How to search for Group Policy settings on Windows 10
If you’re looking for a specific policy, but you can’t remember its name or where’s located, then use these steps on Windows 10.
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On Windows 10, the Group Policy Editor is a tool that allows IT administrators to change advanced (system and apps) settings to control and restrict the environment for users to comply with the organization guidelines. Also, advanced users typically use the tool to customize the desktop experience by enabling and disabling special features.
Although the policy editor makes the process of configuring advanced settings straightforward,Windows 10includes a lot of policies, and unless you know their paths, they could be challenging to find. However, if you must use the Group Policy Editor to modify system settings, but you’re not sure where the policy resides or the exact name, the console includes an option to search for virtually any setting quickly. Or you can also use the Microsoft Group Policy search website to search and find information about specific settings.
In this Windows 10 guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to find specific policies in the Group Policy Editor using the filter option and the Group Policy Search website.
How to search specific policy using Group Policy Editor
To find a specific or set of policies in Group Policy, use these steps:
Important:The Group Policy Editor is only available on Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, and other variants, but it’s not a feature on Windows 10 Home.
Once you complete the steps, all the policies matching the search query will appear on the right side, which you can then open to edit as necessary.
If you want to remove the filter, right-click the main topic you’re searching, and select theFilter Onoption, or close theGroup Policy Editor. However, as long as you don’t reset the filters in the “Filter Options” page, you can continue to select theFilter Onoption to do the same find query over and over.
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How to search for specific polity using Group Policy Search
Microsoft also hosts a website, in the Azure cloud, which includes an up-to-date database with all the available policies for various products, including Windows 10.
To search a policy with the Microsoft website, use these steps:
Although the website is useful, you have to have an idea of the policy you want, since the result may include settings for various products, including for Windows, Windows Server, and Office among others.
Mauro Huculak has been a Windows How-To Expert contributor for WindowsCentral.com for nearly a decade and has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides. He also has an IT background and has achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, and CompTIA. He has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years.
