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Central Management of the Application in a Active Directory

An on-premises Windows Active Directory (AD) domain lets you distribute settings via Group Policy Administrative Templates. Follow the steps below on the domain controller to deploy Transparent Lock Screen settings to all domain-joined computers. ( ADMX, ADML )

The screenshots are taken from Windows Server 2025, but the steps are similar for other versions of Windows Server.

  1. Download Transparent Lock Screen Group Policy administrative template files or find a copy of them in the Program Files folder of Transparent Lock Screen in the Policies folder.

  2. Locate or create the Central Store:

    1. Open File Explorer on your domain controller.
    2. Browse to: C:\Windows\SYSVOL\domain\Policies
    3. If a PolicyDefinitions folder is missing, create one. (See the Notes section for potential side effects.)

  3. Copy Transparent Lock Screen.admx and the en-us folder into PolicyDefinitions (the Central Store).

    screenshot: Transparent Lock Screen administrative template file in Central Store

    Transparent Lock Screen administrative template files in the Central Store

  4. Click the Start button, and then type in the search field Group Policy Management.

    screenshot: Opening Group Policy Management

    Opening Group Policy Management

  5. In the left-hand pane of the Group Policy Management window, navigate to your domain, right-click it, and then click Create a GPO in this domain, and Link it here…

    screenshot: Context menu of a domain

    Context menu of a domain

  6. In the New GPO dialog box, enter a name for the new Group Policy Object (GPO), and then click OK.

    screenshot: Adding a new GPO

    Adding a new GPO

  7. By default, the GPO applies to the Authenticated Users group (all domain computers). To target specific computers, adjust Security Filtering in the right pane of Group Policy Management.

  8. In the left pane, right-click the new GPO and choose Edit.

    screenshot: Context menu of a GPO

    Context menu of a GPO

  9. In the left pane of the Group Policy Management Editor window, navigate to the Transparent Lock Screen administrative template.

    screenshot: Transparent Lock Screen administrative template in GPME

    Transparent Lock Screen administrative template in Group Policy Management Editor

  10. Double-click on any setting you want to configure to read more information on how the policy change would affect the app.

  11. Changes to the setting will be applied to client machines at the next Group Policy update, which occurs every 90–120 minutes by default or upon endpoint restart. To apply changes immediately, run the gpupdate command on the endpoint.

Notes

  • When you create a PolicyDefinitions folder, it becomes the Central Store for Group Policy Administrative Templates. This removes the default administrative templates from the Group Policy Management Editor.
  • To restore the Windows-related administrative templates in Group Policy Management Editor, copy the original template files into the Central Store (PolicyDefinitions folder, created in step 2). The most convenient source is the C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions directory on the same server. You can also copy the files from another Windows machine on your network or download the latest templates from Microsoft. For more details, alternative methods, and download links, see Microsoft Learn KB3087759.
  • If Transparent Lock Screen settings are applied through a domain Group Policy, a local administrator can still modify them manually on an endpoint. However, any local changes will be overwritten at the next Group Policy refresh.