To get an idea of what an .adm file looks like, we will look at a simple example, which is a snippet from the System.adm file. You can look at the larger System.adm file to see what the code looks like within a larger .adm file.
CLASS USER CATEGORY !!DesktopLockDown POLICY !!DisableTaskMgr EXPLAIN !!DisableTaskMgr_Explain VALUENAME "DisableTaskMgr" VALUEON NUMERIC 1 VALUEOFF NUMERIC 0 KEYNAME "SoftwarePoliciesSystem" END POLICY END CATEGORY [strings] DisableTaskMgr="Disable Task Manager" DisableTaskMgr_Explain="Prevents users from starting Task Manager" DesktopLockDown="Desktop Settings"
This policy setting defines the following behavior:
When enabled, this policy setting creates a registry key called DisableTaskMgr and sets its value to 1. The VALUEON tag implements this behavior. After this policy is implemented, users cannot start Task Manager.
When disabled, this policy setting creates a registry key called DisableTaskMgr and sets its value to 0. The VALUEOFF tag implements this behavior. After this policy is implemented, users can start Task Manager.
In both cases, the DisableTaskMgr registry key is created below HKCUSoftwarePoliciesSystem in the registry. Note that the key is created under CLASS USER and not under CLASS MACHINE because this is a user policy setting. You will find this policy under the User Configuration node within Group Policy Object Editor.
When set to Not Configured, this policy setting deletes the registry key called DisableTaskMgr.