses a mandatory profile for all users connecting remotely to the terminal server.

If you enable this policy setting, Terminal Services uses the path specified in the Set path for TS Roaming User Profile policy setting as the root folder for the mandatory user profile. All users connecting remotely to the terminal server use the same user profile.

If you disable or do not configure this policy setting, mandatory user profiles are not used by users connecting remotely to the terminal server.

Note

For this policy setting to take effect, you must also enable and configure the Set path for TS Roaming User Profile policy setting.

At least Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 2