tony_baduk Posted May 8, 2019 Posted May 8, 2019 (edited) We're attempting to use redirected Start Menus to a network location and then using a layout XML to customise the tile layout. This start menu is for students, we just need a few shortcuts to This PC, Shared drive and a few Microsoft apps... However not all shortcuts are appearing just Edge. We have re-saved the xml file to give it a new timestamp too. This is the xml file... xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/Start/2014/LayoutModification" xmlns:defaultlayout="http://schemas.microsoft.com/Start/2014/FullDefaultLayout" xmlns:start="http://schemas.microsoft.com/Start/2014/StartLayout" xmlns:taskbar="http://schemas.microsoft.com/Start/2014/TaskbarLayout" Version="1"> Thanks for your help. Edited May 8, 2019 by tony_baduk
strawberry Posted May 8, 2019 Posted May 8, 2019 i coulnd't get unc paths to work, i ended up using the local shortcuts instead.
tony_baduk Posted May 8, 2019 Author Posted May 8, 2019 (edited) What local path did you use to get yours working? Edited May 8, 2019 by tony_baduk
strawberry Posted May 8, 2019 Posted May 8, 2019 DesktopApplicationLinkPath="%appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\System Tools\Command Prompt.lnk" You may need to copy a few shortcuts to the local machines using GPO file preferences as well.
tony_baduk Posted May 10, 2019 Author Posted May 10, 2019 I've tried this xml based on yours above, ensuring all shortcuts are placed locally rather than the network. When the user logos on, this start menu doesn't apply, just the standard start appears. xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/Start/2014/LayoutModification"> Please help!! Thank you.
strawberry Posted May 10, 2019 Posted May 10, 2019 Does Q: appear on your start menu?. Top line is truncated. you'll need to combine those two.
tony_baduk Posted May 10, 2019 Author Posted May 10, 2019 Does Q: appear on your start menu?. Top line is truncated. you'll need to combine those two. Now corrected. None of the icons appear - see screenshot below.
Arthur Posted May 10, 2019 Posted May 10, 2019 None of the icons appear - see screenshot below. The first thing I would try is to ensure that the start layout .xml file follows Microsoft's guidelines below. Yours includes blank lines and a space in the Edge shortcut. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/configuration/start-layout-xml-desktop#supported-elements-and-attributes xmlns:defaultlayout="http://schemas.microsoft.com/Start/2014/FullDefaultLayout" xmlns:start="http://schemas.microsoft.com/Start/2014/StartLayout" Version="1" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/Start/2014/LayoutModification"> 1
BOOT Posted May 10, 2019 Posted May 10, 2019 I've never had a layout xml containing DesktopApplicationLinkPath work in any version post 1607. I use DesktopApplicationID instead. 1
tony_baduk Posted May 15, 2019 Author Posted May 15, 2019 Still testing this and will try the DesktopApplicationID - also as Stawberry suggests, I need to amend my XML to remove the blank lines and spaces. In the meantime, does anyone have an XML file containing 'This PC' shortcut, a shared network shortcut, Internet Edge and shortcuts to Office 2013? Thanks.
Guest Guest Posted May 15, 2019 Posted May 15, 2019 I've never had an issue using UNC paths. I've always just exported using the local path and replaced with the UNC once exported
smarties11 Posted May 15, 2019 Posted May 15, 2019 Still testing this and will try the DesktopApplicationID - also as Stawberry suggests, I need to amend my XML to remove the blank lines and spaces. In the meantime, does anyone have an XML file containing 'This PC' shortcut, a shared network shortcut, Internet Edge and shortcuts to Office 2013? Thanks. In my experience it is better to start small with the XML and expand it as you go, testing each item individually. Minor errors in the XML file can cause the whole thing to fail. There are several errors in yours in terms of space between the lines etc. I'd also recommend using a proper text editor such as Notepad++ (freeware) rather than the notepad built into Windows. I've had no problems using DesktopApplicationLinkPath and UNC paths and we are using Windows 10 1809. Are you also redirecting your start menu - to the same UNC location you are specifying in your layout XML? Shortcuts MUST exist in the start menu for them to work in the XML. Where are you storing your XML? I found the best approach to store it in NETLOGON and then use a group policy preference to copy it to the C:\windows\ folder, and then use group policy to assign the layout from the C:\windows location. In terms of shortcuts to network drives, I found the most reliable way was to create a shortcut in your redirected start menu to the drive with the following as the target "C:\Windows\explorer.exe S:" - obviously replacing S: with the drive or path you want. Then reference this shortcut in your XML. For edge, just copy the built-in shortcut to your redirected start menu and then reference that. Same goes with Office applications. I've pasted my layout to paste bin for you so that formatting is preserved (https://pastebin.com/LGpvJNGN). We're using this on around 400 machines with no issues. You are welcome to use this as a starting point, I would recommend you start by trimming it down to just the Office shortcuts first and once they are working then expand the other sections. I also specify the pin list for the taskbar which you can remove if you don't need (the bits in between and ) Hope this helps, I remember the frustrations of getting this working! 1
tony_baduk Posted May 15, 2019 Author Posted May 15, 2019 In my experience it is better to start small with the XML and expand it as you go, testing each item individually. Minor errors in the XML file can cause the whole thing to fail. There are several errors in yours in terms of space between the lines etc. I'd also recommend using a proper text editor such as Notepad++ (freeware) rather than the notepad built into Windows. I've had no problems using DesktopApplicationLinkPath and UNC paths and we are using Windows 10 1809. Are you also redirecting your start menu - to the same UNC location you are specifying in your layout XML? Shortcuts MUST exist in the start menu for them to work in the XML. Where are you storing your XML? I found the best approach to store it in NETLOGON and then use a group policy preference to copy it to the C:\windows\ folder, and then use group policy to assign the layout from the C:\windows location. In terms of shortcuts to network drives, I found the most reliable way was to create a shortcut in your redirected start menu to the drive with the following as the target "C:\Windows\explorer.exe S:" - obviously replacing S: with the drive or path you want. Then reference this shortcut in your XML. For edge, just copy the built-in shortcut to your redirected start menu and then reference that. Same goes with Office applications. I've pasted my layout to paste bin for you so that formatting is preserved (https://pastebin.com/LGpvJNGN). We're using this on around 400 machines with no issues. You are welcome to use this as a starting point, I would recommend you start by trimming it down to just the Office shortcuts first and once they are working then expand the other sections. I also specify the pin list for the taskbar which you can remove if you don't need (the bits in between and ) Hope this helps, I remember the frustrations of getting this working! Thanks for your help and your layout - very helpful. My layout file is saved in Netlogon and the shortcuts on an icons share. I have now tried this to it's minimum with just drives or Office applications and basically no tiles appear (Chrome was the only one that appeared initially) - I then tried again and now no tiles appear not even the default Windows 10 tiles. Is there any specific gpo that needs enabling / disabling? The custom start menu gpo is already enabled. Here's my layout on Paste Bin - can you see any obvious issues? https://pastebin.com/fXMvm4kn
smarties11 Posted May 15, 2019 Posted May 15, 2019 Thanks for your help and your layout - very helpful. My layout file is saved in Netlogon and the shortcuts on an icons share. I have now tried this to it's minimum with just drives or Office applications and basically no tiles appear (Chrome was the only one that appeared initially) - I then tried again and now no tiles appear not even the default Windows 10 tiles. Is there any specific gpo that needs enabling / disabling? The custom start menu gpo is already enabled. Here's my layout on Paste Bin - can you see any obvious issues? https://pastebin.com/fXMvm4kn No problem, pleased to help. There are errors in your XML in terms of the columns and rows for your layout. At the top you have specified that the start tiles width is 6 cells wide. For your DesktopApplicationTile, you have specified each as 2x2. So the first item in School Apps should be Column 0 Row 0. The second C2 R0. The third C4 R0. The fourth C0 R2. And so on. Your StaffCommon shortcut had ,lnk instead of .lnk as the extension. I've corrected your XML for you in this paste https://pastebin.com/JWgwrT4h - give this a try? Do you use roaming profiles by any chance? If so no amount of fiddling is going to work, roaming profiles and start menus just don't play nicely in newer builds of Windows 10. We use local profiles now for staff and guest profiles (which automatically delete on logoff) for students. Also just to be absolutely clear - I did mention earlier but just to re-iterate - the shortcuts you have referenced on your layout tiles MUST exist in your start menu. Can you see shortcuts in your start menu list to all of the items in your XML?
tony_baduk Posted May 15, 2019 Author Posted May 15, 2019 Oh of course - I've now amended the layout - see the XML here on Paste Bin https://pastebin.com/AKznSetb Still not getting anything on the start menu.... We don't use roaming profiles. The shortcuts are all in place in the this share - see image below:
smarties11 Posted May 15, 2019 Posted May 15, 2019 Oh of course - I've now amended the layout - see the XML here on Paste Bin https://pastebin.com/AKznSetb Still not getting anything on the start menu.... We don't use roaming profiles. The shortcuts are all in place in the this share - see image below: [ATTACH=CONFIG]53386[/ATTACH] I can see a few issues here. There are some further errors in your XML. You still have ,lnk instead of .lnk for StaffCommon. Also in your screenshot you have StaffCommon (J).lnk and Shared (Q).lnk but your XML is missing the space before the ( for both items. Either update the XML to include the space or rename the shortcuts to remove the space. Also, all of your shortcuts need to be inside the 'Programs' folder. Move them into there and then update the shortcut paths in your XML to \\server\Icons\Students\Start Menu\Programs\name.lnk. Do you have your start menu redirected to the same location, i.e. \\server\Icons\Students\Start Menu? I'm questioning this because the path mentions students but then one of your shortcuts is to a staff drive. Sorry to sound so repetitive but these shortcuts must exist in the redirected start menu assigned to your user. If you can't see them in the start menu list on the left hand side, then it won't work. So is your start menu for the user you have been testing with redirected to \\server\Icons\Students\Start Menu\?
smarties11 Posted May 15, 2019 Posted May 15, 2019 Another point to add - it's worth deleting the user profile of your test user between each test, as the start layout is cached!
tony_baduk Posted May 15, 2019 Author Posted May 15, 2019 (edited) Thanks so much for your very precise advice and apologies for the basic errors. The start menus is still appearing empty... we don't want the left menu (all programs) tab enabled in the start menu - we only want the tiles enabled. Here is my updated layout https://pastebin.com/9PYhGhVr Empty Start Menu Shortcuts GPO Redirected - - - Updated - - - Edited May 15, 2019 by tony_baduk
tony_baduk Posted May 15, 2019 Author Posted May 15, 2019 Ah of course - just tried that - still empty...
smarties11 Posted May 15, 2019 Posted May 15, 2019 Thanks so much for your very precise advice and apologies for the basic errors. The start menus is still appearing empty... we don't want the left menu (all programs) tab enabled in the start menu - we only want the tiles enabled. Here is my updated layout https://pastebin.com/9PYhGhVr Empty Start Menu [ATTACH=CONFIG]53388[/ATTACH] Shortcuts [ATTACH=CONFIG]53390[/ATTACH] GPO Redirected [ATTACH=CONFIG]53389[/ATTACH] - - - Updated - - - Hi, Your folder redirection GPO is incorrect. The bit that you have set to 'create a folder for each user under the root path' should be set to 'redirect to the following location'. The way you have it set means that it is looking in \\server\icons\student\start menu\username for the shortcuts. Also make sure that 'grant the user exclusive rights...' and 'move the contents of the start menu...' check boxes on the settings menu are NOT checked. Hiding the start menu all programs list is making troubleshooting harder for you at this stage. The shortcuts need to be visible in this list for the tiles to work, and by hiding it you can't check this. I would make this list visible whilst you are testing and then hide it again once everything is working. 1
tony_baduk Posted May 17, 2019 Author Posted May 17, 2019 Hi, Your folder redirection GPO is incorrect. The bit that you have set to 'create a folder for each user under the root path' should be set to 'redirect to the following location'. The way you have it set means that it is looking in \\server\icons\student\start menu\username for the shortcuts. Also make sure that 'grant the user exclusive rights...' and 'move the contents of the start menu...' check boxes on the settings menu are NOT checked. Hiding the start menu all programs list is making troubleshooting harder for you at this stage. The shortcuts need to be visible in this list for the tiles to work, and by hiding it you can't check this. I would make this list visible whilst you are testing and then hide it again once everything is working. Okay I've now corrected the redirection options. See here And I've also enabled the start all programs list - all the default Windows programs show but not any of the icons listed in the xml layout. I've tried this under a new student user to ensure its a fresh profile. It appears the icons just aren't being seen from the icons redirection path.
BOOT Posted May 17, 2019 Posted May 17, 2019 Try copying the shortcuts to: [C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\]
smarties11 Posted May 17, 2019 Posted May 17, 2019 Okay I've now corrected the redirection options. See here [ATTACH=CONFIG]53414[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]53415[/ATTACH] And I've also enabled the start all programs list - all the default Windows programs show but not any of the icons listed in the xml layout. [ATTACH=CONFIG]53416[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]53417[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]53418[/ATTACH] I've tried this under a new student user to ensure its a fresh profile. It appears the icons just aren't being seen from the icons redirection path. Great! We're getting somewhere now. The issue is with your folder redirection. The shortcuts you have saved in \\server\icons\student\start menu are not showing in the start menu list. Unless you can get them to show in there, your tiles and XML won't work. As I mentioned earlier, the shortcuts must actually appear on the start menu all programs list if you want them to show as a tile. Next step to check is your event log. There will likely be an error explaining why the start menu redirection failed. Also check the NTFS permissions on the folder and also the share permissions too. The share should be set to 'full control' for the 'everyone' group as is standard practice with shares where you use NTFS to set the granular permissions. Make sure the NTFS permissions on your icons, student and start menu folders have permissions set for read access on a security group that encompasses your users. I just use the 'everyone' group again and have read & execute, list folder contents and read permissions set. You can easily test the permissions by logging in as your test user and then attempting to browse to \\server\icons\student\start menu - does it let you see the folder contents or do you get an access is denied message? 1
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now