Customize the Control Panel on XenApp Workloads

One of the things you do when you lockdown your VDAs in your XenApp environment is restricting access to the control panel. Sometimes it would be a great help for your users and your service desk if you customize the control panel instead of restricting access to it. There are two ways to customize the control panel on your XenApp workloads. I will describe both of them in this article.

Customize the Control Panel with GPO

If you wish to customize the control panel using GPO, navigate to the “Group Policy Management Console” and create a new GPO or edit an existing one. Go to: “User Configuration->Administrative Templates->Control Panel. Find the policy called “Allow only specified Control Panel items” and double-click it.

Customize the Control Panel

Click “Enable” and then click on “Show…”. Add the canonical names of the items you wish the users should be able to see. You can see all the Control Panel items right here -> Control Panel Items

Customize the Control Panel

Customize the Control Panel with Workspace Environment Management

The other way you can customize the Control Panel is using Workspace Environment Management from Citrix. Log in to your WEM administrator console and navigate to “Policies and Profiles”->”Environmental Settings”->”Control Panel”. Check the “Show only specified Control Panel Applets” and add the applets you wish the users should be able to access. You can find the canonical names of the control panel items just below.

Control Panel Items

Applet NameCanonical Name
Action CenterMicrosoft.ActionCenter
Administrative ToolsMicrosoft.AdministrativeTools
AutoPlayMicrosoft.AutoPlay
Biometric DevicesMicrosoft.BiometricDevices
BitLocker Drive EncryptionMicrosoft.BitLockerDriveEncryption
Color ManagementMicrosoft.ColorManagement
Credential ManagerMicrosoft.CredentialManager
Date and TimeMicrosoft.DateAndTime
Default ProgramsMicrosoft.DefaultPrograms
Device ManagerMicrosoft.DeviceManager
Devices and PrintersMicrosoft.DevicesAndPrinters
DisplayMicrosoft.Display
Ease of Access CenterMicrosoft.EaseOfAccessCenter
Family SafetyMicrosoft.ParentalControls
File HistoryMicrosoft.FileHistory
Folder OptionsMicrosoft.FolderOptions
FontsMicrosoft.Fonts
HomeGroupMicrosoft.HomeGroup
Indexing OptionsMicrosoft.IndexingOptions
InfraredMicrosoft.Infrared
Internet OptionsMicrosoft.InternetOptions
iSCSI InitiatorMicrosoft.iSCSIInitiator
iSNS ServerMicrosoft.iSNSServer
KeyboardMicrosoft.Keyboard
LanguageMicrosoft.Language
Location SettingsMicrosoft.LocationSettings
MouseMicrosoft.Mouse
MPIOConfigurationMicrosoft.MPIOConfiguration
Network and Sharing CenterMicrosoft.NetworkAndSharingCenter
Notification Area IconsMicrosoft.NotificationAreaIcons
Pen and TouchMicrosoft.PenAndTouch
PersonalizationMicrosoft.Personalization
Phone and ModemMicrosoft.PhoneAndModem
Power OptionsMicrosoft.PowerOptions
Programs and FeaturesMicrosoft.ProgramsAndFeatures
RecoveryMicrosoft.Recovery
RegionMicrosoft.RegionAndLanguage
RemoteApp and Desktop ConnectionsMicrosoft.RemoteAppAndDesktopConnections
SoundMicrosoft.Sound
Speech RecognitionMicrosoft.SpeechRecognition
Storage SpacesMicrosoft.StorageSpaces
Sync CenterMicrosoft.SyncCenter
SystemMicrosoft.System
Tablet PC SettingsMicrosoft.TabletPCSettings
Taskbar and NavigationMicrosoft.Taskbar
TroubleshootingMicrosoft.Troubleshooting
TSAppInstallMicrosoft.TSAppInstall
User AccountsMicrosoft.UserAccounts
Windows Anytime UpgradeMicrosoft.WindowsAnytimeUpgrade
Windows DefenderMicrosoft.WindowsDefender
Windows FirewallMicrosoft.WindowsFirewall
Windows Mobility CenterMicrosoft.MobilityCenter
Windows To GoMicrosoft.PortableWorkspaceCreator
Windows UpdateMicrosoft.WindowsUpdate
Work FoldersMicrosoft.WorkFolders

How do i get Mail / Outlook to show in the Control Panel

One item is missing from the list above. If you want “Mail” to show in the control panel, you need to add “Mail” in the items list.

One Comment

  1. Hello Ulrik,
    Adding “Mail” in the items list doesn’t work for WEM.
    got it working using the ‘Hide specified Control Panel Applets’ (the hard way) entering the canonical names found via PS command Get-ControlPanelItem (including Java and SAP GUI Configuration)

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