Hi,
I'm running a Windows Server 2008 R2 terminal server.
I've set up a GPO to redirect the Start Menu folder to a network share, based on user groups and this works well.
[User Config/Policies/Windows Settings/Folder Redirection/Start Menu]
The same GPO also redirects each user's AppData(Roaming) path to a share. Each user has their own area, using the "Create a folder for each user under the root path" option.
What I would like is for users to be able to add items to their own Startup folder so they run upon login. However there isn't a GPO specifically for the Startup folder.
If I create a shortcut in the user's Roaming area (AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup) then it is not run upon login. I was expecting the Startup folder to be a merge of this area and the Startup folder in the Group-related redirected area - a bit like the All Users startup used to merge with the user's local Startup.
I've found that if I point HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders\Startup to the user's %AppData% path then startup items for that user run fine.
There are two problems with this, first the Startup folder in the Start Menu still points to the Group startup area, and is empty. To add things to user's Startup requires going to the share and adding them directly. Second problem, I'm not sure if the registry setting will get wiped out if the group policy changes - the registry edit could be a temporary fix and I don't want users to have to keep applying it.
Is there a recognised, official method of having a group Start Menu redirect, but still allowing individual users to have their own Startup folder?