All... The referenced GPLogView is also a very useful tool that GPO Administrators should be familiar with. Read what Microsoft's Kevin Sullivan has to say on the GPO Team Blog (and find the download link as well-the download requires 'validation'): http://blogs.technet.com/grouppolicy/archive/2007/02/08/gplogview.aspx Stated System Requirements * Supported Operating Systems: Windows Vista (I haven't tried it on an W2KOcho system, but I assume it works there as well-Jerry C) * Must install as under Local Administrative privileges. * Must run utility from an elevated command prompt Jerry Cruz | Group Policies Product Manager | Windows Infrastructure Architecture| Boeing IT From: gptalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:gptalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Darren Mar-Elia Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2008 7:34 AM To: gptalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [gptalk] Re: Interpreting UserEnv Logs - Useful Tools and Texts Alan- I do tend to like the Operational Logs in Vista because they filter out a lot of noise. My experience is that the native trace logs are only so useful when it comes to actually solving problems. Now I have to admit that I haven't had to use any logs that much in Vista, so I think I'm yet to be convinced, but the Ops Logs and the gplogview utility do a pretty good job of explaining what's going on without too much noise and in a presentable format. Darren From: gptalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:gptalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Alan & Margaret Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 2008 9:03 PM To: gptalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [gptalk] Re: Interpreting UserEnv Logs - Useful Tools and Texts Hi Jerry, Glad you like the software! Not only does Version 4 allow you to enable GP preference trace logs, it also formats them so you can make sense of them. The way the program works is that it has a control file that lets it identify the important lines in the log and how they should be displayed in the "tree" structure on the left. So if your log has entries that you think would be useful in the tree structure, just send them through. This file could also be extended to support other languages. If anyone is interested, drop me an email offline. I really just need sample logs and someone to check whether the final result looks OK. One thing that changed with Vista was that Microsoft said they would do away with the log and put it in the Event Log. I have tried using the Event Log and it doesn't seem to have as much info as the UserEnv log and it is still very difficult to read. Does anyone find the event logs a better source of information than the UserEnv log? I also got a response from Microsoft that ADMX files do not support blank Valuenames. They said "it appears to be a valid bug" Alan Cuthbertson Policy Management Software (Now with ADMX and Preference support):- http://www.sysprosoft.com/index.php?ref=activedir&f=pol_summary.shtml ADM Template Editor(Now with ADMX support):- http://www.sysprosoft.com/index.php?ref=activedir&f=adm_summary.shtml Policy Log Reporter - including Preference logging(Free) http://www.sysprosoft.com/index.php?ref=activedir&f=policyreporter.shtml ________________________________ From: gptalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:gptalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Cruz, Jerome L Sent: Thursday, 13 November 2008 11:23 AM To: gptalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [gptalk] Interpreting UserEnv Logs - Useful Tools and Texts MS has some new (and old) articles on interpreting the UserEnv log that I thought I pass along. The topic of changing the log to verbose mode (and then interpreting the output) come up quite often. Note: They state up front that the registry settings to turn on verbose logging are not applicable to Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 systems. However, that doesn't mean you can't get to similar data. It's just stored in a different spot (c:\windows\debug\usermode\gpsvc.log)... and 'guess what?... the interpretation is nearly the same. [Also, I believe the cut off size for the log is 1 MB, not 300 KB, but perhaps someone can confirm? What "was" interesting is they state that if you make set the userenv.bak file to be read-only, that the userenv.log file will continue to grow... now "that's" useful information...and if you've run into rapid recycling of the files and missed getting the data you needed, you know exactly what I mean! Hmmm... will have to try that on other log files.] From the 'Ask the Directory Services Team' Blog Understanding How to Read a Userenv Log - Part 1 http://blogs.technet.com/askds/archive/2008/11/11/understanding-how-to-read-a-userenv-log-part-1.aspx Understanding How to Read a Userenv Log - Part 2 http://blogs.technet.com/askds/archive/2008/11/11/understanding-how-to-read-a-userenv-log-part-2.aspx Interpreting Userenv Log Files http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc786775.aspx What's an even better thing....? Go get the 'free' Policy Reporter" utility at www.sysprosoft.com<http://www.sysprosoft.com>. I've used it for years now and it really helps (a) reading the logs and (b) manually enabling verbose mode. (Hey! I also see it now has controls to enable logging for the GP Preference by sub-system... way to go Alan!). Jerry Cruz From: gptalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:gptalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Alan & Margaret Sent: Monday, November 10, 2008 6:58 PM To: gptalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [gptalk] Re: MS Office 2003 ADMX Files Hi Darren, Good idea... here is the link http://www.sysprosoft.com/adm_to_admx.shtml Alan Cuthbertson ________________________________ From: gptalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:gptalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Darren Mar-Elia Sent: Tuesday, 11 November 2008 3:01 AM To: gptalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [gptalk] Re: MS Office 2003 ADMX Files Alan- I hereby dub you the ADM(X) Master! Thanks for this great work. I think there would be a lot of interest in posting these Office 2003 ADMXs to the general public. If you want to do it on your site, I can post a link to it from GPOGUY or I can host them on your behalf. :) Darren From: gptalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:gptalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Alan & Margaret Sent: Sunday, November 09, 2008 10:27 PM To: gptalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [gptalk] Re: MS Office 2003 ADMX Files Hi Patrick, I am not surprised that FullArmour had problems converting the ADM files. Microsoft used every possible structure for writing them that they could think of! But I did eventually create admx files which appear to work. i.e they load into gpmc and a quick check of the registry keys looks correct. However, it showed up a bug in ADMX processing and a couple of inconsistencies in the ADM files. Firstly, the Outlk11.adm file has an entry under Microsoft Office Outlook 2003/ Tools | Options.../Other/Advanced/Reminder Options - Other Reminders which writes to the registry key AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\Office97\Office97-Reminder\.Current with a valuename which is blank. ADMX files do not seem to support writing to blank Valuenames, so I have disabled that policy with a warning Secondly, there are three entries which are managed by two different policy settings. The first is OK, since both policies set them to the same values. However the second two set them to different values. Case 1 office11.adm - Microsoft Office 2003/Tools | Options |Spelling - Recognize smart tags in Excel (Checkbox - Check to use German post-reform rules when running spell check) Registry key: Software\Policies\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Proofing Tools\Spelling Valuename : GermanPostReform On value = 1, Off value =0 word11.adm - Microsoft Office word 2003\ Tools | Options...\Spelling & Grammar- Use German post reform rules (Checkbox - Check to block Excel from recognizing SmartTags) Registry key: Software\Policies\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Proofing Tools\Spelling Valuename : GermanPostReform On value = 1, Off value =0 Case 2 office11.adm - Microsoft Office 2003/ Tools | AutoCorrect Options... (Excel, PowerPoint and Access)\Smart Tags - Recognize smart tags in Excel (Checkbox - Check to enforce setting on; uncheck to enforce setting off) Registry key: Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Excel\Options Valuename : RecognizeSmartTags On value = 2, Off value =0 excel11.adm - Microsoft Office Excel 2003\Miscellaneous - Recognize SmartTags (Checkbox - Check to block Excel from recognizing SmartTags) Registry key: Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Excel\Options Valuename : RecognizeSmartTags On value =0, Off value =1 Case 3 office11.adm - Microsoft Office 2003/collaboration settings - Outlook: Ad hoc reviewing (DropList )) Registry key: Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Outlook\Options\Mail Valuename : AdHocReviewBehavior Enable ad hoc reviewing = 0, Exclude author's e-mail in documents = 2, Disable ad hoc reviewing =1 outlk11.adm - Microsoft Office Outlook 2003\Tools | Options ...\Preferences\Email-Options\Advanced Emal Options - When sending a message (Checkbox - Check to block Excel from recognizing SmartTags) Registry key: Software\Policies\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Outlook\Options\Mail Valuename : AdHocReviewBehavior On value =0, Off value =1 One thing that they regularly do is have a policy which consists solely of a checkbox. If you enable the policy, then check the checkbox it stays enabled. If you enable the policy then uncheck the checkbox, then save the policy, it then shows the policy as disabled. I consider this to be bad design. It should be implemented simply as a policy without a checkbox The other thing I realised during the conversion was that ADMX files always display Categories and Policies in alphabetical order. ADM files allow you to set your own order. Note: If you are using V4 of my ADM Template Editor or Polman, this work showed up a couple of minor bugs related to copying Categories and interpreting ADM files. It also displays categories and policies in alphabetical order. I have updated both products on the web Alan Cuthbertson Policy Management Software (Now with ADMX and Preference support):- http://www.sysprosoft.com/index.php?ref=activedir&f=pol_summary.shtml ADM Template Editor(Now with ADMX support):- http://www.sysprosoft.com/index.php?ref=activedir&f=adm_summary.shtml Policy Log Reporter - including Preference logging(Free) http://www.sysprosoft.com/index.php?ref=activedir&f=policyreporter.shtml ________________________________ From: gptalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:gptalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Alan & Margaret Sent: Friday, 7 November 2008 6:56 AM To: gptalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [gptalk] Re: MS Office 2003 ADMX Files Hi Scott and Jerry, Thanks for your support... Yes, Version 4 of my software does handle conversion of ADM files to ADMX files. Having said that, I tried converting the 2003 ADM files yesterday and found a bug in converting Checkboxes with multiple registry keys. So I hope to have a new version of my program out today and I will post the converted ADMX files then..... Alan Cuthbertson Policy Management Software (Now with ADMX and Preference support):- http://www.sysprosoft.com/index.php?ref=activedir&f=pol_summary.shtml ADM Template Editor(Now with ADMX support):- http://www.sysprosoft.com/index.php?ref=activedir&f=adm_summary.shtml Policy Log Reporter - including Preference logging(Free) http://www.sysprosoft.com/index.php?ref=activedir&f=policyreporter.shtml ________________________________ From: gptalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:gptalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Scott Klassen Sent: Friday, 7 November 2008 4:57 AM To: gptalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [gptalk] Re: MS Office 2003 ADMX Files The V4 version of the SysProSoft tool can convert ADM directly to ADMX and to my experience does a better job than the Full Armor software. As an added bonus, the person behind SysProSoft, Alan Cuthbertson, hangs out on this list. Scott Klassen From: gptalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:gptalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Cruz, Jerome L Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2008 10:38 AM To: gptalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [gptalk] Re: MS Office 2003 ADMX Files All, Just some thoughts.... When I have run into issues with a direct conversion of an ADM template with the Full Armor tool, I have had some success by first running an ADM template through the SysProSoft 'ADM Template Editor' tool (http://www.sysprosoft.com/products.shtml) and then running the resulting (and renamed) ADM file through the 'Full Armor' tool. From what I can tell, the changes are mostly focused on rearrangement of the Strings within the template though there could easily be others. That said, I have NOT attempted anything as complex as the Office 2003 templates. One of the issues (nits) I've had in the past with the Office templates was the lack of any "Explain" tab text. Looking from this at a higher level, that 'should' make them simpler to covert. On the other hand, you never know what might set off problems. Perhaps the ADMX formats 'really' want 'Explain' text...and if missing...could generate problems in the converter. Like I said, just some thoughts... Jerry Cruz | Group Policies Product Manager | Windows Infrastructure Architecture | Boeing IT From: gptalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:gptalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Darren Mar-Elia Sent: Wednesday, November 05, 2008 6:15 PM To: gptalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [gptalk] Re: MS Office 2003 ADMX Files Patrick- I haven't tried it but knowing the Full Armor Migrator as I do, I suspect those ADMs are too complicated or not formatted well for it. What kinds of errors are you getting? Darren From: gptalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:gptalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Patrick Leathen Sent: Wednesday, November 05, 2008 6:07 PM To: gptalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [gptalk] MS Office 2003 ADMX Files Hi, I hope I've got this right, first time I'm emailing here... I just have a quick question, has anybody successfully migrated the Office 2003 ADM files to ADMX? I've attempted this a few times using the FullArmour ADMX v1.2 tool unsuccessfully and have also posted the question on a few other forums without receiving any answers, so I thought I'd try my luck here. Would be great to know if anyone else has attempted this and if they've managed to successfully convert the files. Thanks Patrick Leathen ________________________________ The information contained in this e-mail message is intended only for the use of the person or entity to whom it is addressed and may contain information that is CONFIDENTIAL and may be exempt from disclosure under applicable laws. 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