Note: This article was originally published in 2006. Some steps, commands, or software versions may have changed. Check the current General documentation for the latest information.

Ok, I’ve been setting up registry keys for alot of custom applications and other things, and ofcourse, creating scripts to push them out. I just recently realized there is a more nice way of pushing this settings out and having some good wording and order of them, and that is, through Administrative templates in Group Policy. For a general overlook on how to do it, here is an example obtained from the Microsoft website, and some other good references I’ve found in the way. Remember, if it is not in the policies key folders for microsoft, it treats them as NT4 templates… in other words, you will have to tweak your Group Policy viewer in the filters section in order for them to be diplayed. Have fun!!

Example

loadTOCNode(2, ‘summary’); The following example describes how to create a custom Administrative Template: 1.Start Notepad.
2.Type the following code:“
CLASS USER ;This modifies the HKEY_CURRENT_USER portion of the registry  
; the following command creates a node called Desktop Settings  
; under User Configuration.  
CATEGORY !!categoryname  
  
; the following command specifies the registry key to modify  
KEYNAME "SOFTWAREPoliciesSystem"  
  
; the following command specifies the name of the policy  
; by using the variable "policyname"  
  POLICY !!policyname  
  
; the following command specifies text on the Explain tab  
   EXPLAIN !!explaintext  
  
; the following command creates a PART that contains a list box  
     PART !!labeltext DROPDOWNLIST REQUIRED  
    
; the following statement specifies the registry value to modify  
       VALUENAME "NoDriveTypeAutoRun"  
  
; the following statement populates the drop down list  
       ITEMLIST  
        NAME !!no_cd VALUE NUMERIC 181 DEFAULT  
        NAME !!no_drives VALUE NUMERIC 255  
       END ITEMLIST  
     END PART  
   END POLICY  
END CATEGORY  
  
; the following strings section assigns character strings  
; to the variable names specified in the previous section  
  
categoryname="Desktop Settings"  
policyname="Disable the autoplay feature"  
explaintext="This policy disables the autoplay feature on the selected drive(s)"   
labeltext="Disable autoplay on"  
no_cd="CD-ROM drives"  
no_drives="All drives"

3.| On the File menu, click Save As.
4.| In the Save as type box, click All Files.
5.| Type windows_folder infexample.adm in the File name box, and then click Save.
6.| Quit Notepad.
7.| Click Start , point to Programs , point to Administrative Tools , and then click Active Directory Users and Computers.
8.| Right-click the domain, and then click Properties.
9.| Click the Group Policy tab, click New , type test policy in the New Group Policy Object box, and then press ENTER.
10.| Click Edit , right-click Administrative Templates under User Configuration , and then click Add/Remove Templates.
11.| Click Add , click Example.adm , and then click Open.
12.| After “Example” appears in the Current Policy Templates list, click Close.
13.| Under User Configuration , expand Administrative Templates , and then click the new Desktop Settings node.
14.| In the right pane, double-click the Disable the autoplay feature policy.

Note : If your new policy setting does not appear in the right pane as you expect, right-click the new Desktop Settings node, point to View , and then click to clear the check mark that is beside the Show Policies Only menu item.
15.| Click Enabled , and then make sure that the policy setting contains the features that you specified in the sample code.

reference obtained from: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q323639(http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q323639)
Other good sites to visit:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/windowsserver2003/technologies/management/gp/admtgp.mspx
http://www.windowsdevcenter.com/pub/a/windows/2005/03/08/working_admin_templates.html
http://msgoodies.blogspot.com/

Summary

You’ve successfully learned create a custom administrative template. If you run into any issues, double-check the prerequisites and ensure your General environment is properly configured.