Network Locations with DEM

[tgrwa]

We add Network Locations to show our Shared Drives in Windows Explorer.  The drives then show up on My PC.  These drives don not show up at each logon and need to be added each time.  What can be done on DEM to have these network locations be shown at logon?

[Mickeybyte]

You need to add a config file to save the mapped network drives. It's a built-in config file: Create Config File - Use Windows Common Setting - Mapped Network Drives

This will allow you to save any user-mapped network drive  and restore them on the next session.

[tgrwa]

Thank you for the reply.  I probably should have been clearer.  I know how to map drives through DEM.  I want to only add the Network Locations.  So, in Windows when I am in a File Explorer window and I right-click, I get the option to "Add a network location".  I typically prefer this to mapping drive letters.  

[Mickeybyte]

Ah, ok.

Maybe this page (Group Policy Preference: Network Locations - How to add network locations (microsoft.com)... can give you more details about which reg keys can be used for that?

[tgrwa]

That is actually the page that I read a few years back to make a script to create these Network Locations.  I can't get much out of the script to understand what changes in the registry.  I have found that if I copy the shortcuts into %username%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Network Shortcuts, the Network Locations will then appear as desired, but I cannot get that folder to "sync" so that when the user logs in the next time, it is there.

[Mickeybyte]

I don't use network locations myself, so I did a quick test to see how they behave. I cannot find any references in the registry indeed, only in the folder %appdata%\microsoft\windows\network shortcuts.

Did you try to create a config file in DEM with:

[includefoldertrees]
<appdata>\microsoft\windows\network shortcuts

I haven't tried myself because I don't have a DEM system at hand currently (not sure about the correct naming for  [includefoldertrees] also).

[tgrwa]

I did try to create a config file in DEM with:

[includefoldertrees]
<appdata>\microsoft\windows\network shortcuts

This did not work.  I'll keep plugging away at things.

Out of curiosity, if you don't use network locations, what do you do?  Do you mapped drives?  I had tried to get away from that for various reasons.