Policy
Default Active Directory path when searching for printers
Microsoft Windows
Policy overview
Key metadata and intent for this policy.
Supported OS tags: Windows10, Windows10RT, Windows11, Windows2000, Windows7, Windows8, Windows81, WindowsRT, WindowsRT81, WindowsServer2003, WindowsServer2008, WindowsServer2012, WindowsServer2012R2, WindowsServer2016, WindowsVista, WindowsXP
Specifies the Active Directory location where searches for printers begin. The Add Printer Wizard gives users the option of searching Active Directory for a shared printer. If you enable this policy setting, these searches begin at the location you specify in the "Default Active Directory path" box. Otherwise, searches begin at the root of Active Directory. This setting only provides a starting point for Active Directory searches for printers. It does not restrict user searches through Active Directory.
Registry values
How enabled and disabled states update the registry.
No explicit registry values are set for enabled or disabled states.
Policy elements
Inputs and configuration options exposed by this policy.
| Scope | Element | Type | Registry mapping | Constraints & behavior | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| User | Default Active Directory path ID PrinterDirectorySearchScope_Name | text | Path Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Printers\Wizard Value name Default Search Scope Type REG_SZ | None |