Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista : Advanced Group Policy Preferences Settings - Process Variables

Group Policy Preferences also provide a seamless integration with environment variables. The environment variables that Group Policy Preferences support include those that the system generates, as well as numerous additional environment variables to the process environment.

The environment variables are available for use in many of the text boxes associated with Group Policy Preferences. Some of the settings allow for environment variables, as do some of the item-level targeting entries. As a general rule, if the environment variable contains text properties that are associated with the text box you are filling out, the environment variable will function properly.

To access the environment variables via a shortcut, press the F3 key from within the text box where you want to use the environment variable. The Select a Variable dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. The list of supported environment variables appears when you press F3 from within the GPME; this can help you configure Group Policy Preferences settings and targeting items.

The environment variables that are supported in Group Policy Preferences settings include those listed in Table 1.

Table 1. Environment Variables Supported in Group Policy Preferences

Environment Variable	Variable Use
%AppDataDir%	The current user’s Application Data directory
%BinaryComputerSid%	The SID of the computer in hexadecimal format
%BinaryUserSid%	The SID of the log-on user in hexadecimal format
%CommonAppdataDir%	The “all users” Application Data directory
%CommonDesktopDir%	The “all users” Desktop directory
%CommonFavoritesDir%	The “all users” Explorer Favorites directory
%CommonProgramsDir%	The “all users” Programs directory
%CommonStartMenuDir%	The “all users” Start Menu directory
%CommonStartUpDir%	The “all users” Startup directory
%ComputerName%	The NetBIOS name of the computer
%CurrentProcessId%	The numeric identity of the main client process
%CurrentThreadId%	The numeric identity of the main client thread
%DateTime%	The current time (UTC)
%DateTimeEx%	The current time (UTC) with milliseconds
%DesktopDir%	The current user’s Desktop directory
%DomainName%	The domain name or workgroup of the computer
%FavoritesDir%	The current user’s Explorer Favorites directory
GphPath	The path to the Group Policy history file
GptPath	The path to the Group Policy configuration file
GroupPolicyVersion	The version of the running Group Policy CSE
LastDriveMapped	The drive letter of the last successful network drive mapping
%LastError%	The last error code encountered during configuration
%LastErrorText%	The last error code text description
%LdapComputerSid%	The SID of the computer in LDAP escaped binary format
%LdapUserSid%	The SID of the current user in LDAP escaped binary format
%LocalTime%	The current local time
%LocalTimeEx%	The current local time with milliseconds
%LogonDomain%	The domain of the current user
%LogonServer%	The domain controller that authenticated the current user
%LogonUser%	The user name of the current user
%LogonUserSid%	The SID of the current user
%MacAddress%	The first detected MAC address on the computer
%NetPlacesDir%	The current user’s My Network Places directory
%OsVersion%	The operating system: Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, or Unknown
%ProgramFilesDir%	The Windows Program Files directory
%ProgramsDir%	The current user’s Programs directory
%RecentDocumentsDir%	The current user’s Recent Documents directory
%ResultCode%	The client’s exit code
%ResultText%	The client’s exit code text description
%ReversedComputerSid%	The SID of the computer in reversed byte order hexadecimal format
%ReversedUserSid%	The SID of the current user in reversed byte order hexadecimal format
%SendToDir%	The current user’s Send To directory
%StartMenuDir%	The current user’s Start Menu directory
%StartUpDir%	The current user’s Startup directory
%SystemDir%	The Windows System directory
%SystemDrive%	The name of the drive from which the operation system is running
%TempDir%	The current user’s Temp directory as determined by Windows API, which is Local System when running in the computer context.
%TimeStamp%	The time stamp of the configurations being executed
%TraceFile%	The path/name of the trace file
%WindowsDir%	The Windows directory