Start layout not applying taskbar icons

[Sheridan]

We've got a Start menu tile layout xml file which works (as well it it ever does) and wanted to add some pinned items to the taskbar, so we added the following xml to the end of layout file to test:

 

 

These are just office applications that are on every PC so we can test this, however nothing appears in the taskbar.

 

I've checked the event viewer and no errors appear in the Microsoft-Windows-ShellCommon-StartLayoutPopulation/Operational log, only messages saying that the Tiles have been written (they were in the xml already)

 

I'm just wondering, if you lock down the taskbar with Group Policy, does that disable the taskbar completely? I thought it just stopped users pinning their own apps to it?

[CHiLL]

Did you build the XML file from the version of Winows you're deploying it to?

 

I found that I had an XML file I made in 1809 - and both the Start Menu and pinned items worked fine. When I moved to 1903, the Start Menu section was working but the pinned items didn't. The only way to get both working was to re-created the XML document using the export command on 1903.

 

As far as I am aware, the GP only prevents users from pinning/removing items. The XML will still force your specified items.

 

Here is my complete XML, including Taskbar:

    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">

 
   
     
       
         
         
         
       
       
         
         
         
         
         
         
       
       
         
         
         
         
         
         
       
     
   
 
   	
	
		
			
			
			
			
			
			
		
	
   

 

Edit: I also had issues using links pointing to the %ALLUSERSPROFILE%, which is why mine point to %AppData% or %ProgramData%.

Edited January 13, 2020 by CHiLL

[Sheridan]

It must be the GPO setting 'Remove pinned items from taskbar' - I had that enabled, and soon as I disabled it the taskbar items appeared!

 

I always thought there were 3 different categories of pinned items, system, user pinned and deployed pinned items. But with that policy enabled it seems to disable all pinned items.

[CHiLL]

It must be the GPO setting 'Remove pinned items from taskbar' - I had that enabled, and soon as I disabled it the taskbar items appeared!

 

I always thought there were 3 different categories of pinned items, system, user pinned and deployed pinned items. But with that policy enabled it seems to disable all pinned items.

Ah yeah, that would do it. I have a setting along the lines of "users cannot change pinned items". Something like that anyway.

 

At least you got it sorted.