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Group Policy Object Editor is a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in used for configuring and modifying Group Policy settings within Group Policy objects (GPOs).

Administrators need to be able to quickly modify Group Policy settings for multiple users and computers throughout a network environment. The Group Policy Object Editor provides administrators with a hierarchical tree structure for configuring Group Policy settings in GPOs. These GPOs can then be linked to sites, domains, and organizational units (OU) containing computer or user objects.

Group Policy Object Editor consists of two main sections: User Configuration, which holds settings that are applied to users (at logon and periodic background refresh), and Computer Configuration, which holds settings that are applied to computers (at startup and periodic background refresh). These sections are further divided into the different types of policies that can be set, such as Administrative Templates, Security, or Folder Redirection.

To work efficiently, administrators need to have immediate access to information about the function and purpose of individual policy settings. For Administrative Templates policy settings, Group Policy Object Editor provides information about each policy setting directly in the Web view of the console. This information is called explain text. Explain text shows operating system requirements, defines the policy setting, and includes any specific details about the effect of enabling or disabling the policy setting.

In addition, developers should be able to quickly and easily add Group Policy support to their software products. The Group Policy Object Editor is designed to be extensible. The easiest way for developers to extend Group Policy Object Editor for their applications is to write custom Administrative Template files that “plug in” to Group Policy Object Editor.