Using System Policy Editor

You can use System Policy Editor in two different modes: Registry mode and Policy File mode:

In Registry mode, you can directly edit the Registry of the local or remote computer, and changes are reflected immediately. For more information about editing the Registry for a remote computer, see Chapter 16, "Remote Administration."
In Policy File mode, you can create and modify system policy files (.POL) for use on other computers. In this mode, the Registry is edited indirectly. Changes are reflected only after the policy is downloaded when the user logs on.

To use System Policy Editor in Registry mode

In System Policy Editor, click the File menu, and then click Open Registry. Then, double-click the appropriate User or Computer icon, depending on what part of the Registry you want to edit. After you make changes, you must shut down and restart the computer for the changes to take effect.

System Policy Editor in Registry mode
Notice that the title bar shows "Local Registry"

Important Use Registry mode only when you want to make direct changes to the Registry. You should typically change system settings by using the Control Panel options and other tools provided with Windows 95.

To use System Policy Editor in Policy File mode

In System Policy Editor, click the File menu, and then click New or Open to open a policy file.

System Policy Editor in Policy File mode
The title bar shows "Untitled" if you haven't yet saved a new policy file; otherwise it displays the policy filename

When you edit settings in Policy File mode, clicking a Registry option sets one of three possible states: checked, cleared, or grayed. Each time you click an option, the display cycles to show the next possible state. This is different from clicking a standard check box, which only sets an option to on or off. The following summarizes the three possible states for options in a policy file.

Option state	Meaning
	Checked — this policy will be implemented, changing the state of the user's computer to conform to the policy when the user logs on. If the option was previously checked the last time the user logged on, Windows 95 makes no changes.
	Cleared — the policy will not be implemented. If it was implemented previously (either through a policy setting or the user's configuration settings), the previously specified settings are removed from the Registry.
	Grayed — the setting is unchanged from the last time the user logged on, and Windows 95 will make no related modifications to the system configuration. The grayed state ensures that Windows 95 provides quick processing at system startup because it does not need to process each entry each time a user logs on.

Caution

When you define policy options, make sure you have set the proper state for the option. If you set an option by checking it, and then change your mind and clear the option, you can inadvertently destroy the user's previous configuration. If you decide not to set a particular policy option, make sure that option is grayed, so that the user's previous configuration for that setting will be used.

For example, you might check the option to specify Microsoft Client for NetWare Networks, and then click again to clear that option. When the user logs on and the policy is downloaded, this setting would wipe out the user's current configuration that specifies Client for NetWare Networks.

If a setting requires additional information, then an edit control appears at the bottom of the properties dialog box. For example, if Wallpaper is checked in the Desktop settings, the following dialog box appears.

Usually, if a policy has been checked, and you no longer want to enforce it, you should clear the box to cancel the policy. However, in the following cases, a few policies might behave differently from how you might expect if the check box is cleared:

The policy setting contains an edit box that must be completed (as opposed to a simple check box)
The policy setting can also be set by users by using Control Panel

In these cases, you should consider making sure the check box is grayed when you no longer want to enforce the policies.

The following list describes the results of different settings for such policies and how they behave.

Policy	Behavior
Settings for Wallpaper	Checking it forces the specified wallpaper to be used. Clearing it removes the wallpaper (the user will not have any wallpaper). Leaving it grayed means that the user can choose wallpaper in the Display option in Control Panel.
Client for NetWare Networks: Preferred Server	Checking it sets the preferred server. Clearing it deletes the preferred server from the computer's Registry. Leaving it grayed means that the user can specify the preferred server in the Network option in Control Panel.
Microsoft Client for Windows Networks: Domain	Checking it sets the Windows NT Logon domain. Clearing it deletes the domain setting from the computer's Registry. Leaving it grayed means that the user can specify the domain in the Network option in Control Panel.
Microsoft Client for Windows Networks: Workgroup	Checking it sets the workgroup for that computer. Clearing it deletes the workgroup setting from the computer's Registry. Leaving it grayed means that the user can specify the workgroup in the Network option in Control Panel.